The reception was super fun! Lots of dancing, lots of jokes, and Josh busted out with some rap karaoke that was priceless. Megan and Josh headed out to Maui for their honeymoon, and that’s the only sad part of the story…I unfortunately wasn’t going with them. One day, I’m going to offer a photography package that includes bringing me along for the honeymoon as an official duty. That way they can relax, I’ll take the photos, order the drinks, and drive the car in paradise.

Thanks again to the Mendes family for sharing another wedding with me! So happy to see you all again. And to Toby…a special thanks for being such a good sport when the Germans forced me to play that joke on you. Rhonda, excellent job again with your on-location hair and make-up. Jeremy at AMS, big thanks to you too for keep the activities running smooth. I hope Maui provides the perfect honeymoon for Susie and Ben, too.

This time I wanted to try a marathon where I’d trained properly for it. I had been solidly running for months when I amazingly won an entry into the LA Marathon for March 20, 2011. Jason and I drove down there and I was excited (and nervous) to try marathon #2. My goals for the race? Don’t poop my pants, run the whole distance, and possibly finish sub-4 hours. I figured the first one would be a gimme (although I did learn that port-a-potties are in HIGH demand on a race course and thus the first goal could have been more difficult than I’d imagined), and the second goal should be manageable. The last goal was a stretch. If I had a great day, I expected that a sub-4 hour finish would be a small possibility.

Compressing a long story into a short one…it rained 2.5 inches during the marathon. The wind was howling. Conditions sucked. The first drop of rain fell just as I took my second step in the race. Nearly 26.2 miles later, I had seen countless runners huddled in medical tents shivering from the cold. A road barrier got blown into a runner in front of me and took him off his feet at the finish line. I barely remember any of the sights from the race except for the rain-swollen road drainages that I tried to side-step. I do remember Jason and my family coming out to see me at 4 locations on the route. In the pouring rain, they came out to support me and it meant the world. I finished in 4:01, but it was a 3:58 if you take off the time for a potty break. So I’m gonna say that I met all my goals for the race and then some. I never expected to run a race like that in the pouring rain.

And now that I’ve been married for nearly 10 years, I understand just how much Jason hates to take long plane flights and big travel itineraries. I know that he really doesn’t want to see European museums and I’m ok with that. The wonderful trade-off is that he’s more than fine if I go to these far away places without him. I look for opportunities to tag-along when other friends go on vacation, and it’s cheaper because we’re only paying for one person to travel.

So when Liz and Jake booked their dream vacation (a 12-day Mediterranean cruise), I was drooling with jealousy. Luckily, they wanted company and thought that I’d be fun to have along. I got such an unbelievably smoking deal and it made the trip possible! We went in late October for a 12-day cruise with 2 days in Rome and 2 days in Venice on the ends of the trip. The itinerary included the ports of Rome, Naples, Santorini, Rhodes, Mykonos, Ephesus, Athens, Olympia, Corfu, Dubrovnik, and Venice. Liz did a great job of previewing each port and planning our excursions and sight-seeing. It was truly the most amazing trip for us all. I cannot thank them enough for generously including me in their plans. It was the trip of a lifetime.

We saw incredible art by Van Gogh.
We got lost in Rome, but had the most amazing pizza ever.
We got into a car accident in Rome, but luckily weren’t driving.
We got into a (small) ATV accident in Santorini, but this time we were driving.
We rode donkeys up 550 steps of an island cliff.
We bargained for a leather jacket in Rhodes.
We saw incredible ancient ruins everywhere.
We walked Pompeii for hours and it was amazing.
We got a little drunk at an authentic Greek lunch. OOOH-PA!
We fed homeless cats everywhere.
We found private beaches with incredible views.
We ran around the original Olympic track.
We ate delicious food on the boat, like the best fettuccine alfredo ever.
We got denied taking a photo with the Vatican Guards.
We happily got photos with the Turkish Army.
We had a tour of a monastery given by a lady in a mini-skirt and go-go boots.
We splashed through a flooded Piazza San Marco in Venice.
We somehow figured out how to navigate public transit in Venice.
I ran 6 miles in Rome with some of the members of the Italian President’s private security detail. (yes, really!)

As a photographer, I went back and forth about how I would pack for the trip. Would I bring my nice cameras or opt for the portable little point-and-shoot? And which point-and-shoot would I bring (since I have several that I like)? I finally decided to leave the nice cameras and lenses at home. I was concerned about how much I’d actually want to haul around camera gear while seeing all these sights. So, while the final photos are not as spectacular as I’d like to have had…they were so much easier to incorporate into our adventures. My only regret was not bringing the camera with me on my morning runs in Rome. I had no idea that I would meet up with the Italian President’s private security detail, nor that I would end up running 6 miles through Villa Borghese Park with them. It was like running with a bunch of Italian models…and yes, I ran faster that morning than I usually do. Wouldn’t you? Without any more words, here’s some of the unedited point-and-shoot images…

And please explain to me how this one pocket of HEAVY rain ended up coming directly over the three square mile where I was photographing that day? What are the odds? I suppose the one great thing about that, however, was that for a short time it offered the combination of bright, late afternoon light with dark rain clouds behind. I’ve only been lucky enough to get that dramatic natural lighting for a wedding once before (Julie and Trisha’s wedding). When it happens it is absolutely jaw-dropping. Chills-inducing for photographers everywhere.

Thanks Erin and Jeff for braving the weather, running fast from the moving storm clouds, and your willingness to trust my suggestions in the face of such odd conditions. I think you’ll appreciate just how special those couple hours were now that you see the results.