She Drove Me To Hell...

... So I Drove Her To The Nuthouse

The Fourth of July weekend was interesting for us. Tina had recently gotten her learner's permit for driving, so she was practicing (not that she doesn't know how to drive; she's been driving for decades... She just needs practice driving on the "right" side of the road, LOL). Couple that with my desire to show her various places in the great state of Michigan, and it's no surprise that Saturday afternoon eventually found us in the little town of Hell...

Here's Tina enjoying a cup of coffee at the Dam Site Inn, the only bar in Hell...

There is a very teeny tiny chapel in Hell, too...

We did see a couple who had just gotten married there, though we didn't see the actual wedding. Believe me, the wedding party would've filled the chapel up; your average shed is bigger than that.

We also mailed out a couple of post cards from the Hell Post Office, which is inside the Hell General Store... They take a lighter and singe your mail around the edges before it goes out (although you could decline that service... but where's the fun in that?).

There is a dam in Hell... (do you mean to tell me that you couldn't see that coming from a mile away?)

By the way... before you ask... yes, it was hot as Hell that day.

The next day, Sunday, started out with a real, old-fashioned 4th of July parade in Whitmore Lake, Tina's first...

After that, we wandered around for a while, and eventually wound up at The Nuthouse... 

... a sports bar in Lansing. (NOTE: This is not my photo.)

It was pretty good food, but what I really liked was the name... Needless to say, we felt right at home.

All The Cool Kids Have Imports

(I have been sufficiently chastised for not doing this sooner...)

Saturday, June 26, 2010, was an incredibly special day for me.

I have already been blessed in my life to have a really great son, Ryan, whom I wouldn't trade for anything in the world...

And, of course, other family members that I also love, and some really awesome, wonderful friends.

But, on June 26th, the missing piece fell into place. That's when I married the greatest, most beautiful gal in the whole world, my darling Tina...

(By the way, she WAS wearing high heels...)

And let me tell you, it was about as close to perfect as it could have been (other than being INCREDIBLY HOT).  The skies were beautiful, there was a good breeze a-blowin', and the predicted thunderstorms decided not to show up.

Lots of awesome friends and family were there, including my new sister-in-law and brother-in-law. (Or is that how it works? Does your wife's brother-in-law become your brother-in-law as well?  Inquiring minds want to know!)

My two best friends from high school (in other words, back when dirt was young) were in the wedding party as well, which made it all the sweeter...

You can sort of see them hiding behind us: Mark, on the left, was the officiating clergyman; Jeff, on the right, was my best man.

It was an outdoor wedding in late June, which means the weather can be totally unpredictable... but God blessed us in many ways that day, and the weather was one of those blessings.

And I would like to say that Tina pulled off the miracle of the century.  This was mostly put together in about two weeks, for under a thousand dollars.  Many other people helped out a lot (especially Ryan); I won't name anyone else because I'd be afraid of leaving someone out, but they know who they are, and how grateful we are for their help. But it was Tina's vision and organizational skills that made this happen.

Special thanks to my friend Robyn for the wedding photos above, as we didn't hire a photographer.

(And if you were expecting a funny post, sorry!  Although the title is a sort-of inside joke... a reference to my wife's British citizenship, in case you were wondering.)

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OK, I take it back... here's a funny bit... I made this video with my iPhone the morning of the wedding...