Bryan's friend from the Navy, Jason, invited us to his wedding in Maine. (He was the best man for our wedding.) We decided to make it a get away time for us, and so we decided not to take the kids with us. Instead, Casper and Mircea would spend the weekend with Uncle Steven and Aunt Candy. Our itinerary was very simple: Friday--do a bit of sightseeing and hopefully see Jason and a couple other of Bry's old Navy friends. Saturday--Wedding. Sunday--Sunday Morning meeting, lunch with the meeting, and then off to the airport.
Friday
We arrived In Maine. After dropping our stuff off at the hotel, we went into town (Portland, Maine) and walked around a bit and had lunch.
Our Lunch StopOff to go see Fort Williams Park It had a light house and remnants of an old base. It was first purchased in 1872 when they began building the Post. It was fully manned for WWI and WWII. The Fort was closed in 1962 and bought 2 years later by the Town of Cape Elizabeth.
We had a beautiful sunny day, and it was nice to get out after being cramped in an airplane.
a Tugboat and a barge
Bryan with something in his mouth
Fort Gorges on Hog Island LedgeThe government decided to build this Fort after the War of 1812. However, they did not start building until 1857. The Fort was completed in 1865, just as the Civil War was ending--but it was already obsolete do to better ways to blow things up. They started to modernize it in 1869, but lost funding in 1876 causing the Fort to never be completed. The Fort was last used in WWII to store submarine mines.
I thought it was awesome, and wished we could see what it was like on that little "island"
This is called house island. It is thought to have the oldest European house in Casco Bay. People would refer to it as "the island with the old house on it"--hence the name. The government built Fort Scammel on it in 1808 and a quarantine station later on on the other side of the island. Neither were used much.
These rocks were so cool! We brought some home for Mircea for her "collection".
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Bry served in the Navy with these guys: L to R Jason, Bryan, "Ritchie", and Dan.The stories they had were fun! It was also good to hear what they all have been up to since they left the Navy (Jason is the only one back in the Navy--as an Officer now).
Saturday Wedding Day
The wedding was beautiful. The ceremony was the shortest I have ever seen--but it got the job done, and really, it was just perfect. Jason's bride, Lauren, did a wonderful job planning the day. Everything was gorgeous!
The Lodge the wedding was hosted at
a nervous groom waiting for his bride
Here comes the bride!
A welcome to the marriage
"With this ring, I thee wed!"
You are now married
Kiss your bride
Here are the Mr. and Mrs.!
The first dance as husband and wife
This end of the table hosted Jason's friends, and thankfully his mother who kept them all in check! We had great seats here to see everything from the dancing, cake cutting, toasts, etc.
Jason dancing with his Mom.
Bryan, Jason, "Ritchie", and Dan. They all clean up nicely!
Jason's good friend he made as an officer, James, mixes well with the group
The S'mores were a great idea!
The couple left with sparklers flaring around them!
Congratulations Jason and Lauren!Sunday
We were lucky, as the 2 ministers for this area were in the little Sunday meeting we attended. What made it more exciting is I have known Anneliese for a long time, it was great to see her!
Meeting, lunch and visiting were great! We had such a lovely time today! It was so neat to meet everyone and finally hear a Maine accent! We felt so welcome! And it was great to find out how many people we knew in common! Now, just waiting for our plane to load. . .
It was a fun trip. Congratulations to Jason and Lauren!
.JPG)
