35 years ago today, Ray and I made vows to each other to stay together through good times and bad and to respect each other forever. Boy, that sounds like a LONG time. But, in retrospect, it has passed like a flash of lightning.
It's only fitting that our "honeymoon" trip was before the actual "I dos"--hitchhiking through Europe for the summer of 1973. That trip was made with a total of about $1000, and we tented and ate cold food for the most part, and loved every (well, ALMOST every) minute of it. (There was the time in the rain in England...)But I'm digressing. In 1975, we did our 3 month cross-country trip (in our almost new VW bug), an introduction to the wonder that is this country. Then came the kids. It wasn't until after Lauren died in 1988 (Can you believe it was 20 years ago?), that we came to our senses and said to ourselves "If not now, when?" So, when Alex was 6, we started to travel again. Each year we went to someplace different. Ray and Alex would drive out a week or so before I would fly out, and they would meet me at our first travel spot. We would travel around a bit for 2 weeks, and then they would drive home afterward from the place they dropped me at the airport. What a great time! Over the years, we traveled to places like Mammoth Caves, Smoky Mountain, Arches, the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Sequoia, Theodore Roosevelt National Parks and more. We even saw the wonders (!?) of the International Peace Garden. Over the years we've visited 33 of the 51 National Parks (several more than once!) in the lower 48 states, and 25 of the 75 National Monuments, and scores of other cool places (ever been to the Porter Music Box museum??? or McCook, NE??)
We have hiked miles and miles through New England and the northeast, and all over the states, as well as Europe. There was a time in 1973 in England when I was just about ready to give up on the day's hike. We had been on the go all day, and had a steep hill yet to climb, with all our traveling possessions in our backpacks. We still joke about it now. Ray's encouragement to me then was: "Come on! Just get to one more telephone pole!!" In other words: Don't let the size of the hill overwhelm you, just make it to the next telephone pole, then the next. We did make it up that hill.
So, this note comes as a public thank you to my travel, hiking, PB&J, cold-beer-on-a-hot-day, crazy eyebrow, good times and bad times partner. The good times have been wonderful, and the bad times have been bearable because we were together.
And I thank our parents, Larry and Eva, Ray and Anne, for modeling for us what the best of commitment, love, and marriage is.
Love you forever, Ray. I don't need any encouragement now, and the road seems so easy to walk as long as I am with you. I can say with a great deal of enthusiasm now: On to the next telephone pole!
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