11 Weeks Out

In light of some of my good friends' blogs (aka www.unclewis.blogspot.com) who are counting down to major events in their lives, I thought I would start that here, as Lynn and I have only 11 weeks until our big day!

While I can't track our progress in size of fruit (see the Lewis's blog), I can say that we can track our time in events so-to-speak. This past weekend Lynn's brother Joe was married in Chapel Hill. Part of the reason Lynn and I are getting married when we are was to be after Joe and Kerry b/c they were engaged about 6 months before us. I feel like we have been wondering what life is going to be like now that our wedding is next up. We definitely got a lot of those questions at the wedding this weekend... like are you ready to be standing up there in only a couple months, etc... And to answer that question I still definitely am! I am learning however, how much actually goes in to planning a wedding. I've been trying to be as involved as I can b/c grooms are notorious for letting the bride make all the decisions, and while I am thankful Lynn is on top of everything far more than me I have been trying to be actively involved in the decision making and trying to lighten her load a bit.

So, to wrap this up... I will give a summary of where we are at:

Last week we met with Kendra Adachi (our wedding director) in the Atrium to discuss how the ceremony would be laid out.

We got our rings ordered at Mark Holder Jeweler in GSO, and I found at that traditionally the groom pays for the bride's ring and vice-versa. Nice!

We met with one of my dad's friend who plays the bag-pipe and are considering having him play at song to open the ceremony.

We got the invitations written out, and my mom graciously addressed all of the envelopes... she is amazing!

We downloaded a bunch of music for the reception as our friend Matt is emceeing and we are playing music from an I-Pod.

All of this to say... things are really shaping up for January 3rd and we hope you all are getting excited like us. More updates are hopefully on their way in the coming weeks!

ASU vs. LSU: A Championship Matchup

For those of you that don't know, on Saturday, August 30 @ 5:00, Appalachian State will play LSU on ESPN for what will hopefully be another unbelievable upset. LSU is likely to be a greater test for us since they are the reigning National Champions in the BCS and (unlike Michigan) they have witnessed that ASU is well-coached and comprised of talented players that have the ability to put any team on their heels. I mean you really can't count ASU out after they outlasted Michigan last year in Ann Harbor, and brought home their third national title to Boone in the Championship Subdivision. So, in less than a month Appalachian State will travel down to Baton Rouge in what appears to be another David vs. Goliath match... but don't count the Mountaineers out just yet. If you aren't already hyped about this match-up, here is a preview of the game.

Acadia National Park

With exams finishing up this past Monday, a few guys from Seminary and I decided to take a camping trip as sort of a debriefing after our first year finished. We went camping Sunday through Wednesday up in Acadia National Park off the coast in Maine. We used an article out of Backpacker magazine as our tour guide for the trip, and covered about 30 miles and most of the peaks on the island in 2 days. Acadia is beautiful, and while it isn't really close to much (about 5 hours NW of Boston), it is definitely worth making the trip to see. The coolest thing about Acadia is that it brings the best of both worlds together... the mountains and ocean... which makes for some breath-taking views from the top of the peaks. Backpacker recommended going to Acadia in early May, to avoid the summer crowds, and it turned out to be good advice... we probably only saw 6-8 other hikers in two full days on the trails. If you want to see more pics, they are on my picasa page... but here are just a couple shots from Bubble mountain, and the Beehive trail... And a video on Sargent Mtn.

Bo Sox game

Parking at the Prudential Center: $15
Fenway Frank: $4.50
Bud Light: $7.50
Experiencing Fenway for the first time: Priceless

Yesterday, I went to my first Bo Sox game since being up here in Mass. The Red Sox played the Los Angeles Angels, which could be a potential post-season match up, so not only was it my first experience at Fenway, but it was also a great baseball game. Unfortunately, the Bo Sox lost 6-4, but it was close the whole game, and they had a chance to win it in the 9th. The atmosphere at Fenway is unlike anything I've experienced before. The tradition of the Stadium. The passion of Red Sox nation. I was just soaking it all in last night. The highlight of the night was definitely Big Papi going yard to tie the game. And, Manny threw out a guy trying to score from second. Baseball's value definitely rises when you are at the park, more than merely watching it on TV, but this is especially true of Fenway because the atmosphere is so amazing. So, my recommendation is not to graduate GCTS or visit Boston without seeing the Red Sox play!

Honeymoon Destinations

So, I'm in the process of looking at Honeymoon destinations. I went to AAA yesterday and sat down with a travel agent to look at a few different places Lynn and I have been thinking about. While I'm not going to reveal where we are leaning towards going, I would like to know if anyone has recommendations, or any advice on honeymoon activities or destinations based on your own trip? I've never really been on an exotic vacation before, so yesterday was brand new to me. Most of our family trips had a historically redeeming value, whether it was at Williamsburg, or in Charleston. And while I always had fun on those trips, sitting on the beach somewhere it is hot and sunny in mid-January is a higher priority for us than sight-seeing this time around!

Skybust

- May 22, 2007 Skybus Airlines flew its first ever flight from Ohio to California.
- October 22, 2007, Skybus Airlines named Greensboro its newest major hub.
- March 24, 2008 Skybus CEO resigns
- April 2, 2008 VP of Operations at Skybus resigns.
- April 4, 2008 Skyus shuts down and cancels all flights from here on out.

These are some of the major highlights in the short-life of Skybus airlines. I received a call from a frantic Lynn on Friday night saying, "Michael, did you hear? Skybus Airlines just went bankrupt... my mom just saw it on CNN." I immediately ran over to my computer at 10:30 p.m. and sure enough found an email that read...

"Dear Skybus customer,

We regret to inform you that Skybus Airlines will cease all operations effective 12:00 a.m. Saturday, April 5. As a result, your Skybus flight has been cancelled...

Skybus struggled to overcome the combination of rising jet fuel costs and a slowing economic environment. These two issues proved to be insurmountable for a new carrier."

So, with about 8 hours remaining before my flight, Skybus let me know that they were taking their ball and going home... without me. So, at that point I called my brother who was in Greensboro and said, "Bro, Skybus just went bankrupt. I need you to help me find a flight out of Boston for the morning." Within a few minutes we found an American Airlines flight out of Boston to RDU at 6 a.m.

My flight experience that morning was hardly what I received on Skybus. No more tongue-and-cheek comments from the flight attendants trying to sell us beef jerky. No more Caribou Coffee served in-flight. No more free long term parking at Peace Airport in Portsmouth, NH. No more light-hearted conversations with the person next me about how inexpensive our tickets were. No more people raising their hands when the flight attendants asked who were the $10 ticket holders. All of these great experiences were now but a memory.

I honestly hope Skybus make a comeback. They brought good business to smaller towns like Portsmouth, Greensboro, etc... And allowed businessmen and students to travel more often to and from major cities like Boston, NYC, Chicago, etc... via smaller airports. But, it would have been nice for them to go out on a high note, like finishing their flights, or even giving refunds (rather than through passenger credit card companies). Skybus really made a valiant effort to make their low-cost concept take flight, but given the market right now it just wasn't the right time... and the way they went out makes me think they aren't going to be making a comeback anytime soon.

Gonna be a Groom...

So, you might be wondering where the name "pre-beahms" came from. It actually came from Lynn and my friends, Justin and Holly Lewis. Justin needed a way to distinguish us from my married brother and sisters, so he coined this phrase for Lynn and I before we are married... at which point, I assume we will ask him to come up with something new and witty again. Well, if you haven't officially heard by now, Lynn Ruggieri and I are officially engaged. It happened on January 11 in Boone. To read the story, you can check out our wedding website... www.lynnandmichael.com. That will have all of our wedding information, such as the wedding and reception site, wedding party, registry list, pictures, etc... so you should check it out. The big news recently in our wedding planning is that we have the date and site locked in. Our wedding is going to be January 3, 2009 in the Westover Church Atrium in Greensboro, NC. And the reception is going be at Bryan Park Golf & Conference Center. So mark it down... when you get an invitation... and book your $10 Skybus ticket!