Friday the 13th

Friday the 13th, what a day to be inspired enough to commit your life to someone. I swear that wasn't what we were thinking when it happened. If anything it adds an interesting twist to the day I signed my heart over forever.

As are most of what I've ever done with my life, my decision to be married that same day was spontaneous. I had been with my high school sweetheart for 4.5 years. We both had a long family history and that required us to make a decision. That story is for another time.

So there I was on Friday the 13th, the aroma of spring hinting in the air. We packed our two dogs, overnight bags and I would have never forgotten the champagne. My faithful civic coupe coasted up the i70, Blink 182 booming through my speakers. We landed in Winter Park some time just before sundown.

After spreading rose petals all over the room we cracked open our champagne and custom cake we ordered from our favorite hometown bakery. With some liquid courage whispering in our ears we changed and headed to the motel pool. We knew it was already closed but figured we would try anyway, and we succeeded.

The motel manager casually came through the door just minutes after our arrival, interrupting our pool play. Without my glasses on to outline the details I had to assume he was displeased with our presence. We both jumped up and hauled ass back outside. I went up 2 flights of outdoor steps without my shoes on. No regrets.

My new wife and I giggled our way back into street clothes and took a walk down the small town roads. We didn't even make it a block before we found a cozy looking resteraunt. We gave in to it's temptation, soaking in every moment. To this day I will still say those are the best hot wings I have ever had.

With my buzz wearing off I reopened our precious bottle of bubbly. I was no longer sparing on how much I was putting into my "I do" champagne glasses we had purchased just for this occasion. We were watching some Animal Planet show and were mutually heartbroken over the loss of Stumpy the squirrel. When I finally reached the bottom of my glass I noticed my new wife waiting on the bed in lingerie.

It must have been hours we spent rolling around in the sheets because when we were finally tuckered out the sun was just starting to rise. A night so picture perfect. The dogs pawed at the door to signal their morning need. After picking rose petals off of my ass cheeks I walked them, watching the sunrise over the beautiful Colorado mountain landscape then finally got some sleep.

When we awoke we decided to grab our four legged children and drive the 20 minutes east to the famous Hanging Lake trail. That wasn't what ended up happening to our dismay. As we pulled into the parking lot a big " No Dogs Allowed" sign welcomed us to our destination as well as absolutely no available parking. Well fuck. Plan B find a pet sitter hours from home...spontaneously?

Luckily we found a local woman with fantastic reviews who saw the "Just Married" decal covering my back windshield. She gave us a serious discount. So off we went. 1st gear to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd the vibrating of my shifter calmed the nerves of leaving my fur babies with a stranger.

After some light discussion we decided to head to the spa in Idaho Springs instead. My mother grew up there with her Jehovah's Witness family so I was curious to see the town myself. The drive was closer to 35 minutes or so east but I was in no rush I wanted to live up every second.

The underground caves seemed like the most relaxing option when we arrived. We went down the stairs after purchasing our over priced wrist bands and found a secluded area. My wife glided right in but after I stepped into the water I immediately removed it. Holy shit, that was hot! I kept thinking that I would be lucky if I ever made it out without melting.

Several minutes into our extra steamy soak a nude woman joined us in our section. She sunk right in and swam all the way to the other end. I seriously considered stripping too because 104 degrees in an underground spa is actually much hotter than I would like to admit. The humidity was the icing to that cake. Eventually we both concluded our day would be better spent without heat stroke. I grabbed my towel I had flung on the floor and layed on a bench in the lobby.

Our overpriced wrist bands would mean nothing without overpriced food so we bought some snacks before going out to hunt for real food. As I pulled out of the tightly packed parking lot a man who had parralel parked opened his door right when I drove by. My mirror folded in, tapping my passenger window. After stopping the man apologized profusely offering me money not to call the cops. It turns out my car, which was older than I was, was just fine. I shook the nervous man's hand and called it good.

I happened upon a local cafe and bought a late lunch admiring the closeness of the local community. After, I drove back west to pick up the fur children and return to our motel. Blink 182 cycling back to track 1 I was feeling nostalgic about the whole weekend. It was the first time in a long time I ever thought that happy endings were real.