I'm happy to report that, after a fourteen-month battle with U.S. Immigration, Frances and I are finally married!!! By some coincidence we ended getting married on June 3rd, two years to the day that I proposed to Frances at Cape Lookout. Our wedding ceremony was a simple affair held at the downtown courthouse, and later we held a more intimate blessing, conducted by Betsy Blake, in the park across the street from Frances's apartment.

I'm amazed at how we actually managed to pull this off almost flawlessly, it seems, with virtually no time to prepare at all. I'm humbled by the support that our friends have given us in preparation for the wedding. It just goes to show that most things can be conquered with the love and support of friends and family and I will always be grateful to everyone involved. Thank you to Kat Lamp for taking the picture above of us on our way to the courthouse!

We set off the day after the wedding ceremony and spent the first night with our friends Julie and Nathanael at their beautiful home in Asheville. From there we took the I-40 west, heading through Knoxville, Nashville, Memphis, Little Rock, Oklahoma City, Albuquerque, Flagstaff, and Las Vegas. We spent some time in the Mojave Desert, where these pictures were taken. Seeing my first Joshua Tree was some sort of epiphany for me, it seems. Driving across America is terribly romantic and felt like the perfect thing for us to do for our honeymoon. On our return we took the old Route 66 through Barstow, Gallup, Shawnee, and a bunch of places that I'll probably never be able to recall.

We had a breakdown in Memphis but luckily we were helped by guardian angels at the garage and your kindness. There's absolutely no way that we could've managed this trip without your generosity.

You can find a few videos, shot out of the window of the car, on our road trip HERE