Rob & Stephani

Rob and Stephani were married February 9th, 2008. Congratulations to both of you! Have a great time in New Mexico. Yes, I am going to try and visit in the summer.

Story follows.....

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Feb 16th:
Rob: How come we haven't made your blog yet?
Frank: Because I didn't have a good picture of you two.

After my ride on Saturday morning, we took a road trip to Lawrenceville, GA on Saturday afternoon and returned later that night....actually early the following day. My good friend Rob and his fiancée Stephani got married two Saturdays ago. Here is how I found out.

Feb 9th:
During the time that I was visiting Em, my sister and my parents in Ohio the previous weekend (see blog post February in Ohio...) my phone rings. I can't answer it, but it was my friend Andy calling. I let the voice mail get it and figured I would call him a little later. Then, he called again immediately after. I thought it must be important since he tried a second time so quickly. So, I stepped outside of my parents house and took the call.

(paraphrased account of actual events.)
Frank: Hey Andy, what is going on?
Andy: Frank, I just called Rob and he answered his phone. He told me that he couldn't talk now because he is getting married.
Frank: Really!

Some background:
Rob and Stephani got engaged several months ago. I wanted to blog the news, but did not have a good picture of them. Stephani got a job in Los Alamos, NM and decided she wanted to take Rob with her. :-) So, my last conversation with Rob went something like this.

Rob: Yeah, things are happening fast.
Frank: When are you two getting married?
Rob: It could be any day now. I'm trying to clean up my house and find work in NM.
Frank: Wow!

Back to Feb 9th:
So, to continue on after Andy's phone call when I was visiting in Ohio, I sent a text message to both Rob and Stephani to try and figure out if they really got married when Andy called them.

Frank's Text to both Rob and Stephani: "I do?"
Later on that day I get a text from Rob: "I did!"

Guys are not known for detailed conversation because they have the incredible ability to communicate with each other in just so few words. In addition, guys do not have their feelings hurt or take things personally if they did not know sooner or were not involved somehow. So, without any quick reply containing important details or news, Rob and Stephani got married on Saturday February 9th. I would get the details later when Rob had a free chunk of time to provide details. But most importantly I was happy for them and wanted to be a part of what ever time was remaining before they move.

Feb 14th:
An email from Rob read: Going away party at my house on February 16th at 7PM.
I am thinking: Wow! That is this weekend! Have to go! Road trip!
At this point, I still didn't have too many details about or pictures from the wedding.....and I did not know exactly when Rob and Stephani were "going away". So, I just went with it and made plans for the road trip to Lawrenceville, GA on Saturday after my morning ride.

Feb 16th:
Back to the road trip to GA. Yes, the first stop we made was Starbucks! It was a 3+ hour drive and I had just rode for 3 hours on the bike without a post ride nap. I wanted to be awake.

The party started at 7PM. The drive took over 3 hours and we arrived around 7:20PM. We stepped in for light refreshments (Portuguese white wine from the Azores) and some finger food. It was nice to talk and hang out with everyone. The time flew and soon we had to say good-bye and get back on the road for the 3+ hour trip back to Asheville.

Here is a picture of Andy, Rob and I at the party. It was nice that I could make the trip down and get us together before Rob and Stephani leave this week for NM. Who knows if the three of us will get the opportunity to hang out again. But hopefully I will get out west for a visit.

Here is a shot of you two from our camping trip back in June. Congratulation to you two and have a safe trip to your new home! You'll be missed.