One Year...and Many More

As a little present to Mark in honor of our one-year wedding anniversary, I made this video* comprised of some pictures of our special day. I get a lump in my throat just watching it, recalling how happy and blessed I was on that fateful day. I'm honored to have been able to marry my best friend, my perfect-for-me person, and it gives me such peace in knowing that no matter what life throws at us, we will always have our love.

Happy 1st-of-many anniversaries, baby! Thank you for being my biggest and best reason to smile...

xoxo A~

Amy & Mark's 1st Wedding Anniversary Montage from Amy Burton on Vimeo.

*Song: "Question" by The Old '97's

DAY ONE - Amy

After a very long and weary day of travel (the 1st of 3 flights began at 6 am), our first full day in beautiful Montserrat was a welcoming and appreciated reprieve.

When we landed at Montserrat's Gerald Airport following an awesome short fight on a 7-seater plane - one of our fellow flyers was "the Guv-nah" of Montserrat! - we were in awe of what we saw.

Green hills, blue skies, and a smoky volcano along the skyline. Our taxi driver, George "the everyday" Christian as dubbed by the locals, drove us up and down, 'round and 'round, pointing out the sights and points of interest. I was almost too tired to enjoy it, but upon arrival to our private villa 'Tan Ry Doon," I couldn't hide my excitement! It was dark by the time we arrived, but the gorgeous plants, trees, and scenery were very much evident. The villa itself was cozy, quaint, and lovely.

We cracked a bottle of red, plugged in the iPod, and made dinner. Afterward, we sat on the balcony with our wine and talked while admiring the stars and listening to the waves crash upon the coast down below. As long as it took us to get there, it was completely worth it.

Before hitting the hay (with cute mosquito netting surrounding us), we danced in the bedroom to Colin Hay's 'Beautiful World.' My, my, my, it’s a beautiful world...

Boy, is it ever... :o)

DAY ONE - Mark

Amy and I are lucky - so lucky! Who really knows what to expect when starting a honeymoon? I knew that we'd be on an exotic island, in the middle of the Caribbean, at a beautiful "villa," and really nothing more. For example, I didn't know what flight schedules were, how we'd get from airport to villa, or what kind of currency we needed to function (Amy Edit: Eastern Caribbean Currency at a $2.7 to $1 U.S. rate exchange).

We arrived at Montserrat via a 7-seat plane that never got above 2,000 feet over the 31-mile flight from Antigua.

Antigua, by the way, was hot and muggy, compared to Montserrat's warm temp but reasonable humidity. We landed at a very short one-runway airport where every worker had more than one job. Our immigration officer also issued my driver's license at opposite ends of the building!

George Christian was waiting with his minivan to give us a ride to the villa. The roads were narrow, usually one-lane wide paved with asphalt that winded up and down the steep hillsides with no hint of modern traffic standards.

Beautiful country, with beautiful villas and very small, almost shack-like businesses, etc. We got some groceries at Ram's (pronounced "Rum's" by the locals) and made it to the villa just after dark. Upon finding the gate, brick walkway and luscious plants/trees/flowers, we finally found the right key to get in. Just an adorable place, with all the "essentials."

Amy and I put groceries away and I unpacked. I'm writing this 24 hours after arriving and Amy still hasn't unpacked the beast of a (Amy Edit: CARRY-ON, thankyouverymuch) suitcase she made me (Another Amy Edit - HA! Made him, my arse!) lug around North America. Funny how that works, huh guys?!

We made a quick dinner and listened to some music, had some wine, and just settled in to the fact that we have no phones, no emails, and no real responsibility. It's an uneasy feeling at first, but definitely one worth waiting for!

We went to sleep under a mosquito net to the wide open windows letting in Mother Nature's orchestra. We can't wait to look around a bit come daylight!