Thank goodness Michelle and Matt's wedding was at Red River Gorge!! The wedding sent us east on a PERFECT weekend retreat. The two of us, Amanda, and Shawn shared a log cabin perched high up on the side of a mountain. It was so cozy that it would be tempting to hole up there for a whole season. Since we got to the cabin first, we sat on the screened-in porch to wait for Amanda and Shawn to arrive. We sat quietly so that the only sounds were soft rustling of leaves on branches brushing up against each other and occasionally the distant tweet or chirp of a bird. The only human produced sound was the soft picking of a banjo coming from the cabin up above ours.
Following the wedding rehearsal Friday evening, there was a cookout at the cabin the bridesmaids had rented. We drove on the main road, turned off that to a narrow paved road, left that for a graveled road full of ruts that finally led us to the top of a mountain that took us into a huge, open meadow with a few cabins built on each edge of the opening. At the cookout cabin, the front faced the meadow but the back sat close to the edge of a cliff. From there the whole valley spread out so you could see a teeny road before snaking its way around and around with Matchbox sized cars on it. As the evening began to darken, an enormous fire circle with crackling fire drew everybody close because there was a definite fall nip in the air. We ate, drank, met new people, reconnected with some old friends and neighbors and just generally had a wonderful evening. By the time we headed back to our own cabin, it was totally dark. I should amend that -- not totally because on the meadow road on our way out, I stopped the car, turned off the headlights, and we sat for a while just enjoying the scene with the full moon painting trees and buildings with silver.
Sleeping that night was restful. We cranked out windows to welcomed, cool night air and snuggled under a blanket for GOOD sleep.
Saturday morning, Jerry and Shawn stayed at the cabin to do Jerry and Shawn activities while Amanda and I drove to the area below Natural Bridge to walk around and explore for a while. We strolled around the small lake, watching the wedding decorations being put up, inviting ourselves to a family picnic (They actually said we were welcome to join them!), exploring a small graveyard that seemed to contain only children's graves, jiggling and swaying the swinging bridge trying to dislodge the other person, and hiking a section of a path alongside the lake.
What a special wedding this was! It was a combination of formal and casual, performed on "Hoedown Island" at the base of the mountain from Natural Bridge. The sun was brilliant but not too hot. As the couple exchanged vows, a woodpecker tapping a staccato rhythm on a tree, a breeze whispering past, a distant dog barking were the other sounds heard. After they were officially declared "husband and wife" and the guests applauded, a group of children on the other side of the lake could be seen clapping and cheering along as if they, too, were part of the wedding party.
Kentucky products -- locally bottled wines, Ky. brewed beers, catfish, roasted buffalo -- took center stage at the reception buffet. A talented bluegrass band, Kentucky Fried Pickin'" played for us. (Clever title) Tommy, an old friend of Amanda's and Rob's, and his girlfriend and I wanted to get back down the mountain from the reception to the parking lot and do all that before it was totally dark. We almost didn't make it because the path was not only hard to see but rough walking. Some of it was paved but much was just large flat rocks and uneven gravel. I made it safely with Tommy's help. Thanks, Tommy.
Sunday morning we set the alarm and did all the last minute packing, straigtening, and checking out to leave for home. Jerry and I stopped in Midway for lunch at an interesting little cafe called Quirk. Midway is a gem of a small, central Kentucky town. Running right through the middle of town is a railroad track with shops, art galleries, and restaurants lining both sides.
The whole weekend left me with a pleasant, lingering satisfaction.
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