Sealed with a kiss

Over the weekend, we drove up to Newport, Rhode Island to celebrate the wedding of Mike and Mary Kay. When they first announced their wedding date and the location, I thought, "OK, so it'll be cold, snowy, and wet." But by a stroke of luck--and perhaps a favor from Mother Nature--the weekend actually brought sun, unseasonably warm temps, and one of the most picturesque weddings I've ever been to.

My only other visit to Rhode Island was for running camp in high school--where we stayed in some nondescript Army barracks and ran around abandoned air strips--so my expectations weren't high. But Newport completely took my breath away. Amazing mansions, adorable cobblestoned streets, quaint neighborhoods and sweeping views of the Bay. Everywhere you turned there was something new to see and behold. One of my favorite moments of the weekend (besides the wedding, of course!) was a 70-minute run along Ocean Drive, which takes you high above the water past the stunning homes settled into the cliffs. One was more magnificent than the next with equally awesome views. We spent a lot of time daydreaming about buying one...

We had some time to kill on Saturday, so Regina, Kristen, Eugenia and I toured The Breakers, the mammoth, 70-room mansion that was in the Vanderbilt family for over 100 years. We were all blown away by the house--everything from the platinum wallpaper to the room that was constructed and designed in Paris and shipped and re-assembled in Rhode Island. We all had fun imagining what it was like not only to live in the Breakers, but at that period in time among the Vanderbilts, whose opulance and wealth clearly had no end.

After the Tour, we scooted back to Ocean Cliff, the site of the wedding and where were staying. The wedding took place at 5 in a room with a wall of windows, as the sun slowly set over the Naragansett Bay. The touching ceremony transitioned into a blast of a reception, and we, true to form, partied past midnight. Such a fun time.

More pics below. Congrats to Mike and MK!