Joli's Journal Jar, Day 4

I love talking about my wedding, honeymoon, or anything that has to do with my life with my husband. It may not have been a smooth, easy road, but we have made it this far and each day we push through to the next. Today's journal jar is something easy to talk about, though I have no personal pictures from our trip.

Talk about your honeymoon...

Leaving straight from our wedding, Dustin and I took a little mini-honeymoon to Grand Haven, MI. We stayed 2 nights at a beautiful bed and breakfast, visited the little town, and enjoyed our time together. We didn't do much, we had very little money and this was the first time we had ever left Laila for more than one night, so we were nervous.

Grand Haven, MI, where we took our honeymoon

The first night we arrived, we were just plain exhausted. Who knew a wedding day could take so much out of you? I was always under the impression that a wedding day is supposed to run smoothly and be all about the bride-which it was-at my expense! I was still in charge of everything, making all decisions and hearing everyone's complaints (that's another story in and of itself). We were so tired by the time we arrived, we brought in our things and took a dip in the hot tub before crashing for the night. Luckily for us, we were the only guests, so we had a nice, quiet, private breakfast in a beautiful dining room, all to ourselves. We spent the day out and about in the city, we enjoyed a free slice of bread from the Great Harvest Bread Co, and decided to stay for lunch. We made ourselves necklaces in a funky little bead store we found, and we both still have them today.

The bead store where we made our wedding gifts to ourselves

The following day we ventured into Fruitport and made each other a coffee mug as a souvenier. I had so much fun creating the mug as a surprise for him, and waiting to see what he made for me. We spent time in silence, enjoying the new feeling of being married and knowing he was finally my husband. I remember smiling to myself, it was like my own little secret. Deciding how to decorate his mug was difficult, but once the idea came to mind, I knew he'd love it. The very first time he told me he loves me, we were at the lighthouse in Saint Joseph, MI. That's also the same place where he proposed. I found a decal of a lighthouse and a few shells, and set to work. I still use the mugs we made almost daily, though they are chipped and worn, they are strong and stable, like our marriage.

Coffee Mugs

Coffee Mugs

That night, we returned to our bed and breakfast and took the advice of the owners and decided to visit the musical fountains. Michigan is known for it's lakes, and Grand Haven sits on the shore of Lake Michigan. I was a bit hesitant, musical fountains? We had been to the Bellagio in Las Vegas, NV and it was gorgeous, so it couldn't possibly be that bad. We went and sat on bleachers outdoors to watch this show we heard so much about, and it was canadian night. We ended up watching most of it, but leaving before it ended. After the show, we returned to the bed and breakfast and shared a delicious strawberry shortcake dessert with the owners. I finally felt grown, married, responsible.



The musical fountains on Lake Michigan

It was a lovely time, both too short, and too long. I hope one day to take a "real honeymoon", maybe a trip to an island where I can lay on the beach and drink fruity beverages, but that day is so far away from now. I am pleased with our trip, I still love talking about it. It was the beginning of a long lifetime together.