The Pre-Wedding Activities have been decided...

Troy has made his decision!  For the guys activity, he would like to take a 3-hour ATV tour through the "multiple elements of Mexico" (quote from Troy).  Hopefully this is something that all of the guys would enjoy doing (more details on time and all that once we schedule it with the company).  When you're done, you'll meet up with the girls and have dinner at Portofino (remember, formal wear is needed at this restaurant).  

For the girls, I would like to email our wedding coordinator, hopefully within the next week with the spa services all of us want to get.  Please email me, or comment on this blog, so I know what service(s) you would like to get.  

Only 79 days!!!

More Pictures and an update...

For those of you who have been wondering, Troy has decided sleeves down (YEAH!!!! -- that was my pick too!). Also for the ladies, please email me what spa service you would like so I can email that to my wedding coordinator. She is the one making our reservations and although it is still a few months away (but less than 3), with there being 7 of us, I want to make sure we are all scheduled in the same timeframe. For the guys, Troy is still trying to figure out what to do. They are more than likely going off the resort for ATV rides, snorkeling, or fishing, so I'll let you know once he figures it out himself!

Here are some more pictures of our Smoky Mountain adventure:

The first few pictures are from our cabin. The master bedroom (with inside jacuzzi and outside hot tub are upstairs)

We saw a mama bear and her 2 cubs on the way to Ramsey Cascades:

More waterfall pictures:

(from behind the falls)

Our Smoky Mountain Vacation

Since it was my spring break this past week, Troy and I decided to take a recommendation from Bryan and Erin who have been to the Smoky Mountains in the past, and rent a little chalet outside of the mountains for a few nights.  We were quite anxious to get to our chalet on Wednesday after staying Tuesday night in Kodak, Tennessee, so at 3pm on the dot we checked into our chalet.  We followed the back roads to get to our chalet "Barely Naked", and couldn't believe our eyes when we saw the driveway to get to our chalet.  Unfortunately the pictures don't do it justice, but lets just say that after I tried and Troy tried twice, we could not make it up the driveway in my little Prius (they didn't mention the need for a 4 x 4 truck to get up the driveway on the website!).  So we just decided to park it at the bottom of the hill, which unfortunately just meant that we had to climb and descend it any time we returned or left to go somewhere.   

   

(looking up the driveway)

 

(the top of the driveway, facing the house)

On Wednesday we just settled in and on Thursday we went on quite a hike.  We traveled an 8 mile round trip trail to see Ramsey Cascades Waterfall.  The travel guide did say that the trail was "strenuous", and boy was it, but it was definitely worth the hike up.  On the way, we crossed little log bridges, saw mini waterfalls, and even some bears!

(Troy crossing our first log bridge)

             

After our long hike and dinner, we then took a drive to Clingman's Dome.  It is the highest point within the Smoky Mountains (and technically in North Carolina), at 6643 feet above sea level.  We went for sunset on Thursday, and then for sunrise on Friday morning.  Although the weather on both days was beautiful, it was quite chilly up at the observation tower!!

   

(before sunset)

  

(sunset)

 

(sunrise)

After sunrise on Friday morning, we decided to do a bit of a shorter 2.6 mile roundtrip hike to Grotto Falls.  These falls were pretty cool in the fact that you could actually walk behind the falls to get to the other side.

  

Saturday morning, it was time for us to go!  We woke up with the sun and got ready to come back to Michigan.  Aside from our 10 hour drive back, our vacation was just about over!  

(Sunrise from our bedroom window in our chalet)

** Troy has some very nice pictures that he took from his good camera, which I will share with you as soon as I can download them onto my computer.  They include better sunrise/sunset pictures, the inside of our chalet, the bears we saw, and some awesome pictures of Grotto Falls.  They will be posted in the coming days!!

To roll or not to roll?? That is the question..

A couple weeks ago, Troy was looking through one of my wedding magazines to get an idea of what some of the guys wore at their destination wedding.  He looked at a few websites mentioned in the magazine and was very lucky to find a nice white linen shirt and some black linen pants that we thought would be perfect because it was dressy enough for a wedding, yet nice and light.  He ordered it and actually got it today.  It fits perfectly, but he isn't sure yet if he should roll the sleeves up or if he should keep the sleeves unrolled.  That's where we need your help.  Rolled or unrolled?  Feel free to comment if you have a preference of what you like better...

          

The Day before the Wedding

I know this may be a bit premature, but my time lately has been consumed with all the fun stuff to set up with the wedding.  The day before the wedding, Troy and I were thinking of doing some activities with all of you that are joining us in Mexico.  So far, we were thinking that the girls would do something at the spa and I am also checking on getting "cocktail lessons" at the hotel (it's one of the activities they have right at the hotel).  For the guys, we were thinking that you guys could do some outdoorsy activity, such as ATV riding, golfing, etc.  Of course we want all of your input because we want everyone to enjoy themselves.  Also, it is not required that you participate, but we thought it would be a good time to hang out as an entire group.  I will email the link for the spa options and prices to the ladies in case you are interested.  Please check out the website www.loscabosguide.com to look for other activities that are available.  Although you can sign up for all these activities once you get there, it at least gives you an idea of prices so you can plan accordingly for your trip.

Also, we were thinking that at night, we could all eat together at "Portofino" which is a formal restaurant at the resort.  They don't take reservations, but they open for dinner at 6pm, so the wedding coordinator suggested just getting there when they open so we could be sure to all sit together.  

As an FYI, they have different dress codes for the dinner restaurants.  4 of the 5 restaurants are "casual elegance" which means you must wear sneakers/tennis shoes/sandals, dress shirts with sleeves, no sleeveless shirts, no flip flops, and long pants required for men.  Portofino is the one restaurant that is considered "formal" which means for men:  long pants, collared shirts, and dress shoes.  For women: blouses, skirts, slacks, or dresses, with dress shoes.  I don't know how particular they are with the type of dresses for girls, but it might not hurt to bring a little cardigan or something in case you can't have bare shoulders, depending on the type of dress.  I just wanted to pass this information, mainly so everyone knew what to expect for dinners when you are there, so you aren't underdressed.  Of course, I'm guessing they have much less formal places "buffet-style", but I'm not sure what type of meals everyone will be looking for either, so keep this in mind when you are packing!