The Life and Times of a Married Man

Amanda and I's honeymoon was the best time I can ever remember having in my 21 years of life. We were in Ontario, Canada for a whole week.

The evening of our wedding we stayed at the Ritz Carlton, a five-star hotel in downtown New Orleans. It was beautiful. We flew out of New Orleans the next day, a Sunday, to Buffalo, New York. We were supposed to rent a car there, but the Avis representative explained that there is an extra $110 surcharge per day for renters under the age of 25, per New York law. After speaking with a manager and getting very livid about the fact the Avis representative never told me this several months earlier, Amanda and I decided to take a taxi into Niagara Falls, Ontario and rent a car in Canada the next day, to avoid the New York law.

The gentleman at the Best Western in Niagara was actually kind enough to give us a honeymoon suite for free, including a voucher for breakfast and a heart-shaped jacuzzi! The next day Amanda and I got our PT Cruiser car rental and took a trip to the Falls. We took a boat ride on the Maid of the Mist, which goes right next to the falls and saturates the riders with mist. That afternoon we drove four hours to Collingwood, Ontario, on the bottom of Blue Mountain and on the shore of the Georgian Basin, which empties into Lake Michigan. We checked into our room at the lodge, a cozy cabin-ish room with a hammock on the back porch.

For the rest of that week Amanda and I mainly enjoyed each other's company alone, separate from the rest of existence. Other than that, we did a few activities...

On Tuesday, we went to Wasaga Beach. We walked about 1/8 mile out into the waters of Nottawasaga Bay, and still the water had not reached our knees. We eventually turned back because it was a little bit creepy being so far from shore, though the water was eerily shallow.

On Wednesday, we did an "Ecoadventure Tour." This included scenic cave exploration, a walk across a shaky suspension bridge over a gorge, and an hour-long treetop walking tour. Yes, that's right. Treetrop walking tour. We navigated a trail of rope bridges at heights of up to 60 feet in the top of the forest canopy.

Thursday was a day trip into Toronto, the capital of Ontario. I was surprised at several things about this metropolis: the cleanliness, the abundance of trees, the lack of any significant number of skyscrapers, the cars that would stop and park right in the middle of traffic downtown, the numerous bicyclists, and the multiculturalism. Amanda and I went to the top of the CN Tower, the world's tallest free-standing man-created structure. We ate dinner in the slowly spinning restaurant that gave us a great view of Lake Ontario and the area.

Friday was hiking day. Up the side of Blue Mountain. We got some beautiful camera shots!

Canadian cowboys showed us the landscape as we went horseback riding on Saturday. I rode Brumby and Amanda rode Mac. We got a chance to "lope," between a trot and a gallop. It is the fastest I've ever been on a horse. It's quite a scary and invigorating experience.

Sunday we returned home. That left us to a week of married life back in reality in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

We've done a number of things this week: Amanda started working at the Department of Tourism, I assembled Wal-Mart furniture for our apartment, we cleaned cleaned cleaned, shopping shopping shopping, Chi Alpha events, Louisiana Students For Life events, helping friends move, I took a trip back to Slidell to get the rest of my belongings, reconnecting with friends, getting ready for the school year.

Married life is wonderful. The best thing is that whatever our days are like, Amanda and I come home to each other, another person we love and respect, another person we know will respect and cherish us for who we really are. The mundane things I've always done grudgingly have been really fun: laundry, cooking, sleeping patterns, figuring out what to wear, (this shouldn't be mundance but) seeking God, and the list goes on.

Something we are proud of is that God gave us the grace to, through matrimony, offer the virginity and purity of our bodies and minds to each other exclusively. Let doubters beware; the grace of God is still alive in this age. Let believers rejoice and walk the straight and narrow path with lightened loads.

People ask me if it's weird being married. I just shrug and let them know it feels very natural. Amanda and I are as we have always been. Just a little bit happier and lot more complete.

Our new bed from Mattress Direct after delivery.

Photo, courtesy of Jacob Benda, friend and former groomsman.