So I used to live on a boat. I’ll start by just getting that one out there in the open so we can move on from there. Boat life is pretty cool most of the time. It’s pretty cold in the winter and pretty hot in the summer – I guess that sort of goes without saying. AC doesn’t seem to ever make things cold enough when it’s really hot and heat fails to really ever warm things up when it’s really cold. A curious lifestyle, boat life. But all the weather that one tolerates to live on a boat is worth is right about this time of year. Hence, missing the water.
Don’t get me wrong, there was plenty about the boat I don’t miss. I sold it almost a year ago and am happy it’s gone. When I bought the boat, a friend told me something that was, at the time, inexplicable. He said, “The second happiest day of a man’s life is the day he buys a boat and the happiest is the day he sells it”. I was so happy from buying the boat that I couldn’t comprehend being happy about selling it. You don’t know what you don’t know…
Meet Jodie. Jodie is a Coast Guard girl, a wicked singer, a motorcyclist, a cigar smoker, and generally a cool chick – just as sweet as beautiful. When she asked me to shoot her wedding, I knew I’d be signing up for something special. And special it was.
Jodie married Tim. Tim is also in the Coast Guard (hence the awesome sword – keep reading). Tim is one of those guys that people just keep saying how nice he is or how kind he is or how sweet he is. Just a genuine, good old-fashioned gentleman.
After a short church ceremony, Jodie & Tim made their way to The Cherry Blossom for their cocktail hour and reception. No strangers to boats, The Cherry Blossom was the perfect venue for these two (and me). We wandered for a little while around Alexandria by the docks and through the streets a bit before boarding The Cherry Blossom. The weather was perfect, great night for a boat ride.
Once aboard The Cherry Blossom, the party started. The details of their wedding were very sweet. Not as sweet as Tim’s sword of course, but the other kind of sweet. But I do like candy in cute little glass jars. I mean everyone does, right? What’s not to like?
And then the partying really began. As the sun set beautifully over the Potomac River, The Cherry Blossom cruised up the Washington Channel and past the marina I once called home. The DJ turned up the volume and slid into music to get people out of their seats and shakin’ the boat. Even one of the servers on the boat joined the guests dancing down the river. Tim and Jodie brought cigars to share with their guests and as the sky saturated with the deep, evening blue that I love to paint pictures with, they adjourned to the roof deck to enjoy a cigar and watch the lights of the city float by.
The priest who married Tim & Jodie was quite a dancer. Don’t let that collar fool you, that guy knew how to move. And there were certainly a few characters at that wedding. A few of the guests actually also lived on boats at Gangplank Marina where I lived and I knew them well. All in all, it was a lovely night, a beautiful wedding, and a great opportunity to reflect on by former habitation. While I’ve sold the boat now and am happily a “dirt dweller” as we boaters say, I know that I’ve not lived my last year on a boat. One day down the road, I’ll live aboard again. I’ll just know what I’m getting into a little better this time. And next time I’m definitely going to have a sword.
