Wow, what a great weekend!
Thursday: I flew Denver-Chicago O'Hare-Charlotte-Myrtle Beach with only an hour delay in Charlotte because of some mechanical thing. No big deal; stuff happens. I arrived in Myrtle Beach at about 8:30pm, where I was met at the airport by Firekeeper, JadynWestland (his now wife), Jasper (Crashheart), Dante, Gunslinger87, Calliope & her husband Zervon. We exchanged hugs then went to a Chinese buffet place for dinner. I wasn't very hungry so I mostly just talked about random stuff and told everyone hi on behalf of all the Colorado FFCers, plus Osric, StephenC, and PumpedAaron. After that we went to this arcade-type place called Broadway on the Beach for a while, where I played Skee-Ball and kicked Jadyn's tail at air hockey twice. And I beat Jasper, too. :P
( Otter on the left. Bear on the right. )Then we went back to the hotel to watch Dr. Horrible and some furry videos on YouTube. Firekeeper was stressing out about stuff so we prayed for him, then I asked for some advice and prayer about my G.O. Basically we realized that a big part of it comes from the fact that I've had a distorted idea of what masculinity is because my dad never really taught me so. Therefore, from all these cartoons & stuff, I believed that a real man is big and strong and tough. Yet you see these macho guys in real life, and they're jerks. I need to re-read "Wild at Heart". Y'know, it's no coincidence that all four of us in the room (Jasper, Dante, Earl and I) have all struggled with same-sex attraction to some extent, and to see one of us breaking free of that hang-up and marrying an adorable young woman on the anniversary of his sobriety, is amazing and inspiring. We all finally went to bed at about 2am.
( Jasper's otter puppet & Earl's wolf puppet. )Friday: Jasper & I helped Earl get some food and decorations from his apartment over to the church, then everyone helped set things up. The church actually used to be a theatre, which was donated by the former owner, so the sanctuary was big, with a fly system and rear balcony and backstage shop areas. It was pretty sweet. After many hours of setting up stuff and a quick pseudo-nap, the rehearsal began. Dante & I weren't in the wedding party, so we went back to the hotel for some hanging out, then to Fuddrucker's for dinner. Earl's roommate Bob was supposed to take me to CR, but he never got in touch with me. It's cool, 'because talking with all the guys about our various struggles, sharing con stories and wishing Earl all the best really kept me distracted. I hardly had any urges, even when I hugged Dante, and he's a big guy.
After the rehearsal & rehearsal dinner we met up at TGI Friday's, where I talked with Earl because he was stressing about his fiancée stressing out. I told him to let her have her space, don't worry about it, and have some fun. I didn't fly out from Denver and meet him in person for the first time only to see him all anxious. They have all the time in the world now to spend with one another. We hugged it out, went back inside for a drink then back to the hotel. Tried to watch Terminator 2 but only got about halfway through it because everyone was getting tired and tomorrow was a big day. We prayed for Earl then went to bed.
Saturday: As soon as everyone in the room was up I said "Mawwaige. Mawwiage is what bwings up togethuh today." Ceremony started a little after 2. It was short and simple, with a quick sermon about the importance and value of marriage, then the vows, ring exchange, communion and "I do"s. Some more furries (including DL Leonine and FreezingHot from FFC) were there, so the one furry thing we did during the reception was the Caramelldansen:

That was GRRREAT. Food and cake were yummy, too. Earl, Dante, Bob, Earl's best man Donald, and his sister Liz all gave speeches about how far he's come since he was a little folf. Since he's a big Indiana Jones fan, on the way out to the honeymoon, we all sang the theme song and Earl was wearing his fedora. He'd gotten cake frosting on his tie and jacket. :P
( CAKE SMOOSH! )Throughout the setup and teardown, I got to know Gunslinger from FFC. He's really into steampunk and narrow-gauge railroads, and is working on a furry Western comic. Really wants to come visit Colorado someday because of our rich railroad history and our active steampunk scene. I told him to check out Kite's FA page because she's really into that stuff. I didn't talk a whole lot with Jasper, but he's a really chill guy and maybe we'll get to talk more from now on. The only art any of us did was a sketch of Dante & me that Jasper drew in my sketchbook. I wish we'd done more, but getting to spend time with furrs I'd only known online was still great.
Crash, Dante & I went back to the hotel for some nom and random YouTube videos then went to the pool. We told each other con stories, did some fun pool tricks and spend some time in the hot tub. I didn't have a swimsuit so I wore a pair of dark-colored briefs. Just for fun I struck some bodybuilder poses, and it felt really good because I'm comfortable enough with my just-above-the-normal-threshold weight to do it without caring about what anyone thought. Dante thought I had a lot of guts to do that, and he said he was so grateful that I was there. I was really glad to have that validation from him, Crash & Earl--that I matter to them. I'm not just some guy from the internet who's fun to hang out with. I'm a real friend, and to hear that made me feel even better. :D
Sunday: Jasper's flight home to Oregon was two hours before mine, and in Wilmington, so our last hurrah together was breakfast. The bear, otter and gecko all said our goodbyes, and I packed up my stuff while waiting for Bob to pick me up and take me to the airport. All my flights home were uneventful, and Mom picked me up at about 7.
I'm going to miss everyone, and I can't wait to fly out to the East Coast to see them. Or have them come here. I have lots more pictures on my Facebook if you wanna see them.
I wish nothing but the best for Earl & Stephanie.
Yes. *giggles*