Melissa and Ashlyn (her niece) at the wedding shower
LuCinda's camera.
The cake on its decorated table
LuCinda's camera.
The dark frosting was supposed to be blue, but turned out too dark
LuCinda's camera.
My mother prepping food
By the way, the shower was held in the two-bedroom suite my parents and I stayed in, so this album should give a small sense of the nice accommodations I had while in Missouri.
LuCinda's camera.
My aunt Betty
LuCinda's camera.
Melissa's maid of honor
LuCinda's camera.
Gift table
LuCinda's camera.
Ashlyn cheesin'
LuCinda's camera.
Playing a celebrity matching game
LuCinda's camera.
Playing a celebrity matching game
LuCinda's camera.
Wedding dress game
The two young girls were part of the two teams that dressed up the girls in toilet paper wedding dresses.
LuCinda's camera.
Wedding dress game
LuCinda's camera.
Wedding dress game
LuCinda's camera.
Melissa
LuCinda's camera.
Wedding dress game
LuCinda's camera.
Wedding dress game
LuCinda's camera.
Wedding dress game
LuCinda's camera.
Wedding dress game
LuCinda's camera.
Wedding dress game
LuCinda's camera.
Wedding dress game
LuCinda's camera.
Time for gifts
LuCinda's camera.
Time for gifts
LuCinda's camera.
Awww, cute!
LuCinda's camera.
Time for gifts
LuCinda's camera.
Time for gifts
LuCinda's camera.
Time for gifts
LuCinda's camera.
Shots from LuCinda at the rehearsal
LuCinda's camera.
Rehearsal
LuCinda's camera.
Rehearsal
LuCinda's camera.
My aunt discussing arrangements with the worker from the Chapel
LuCinda's camera.
Jarin and Ashlyn
LuCinda's camera.
Turnabout is fair play
I receive my just dessert! This is the reason I have no pictures from the actual wedding ceremony—I was on video duty.
LuCinda's camera.
My parents, Alfred and Barbara
LuCinda's camera.
Uncle Ted
LuCinda's camera.
LuCinda's husband, Kent
LuCinda's camera.
Ben and Aunt Betty
LuCinda's camera.
Rehearsal
LuCinda's camera.
Parents, aunt, and uncle's table at Lambert's
LuCinda's camera.
There was a third table for our party comprised of Ben's family
LuCinda's camera.
Dinner at Lambert's
LuCinda's camera.
Dinner at Lambert's
LuCinda's camera.
Dinner at Lambert's
LuCinda's camera.
Yes, that's Ben's son being a ham 🙂
LuCinda's camera.
The day before Melissa and Ben's wedding, inside the Chapel for rehearsal
The remaining photos are from my camera.
The family prepares for rehearsal
14483847288_0e5fb8e3d6_k
Getting in place
14483724249_9a3e96da34_k
Rehearsal
14668168624_4d3e8f257d_k
Rehearsal dinner at Lambert's Cafe, home of throwed rolls
It's quite an amazing experience at Lambert's Cafe having hot and delicious bread rolls hurled across a dining room for customers.
Throwed rolls
14483789450_5a44b80695_k
I was told that local baseball pitchers are hired at the restaurant to toss the rolls
14483844668_ebfcfed363_k
Roll thrower
This guy was intentionally using the hanging flags to stop the line of travel and drop a roll straight down into a customer's waiting hands!
LARGE tea
Let me tell you what, when I go to a restaurant, I often get my tea refilled at least twice. With this humongous cup, I didn't even finish the first fill!
Guest gifts
Ben and Melissa brought small gifts to everyone. Books and Webkinz for Ashlyn and Jarin.
Absolutely priceless capture of Jarin's expression!
14668163414_c0e6e34655_k
Ashlyn's new Webkinz
14484015407_c9ace1603d_k
My parents and aunt/uncle at a nearby table
14690273163_abef83a42e_k
Leaving their mark
Customers routinely write messages on dollar bills and attach them to the booth dividers and walls. The restaurant even provides an industrial stapler for the job.
Ben and Melissa's appropriate message
14484011777_919c3051cb_k
Melissa and Ben with their dollar bill contribution
14667262901_33a061da63_k
Ben's son from his first marriage
I was informed getting this good of a pose from him is a rare treat.
More typical pose from Ben's son
14484007627_9938debf54_k
At Melissa's apartment, receiving a couple of gifts
14647465096_510f890d25_k
Wedding day, the pathway leading down to Stone Gate Chapel
www.stonegatechapel.com/
Closer shot of the Chapel
www.stonegatechapel.com/
Head-on view of the Chapel
www.stonegatechapel.com/
The platform decor inside the Chapel
14670123452_bdc7ef0fe7_k
After the wedding, the wedding party greets guests
14690348023_cfc60e14f9_k
Dusk photo of the Chapel
It was actually darker outside than this picture implies. The lights coming from inside the Chapel made it look even more stunning.
Greeting guests
14670121152_20f6e5d338_k
Greeting guests
14483992037_a0baea457e_k
The wedding party enters the nearby reception hall
14668135084_6ba8ef21dc_k
Ben and Melissa enter
14667168581_543056f6e8_k
Wedding reception
14483988067_a161f1e9f8_k
The wedding party's table
14670113682_b0fa4f3141_k
After dinner, Ben and Melissa visited the tables
14670445405_5303e6a14e_k
The wedding cake
14483788929_2143fbe940_k
On Sunday, some of us visited Silver Dollar City
www.silverdollarcity.com/
A one-room, historical school house
14668126014_ef34fb9b67_k
Spinning the wheel for our fortunes
14670107172_9e961483a7_k
Spinning the wheel for our fortunes
Load a larger version of this photo and you can read some of the punny fortunes.
Craftsman at work
Many authentic craftsmen show their skills at Silver Dollar City. This woodworker is working on a lathe.
Our first real highlight of the park was watching the clog dancers
14670435565_13c406c25e_k
Clog dancers
14670434095_c563e8c465_k
Clog dancers
14483778049_d17850390c_k
Clog dancers
14690323733_0a870be4c6_k
Clog dancers
14483914537_6727d101b1_k
Clog dancers
14483775569_2f6006b789_k
A selection of clog dancer video clips
14670387905_67766dcccb
Video of another craftsman working with glass
14483925187_24a25ddc89
Circus On Ice
The last show we took in was the Circus on Ice. I was pretty sure any photos I'd try to take with my tiny camera wouldn't turn out well. Too dim of light for non-flash photos, and too far away for the flash to reach. So, here's some bits of video combined to one clip.
A funny park decoration we passed
14483968597_84aefd679a_k
Marvel Cave
We'd intended to do the hour-long Marvel Cave tour much earlier in the day, but it had been closed down for a couple hours. The reason: apparently someone got "sick" (if you know what I mean) and, incredibly, it took them that long to "clean up" (again, if you know what I mean). This photo is looking at the wall below the originally discovered entrance above. The heat above combined with the cool earth air below made for a lot of fog around the entrance.
Spiraling down the staircase to the bottom of the cathedral room
14670093372_b0ae2a2e96_k
Looking back up at the entrance
14647424436_36a3d61aaf_k
The entrance, staircase, and an incredible pile of guano (yes, guano—as in, bat poop)
14690264143_54c71914cb_k
Another look at the entrance and staircase
14667214791_574a7260a4_k
Location where "official" group portraits are taken
14483961967_467eafd312_k
A bit further away, looking back at the entrance, staircase, and guano
14647420276_2711d0caa6_k
Very. Big. Cave.
If it's not clear how big this cavern is, long ago, a team briefly flew a hot air balloon inside here!
Marvel Cave
14483763109_7363f43f0a_k
Marvel Cave
14483711669_eb3cccc155_k
Marvel Cave
14668100744_821bc499c7_k
Marvel Cave sans light
No cave tour is properly completed without just once killing all artificial light to show how dark it is, then lighting a single tiny candle lantern to show the light that early explorers used. Enlarge the picture and you can just barely make out the guide to the right of the flame.
The guide described this portion of the cave wall, but too much time has passed and I don't recall what he said—sorry
14667203921_5a3d672692_k
Climbing down to a passage that is the smallest which guests pass through
14483755579_c0911049b6_k
Remnants of early miners
14690301973_5e0e75cc42_k
Marvel Cave
The really bad thing about taking photographs in caves is that when you look at them later, it's very hard to know for sure whether they're supposed to be rotated 90 degrees. I think I figured out all the rest, but this one I really have no idea.
Marvel Cave
14483948987_05d9c975ac_k
More early miner ruins
14483753039_09377d4dbe_k
Formations caused by heavy water trickles
14670074242_a40576b6d9_k
Marvel Cave
14647405316_50c182cd62_k
Marvel Cave
14690296653_adbd1b0d4a_k
Marvel Cave
14647402486_bac22a21d0_k
Marvel Cave
14483687030_992756bc2b_k
Marvel Cave
14667192451_45bed1c6a5_k
This shot is looking down a shaft that is above the formation seen in the prior six photos
14483939947_e8ce88fc3f_k
A very tall and skinny stalagmite
14647398706_c813fbc307_k
Marvel Cave
14670064852_a18487f163_k
Going up
Cable cars at another end of the cave return us to the surface, so we didn't have to climb all the way back up. At this point, we had planned to ride the three roller coasters in the park. But, upon emerging, we learned that a storm was approaching and that the coasters had been shut down due to lightning danger, so we never got to ride them. Pretty bummed about that.
Newlywed car
I never got good photos of Ben's car after the wedding reception, so here it is in the Silver Dollar City parking lot.
Newlywed car
14647393386_5e36c24d11_k
Newlywed car
What you don't see are the large metal paint buckets being dragged by chains in lieu of soda cans on string. Ben loved the variation, though the cans didn't last very long going 50+ miles per hour down the highway!
