2003
2003 was definitely the most wonderful year of my life. It brought many fond memories that I will always treasure.
In January I attended my Aunt and Uncle’s 50th Wedding Anniversary in Harlingen, Texas. I also flew to Austin to take my mother to go see George Strait for her birthday. Her birthday is not until the 27th of February, however, I flew to Africa in February for 2 weeks to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, therefore, I wanted to take her a month in advance since I was not going to be able to see her for her birthday.
Regarding the trip to Africa, I sent pictures to everyone via e-mail. If you did not get any of my e-mails, please let me know so I can send them to you or simply click on the following highlighted links to view the pictures. I first flew to Kampala, Uganda and visited with my friends Jeff and his wife, Gabriela, and their son, Stephan. While I was there, Jeff took me whitewater rafting down the Nile. Yes, the Nile! Had a great time. Then I flew to Tanzania, just south of Uganda to trek Mt. Kilimanjaro.
Mt. Kilimanjaro
Kilimanjaro is 19,340 feet and took 8 days to climb. The reason it took so long is because it is best to allow your body to acclimatize to the high altitude. I took Diamox to help with altitude sickness during my climb, which was recommended by my guide. Speaking of which, in order to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, the Tanzanian government requires that you hire a guide. They will not allow you to enter the National Park without one. It took me one year to research and plan this trip. If you have any interests in climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, I highly recommend "Tusker". They were able to help me obtain my visas, advise me on what to take and other valuable information. You may also want to access the State Department's website for information traveling abroad, as well as, the CDC website regarding vaccination requirements and the Bureau of Consular Affairs webpage for information regarding the specific country you will be visiting.
After my climb, I went on a 4 day Safari to Ngorongoro Crater. It is an extinct volcano that collapsed millions of years later, geologically speaking. Anyhow, it is 12 miles in diameter and houses most all types of wild animals. I got to photograph lions, zebras, wildebeasts, elephants, rhinos, flamingos, monkeys and many other wildlife. It was an incredible trip!
Ngorongoro Crater
In March I flew to Austin with some friends to attend the South by Southwest Film and Music Festival again this year. Had a great time. I also flew to Mexico this month to attend my fiancés sister’s wedding, Alba and Manolo Angeles. I took my mother so that she could meet Betty’s parents. She had not met them yet.
April was a busy month as well. Baseball season started. I also flew to Guadalajara, Mexico to attend the Engagement Encounter program with my fiancé. It is a requirement by the Catholic Church. We were unable to find a free weekend that was convenient for both Betty and I here in West Virginia or in Mixquiahuala, where she is from, therefore, we flew to Guadalajara as she has a friend that lives there and the Enconter Group was able to squeeze us in.
As for the Charleston AlleyCats, I adopted 2 ball players this year. Ramon Mora and Mikail Jova. Mikail, an outfielder, was with me last year, however, Ramon was new. He is from Venezuela and is a pitcher.
Ramon Mora......................................Mikail Jova
In May I scheduled a visit for my class with the Kanawha County Courthouse and also a tour of WCHS TV-8 in July. My main intent was to get my students to practice their English speaking skills. Both visits were well received. Also in May, Betty came to visit me for a week.
June was a busy month as well. Both Betty and I flew to Austin to begin organizing our wedding plans. While there, my friends Norma Martinez, Milissa Cuellar and Ana Rodriguez planned a Couples Shower for us. It was nice getting to visit with them as they are like a second family to me. Also in June, I flew to Alaska for my annual Salmon and Halibut fishing trip. On this trip I caught my first King. Had a blast!
In July I flew to Texas to attend my cousin Mike Dominguez’s wedding. Then later in the month I flew with my mother and sisters to Mexico to attend a special dinner and ceremony with my fiancés family. It is a custom there for the groom to ask the parents of the bride for their daughters hand in marriage. And this is done in front of her siblings and mine. It was special indeed!
August was an eventful month. We married August 2nd at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Austin, Texas. We had 165 guests. Betty actually wanted a small wedding, but it turned out to be much larger. I then took my bride to Glacier National Park in Montana for our honeymoon. Both she and I truly love the outdoors and backpacking is one of our passions. We were only able to do half of our trip due to the wildfires that occurred in West Glacier. I then took her to Calgary, Canada as that is the city she would like to eventually live. I also took her whitewater rafting on the Kananaskis River just west of Calgary. We had a great time!
Our wedding party consisted of, left to right, Maid of Honor Monica Carreon (Betty's best friend), Betty, myself, my cousin, Rick Saldaña as Best Man, my nephew, Roman Zamora as the Ring Bearer, and my neice, Nina Garcia as the flower girl.
In September we flew to Austin to pick up all our gifts and drive my truck back to West Virginia. We also made several trips to Pittsburgh to finalize Betty’s “Permanent Resident” status now that she is living with me here in the US.
October was uneventful. I worked the entire month without traveling. Can you believe? Also in October I sent Betty home to Mexico to visit with her family because now that she has a Social Security card, she will be looking for employment and will not be able to go home again for another year.
November was a quiet month. We stayed here in West Virginia. For Thanksgiving, our neighbors, the Hess's, invited us over for Thanksgiving dinner. Had a great time.
As for December, we went to see the Russian Ballet, The Nutcracker and then to see an opera the following weekend. Betty really enjoyed both. She loves the opera, theatre, the symphony and jazz.
