Roses and Wine

Only a few miles up the road from us is a true gem--Schenectady's Central Park is beautiful, sprawling park that has just about everything you could think of... including a view! Seriously, you can take pedal boats out on the pond, go swimming, play tennis, volleyball... even frisbee golf (I've been a fan since my Rochester, New York days). The park also has the Rose Garden, which is just exquisite: 

 

Today we spent the whole day in the park--we had the opportunity to rent a whole pavilion space, and threw a little picnic, potluck, dance party. I just bought a sweet Bose music system, so it was chance to test that out, and jam some indie rock in the park. This gave us a chance to finally play the huge list of songs we had compiled for the wedding... around 90+! It felt good to kick back with friends and enjoy a lazy summer day. It rained a bit here and there, but no matter... it's getting to be familiar!

By late afternoon, Schenectady Neighbors for Peace had congregated at the peace pole they had erected in the park. The occasion was to honor the memory of those who perished in the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan back during World War II. Tomorrow is the 67th anniversary, and it's still unbelievable to imagine that this horrific act happened. The memorial included music, poetry, prayer, and a silent march around the pond. The group ended up back at the pavilion we had rented, and we had a nice potluck dinner.

And that wasn't it! Later that evening, Latin alternative artist Diego Garcia performed a free concert at the outdoor Music Haven in the park. We had become big fans of Garcia, and even used his recording of the Kinks' "Strange Effect" as our first dance. Well, the rain came down steady at times, but we stuck it out with umbrellas and ponchos... by the end of his set, many of the audience had run up to the front of the stage to dance... little did we know what was in store next....

Just as it seemed he was finished, Garcia addressed the crowd, asking if the engaged couple he had met many months back were in the audience... we had been in touch via Facebook, and told him we were considering using his song at our wedding. Well, he invited us up on stage to serenade us with the song, and then asked us to dance... which we did! It was a repeat of our wedding, with us getting our best tango/cha-cha on--the crowd loved it! They said we were an absolute highlight of the concert. It felt great, and Garcia followed it up with another great cover, Neil Young's "Harvest Moon."

We are so grateful to our friends, family, and the park for an absolutely lovely afternoon... the honeymoon continues...

Photos ©Jeremy Clowe. All rights reserved.