It was easy for me and Tomkin to decide to go to
Northfield for our honeymoon. First of all, it's a very meaningful place for us--it's where we both went to college, and it's where we
fatefully reunited last summer. Second, it would be an easy trip. We wouldn't have to make lots of plans or worry about catching a flight--we could set out on the 45-minute drive whenever we were ready and have a fun, relaxing week away from home.
The Tuesday after our wedding, it was beautiful and sunny out--a perfect day for starting our honeymoon! We drove down to Northfield and checked into the Anniversary Suite at the
Archer House.
Then we walked around the
Carleton campus--stopped at Dacie Moses House for a cookie, wandered through Boliou (where we ran into Alison, one of my art history professors), and even hit the bookstore. When we investigated the new recreational center, Tomkin ended up scaling the rock-climbing wall. He was awesome!
That evening we had dinner at
Chapati, a surprisingly good Indian restaurant. (Best Indian food I've had in Minnesota!)
On Wednesday we picked up some groceries at EconoFoods and headed to the graveyard on the outskirts of town for a picnic. That may sound a little strange, but it was a meaningful place for us.
Back in college, Tomkin had once taken me on a motorcycle ride (a whole group of us went), and we stopped at this cemetery. I had wondered if Tomkin might kiss me...which he didn't...although he set things right when we went back! We found a tree up on a hill and set out a blanket. Then we ate and drank, and Tomkin read
Pablo Neruda love poems to me while we leaned against a tree. I think it was the most romantic day of my life.
That evening we headed to
Basil's for some gyros pizza--always a must when we're in Northfield! We also stopped for a drink at
the Reub, one of our hangouts back in college. We ended the day by reading through the guest book that people had signed at our wedding. We literally laughed and cried at the hilarious and touching things our friends and family wrote for us. On Thursday we had to switch rooms, so we packed up and headed--appropriately--to the Carleton room. It was rainy out, so we spent the day shopping (there are so many cute little stores in Northfield now!) and then warming up with tea at the
Goodbye Blue Monday coffeehouse.
That night we had a delicious dinner at
The Tavern. We must have been really googly-eyed because a couple actually came up to us and said they had noticed us when we came in and how happy we looked.
Friday it was raining again, so we ate lunch at the
James Gang Coffeehouse & Eatery and then headed home. However, even after we got back (the dogs were so happy to see us!), we stayed in "honeymoon mode" through the rest of the weekend, giving ourselves permission to just relax and enjoy being together.
We lounged in our new hammock and Adirondack chairs, went to the dog park, got our disposable cameras developed, and opened more cards and gifts (including the awesome photo book that Jake sent us). The whole wedding celebration was just perfect--I hated to see it end!
Here's the post that I've been dreading--the one about Scout's last weekend alive. Thank goodness it was a fun weekend filled with dog-friendly activities. 
That Saturday, May 3rd, Tomkin and I took Scout and Chloe to the Humane Society Walk for Animals around Como Park.
It was a gorgeous day, and the dogs enjoyed a nice, long stroll with hundreds of other dogs around. That Sunday, May 4, we took the dogs to a nearby park and let them run around to blow off some steam. 
Then we met up with Cassidy and Angie and their dachshund, Fergie, for Dog Days at the St. Paul Saints baseball game. 
We started out by getting some food, which the dogs really liked, and then we headed into the bleachers. 
The dogs were a little more ambivalent about that, but they did okay. Scout spent most of the afternoon watching kids running around, playing.
On Monday, May 5, Scout acted as normal as usual--we had no indication that anything was out of the ordinary. I left about 6:30 that evening to meet Jill for dinner at Buca di Beppo, and Tomkin left at 7:00 to see Iron Man. I got home about 9:30 and found Scout dead in his crate. It was incredibly shocking, to say the least. Tomkin got home a few minutes after I did. That night we slept on the futon so that Chloe could sleep with us. The next day we brought Scout to the vet to have him cremated. It was so strange to suddenly not have him around anymore--there was definitely a huge hole in our lives where he used to be.
At first I thought we would want to get another dog right away because Chloe would be lonely and freaked out, but she has actually thrived as an only dog. She's more relaxed--no competition for food or attention anymore (except when Watson comes to visit), and we've realized what an incredibly sweet and well-behaved dog she really is. So for the time-being, we're going to stick with one dog, but eventually I would like to get another one. 
That Wednesday after Scout died, we brought Chloe along to Tomkin's parents' house when we went there for lunch, and then we walked through the Walker Sculpture Gardens. It was nice, though it was hard not to think of Scout and how much he would have enjoyed that, too.
We got Scout's ashes back on May 20 and took them to the dog park, where we had a little ceremony on "Scout's Ridge," as we've come to call the hill where he liked to run. Then we buried his remaining ashes in our backyard.
I got Scout as a puppy from a breeder named Barbara Sawyer-Brown in Chicago. Right off the bat, he had a mischievous spark, and we loved him for it. He was brave and adventurous and always up for trying something new. And he didn't have a shy bone in his body--he always enjoyed meeting people and getting attention from them. He definitely had his naughty side, especially when it came to food, but he was sweet and loving and cuddly and fun and a wonderful companion. When I lived alone in Chicago, Scout and Chloe were great company for me, and I felt very safe having them around. We miss Scout a lot and wish he could have lived longer than 8-1/2 years, but I'll always be thankful for the time I got to spend with him. He was really a special and amazing dog.
