Last Friday morning we met a few friends at Brooklyn City Hall at 8:30AM. After a bit of paperwork and a short (and unexpected) ceremony, we became legally married…only six months after the ceremony!

And yes, the flowers were rented (thanks Mo!).

Sixth Finger (featuring Dew), “Patience (Cool Wave Mix)”

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How do you sum up the two weeks that we just had? I’m not sure that you can, or that I can anyway.

It was so much fun to watch Sayulita slowly fill up with friends and family in the week leading up to the 21st. As for that Monday evening – I knew it would be intense, emotional, and amazing. I had no idea just how much so. The entire week was incredible. I couldn’t take a timeout and let myself nap (or get a full night’s sleep). I just didn’t want to miss a thing. One of my favorite parts of that second week was running into everyone as we walked into and around town or after we’d paddled out into the lineup (I think Adam and Ben P. are still out there).

Thank you again to everybody who traveled all the way to Sayulita – and to those who pitched in and helped out in one way or another.

We’ll be going back often…hope to see you all there at one point or another. April ’09 anyone? If so we should plan now (I’m not kidding).

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Our Flickr group is up and growing, feel free to post your own!

We’ve also posted the music playlists should you want them:

• Sunday Night
• Monday Night (before the Evans/Skaff takeover)
• Master List (music pulled from our library to compile the edited down lists above)

Last week in Banderas Bay, Mexico.

Thanks to everybody who made the trek down to Sayulita last week. We had an incredible time, both on the day and during the week in general. Judging by the return trips already being discussed we weren’t the only ones! Special thanks to everybody who pitched in and helped out. You know who you are. Special special thanks to our sponsors. You know who you are.

Even with someone official walking around to take photos there’d be no way we could document the entire week in Sayulita. With that in mind, we’d love it if you could post some photos when you get home. Our Flickr Group: http://www.flickr.com/groups/benandcaddie08

• You’ll need a Flickr account to do this (it’s free and easy to do)
• Join the group by visiting the group page and clicking “join this group?”
• Upload photos to your account
• Place a photo in the group by clicking the “send to group” icon on an individual photo’s page
• To send a large number of images; upload your photos into a “set” (which you create). Go to the set’s batch operations window. Click “batch edit” and then “send to group.”

A few more details can be found online at Flickr.

Around 1PM on the 23rd look for me in a bar, glued to ESPN2. It’s Champions League semifinal time, and I love the CL as much as the World Cup. Maybe even more. Chelsea and Arsenal meet in one Champions League semi, with Barcelona and Man U in the other. While Chelsea are one of my least favorite teams to watch, it should still be a great game. And Manchester United v. Barcelona? It doesn’t get any better than that – though it’ll be hard to top Tuesday’s Liverpool-Arsenal quarterfinal! Beyond following the US National I don’t have a team. I’m more a fan of the game in general and the English Premier League as a whole. I do, however, find myself leaning in one direction more often than not. I wonder why? Years of hearing this before every Liverpool game, perhaps. I should point out that video was taken by a fan of Barcelona, from inside the Barca section (another version here). Here’s one more for you, this from the 2005 Champions League Final. It’s a little over the top, but so was that game… Prediction? Liverpool and Man U in the final, Manchester United wins…but what the hell do I know?

We’ve heard from a few people that would be interested in sharing rides from the airport in April. If that’s you, feel free to use the comments field of this post to get in touch with one another. Let us know what day/time you get in (and how many of you there are), as well as how someone should reach you.

If you see someone you can share a ride with and don’t have their contact info just let Caddie or I know and we’ll put you in touch.

Also, a reminder that we have information on travel to/from the airport at benandcaddie.com.

Cad and I just spent a few days in Sayulita, nailing down details and surfing as much as possible. Joining us were Cad’s sister Liz and her two boys, Barret and Owen. While in town we took one for the team and tried as many restaurants and bars as we could. Favorites included margaritas at Lupe (and dinner too!), fish sandwich at Don Pedro’s, and the huevos rancheros at El Espresso. Buddha Bar has a great thing going at night, at least those nights they skip the live music. I’d say the overall favorite was Bar Playa…hard to beat a bar on the beach that looks like something out of Gilligan’s Island, but with great margaritas and a better soundtrack.

A left ending at a bar. It’s as if we just removed the leprechaun from the equation entirely. Who needs a middle man anyway?

Flickr: Bar Playa Slideshow