A Remarkable Chapter of My Life
Marty was an enormous part of my life for nearly two decades. We grew up together as adults, traveled thousands of miles, shared small homes and an old camp on Bare Hill Pond, and built a life filled with friends, road trips, campfires, and everyday adventures.
Although our lives eventually took different directions, I remain grateful for everything we experienced together. Many of the happiest memories of my twenties and thirties include Marty, and these photographs bring those years back to life.
How We Met
Long Letters and Late-Night Phone Calls
I met Marty when I was about twenty years old at my sister Peg's wedding in Georgia. Neither of us could have imagined that one meeting would eventually lead to nineteen years together.
After I returned to Massachusetts, we wrote long letters back and forth—sometimes eight or ten handwritten pages at a time. Long-distance phone calls were expensive in those days, so we often waited until after eleven at night when the rates dropped. Then we would talk for hours anyway. Before long, both of our families understood that this was becoming something important.
Looking back, I am grateful for everything we shared. Marty became part of nearly every important chapter of my twenties and thirties, and many of my happiest memories begin with the two of us deciding to see what was around the next corner.
1981
Marriage and an Eight-Week Honeymoon
We were married in August 1981. Just a few weeks later, we headed west on an unforgettable eight-week honeymoon across the country.
We traveled through Glacier National Park, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Yosemite, Big Sur, San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, Los Angeles, New Orleans, and many places in between. At the time, it felt like an extraordinary vacation. Looking back, I realize that the trip quietly changed the direction of my life.
It introduced me to the American West, wilderness, mountains, and the idea that exploring could become a way of life rather than something saved for occasional vacations. Marty shared that beginning with me.
Bare Hill Pond
Building a Simple Life Together
After the honeymoon, we settled into one of the happiest and most formative periods of our lives: living at the old camp on Bare Hill Pond.
It was not fancy. We winterized a summer cottage, heated it with a fireplace, and learned how to make a life there through the New England winters. We skated, snowmobiled, spent evenings around campfires, and shared the place with friends.
Those years taught me that happiness has very little to do with owning expensive things. It comes from shared experiences, creativity, friendship, and making the most of whatever is around you.
Friends and Adventure
A Life That Kept Expanding
Weekends often meant another adventure: hiking, camping, canoeing, climbing, exploring, or simply gathering with friends around a fire.
During those years, friends such as Dann and Brad became part of our lives. The old houses, camps, trails, and gatherings all blended together into a long stretch of experiences that helped shape who I became.
One October hike on Mount Lafayette became especially important to me. Standing high on that ridge, I realized that nature was not simply somewhere I liked to visit. It was where I truly felt at home. Marty was part of the life I was building when that realization took hold.
The Quiet Memories
Ordinary Days Became Treasured Ones
Not every important memory involved a major trip or a mountain summit. Some of the photographs I value most are the quiet ones: watching a sunset, sewing at home, cooking dinner, spending time with animals, laughing with friends, or relaxing after a long day.
Those moments seemed ordinary at the time. Years later, they are often the ones that bring an entire period of life rushing back.
Looking Back
Gratitude for Nineteen Years
Marty and I eventually went in different directions after nineteen years together, but that does not diminish what we shared.
Those years helped shape the person I became. They introduced me to places I never imagined I would see, friendships that lasted for decades, and a love of exploring that still defines my life today.
When I look through these photographs now, I feel far more gratitude than sadness. They remind me of a remarkable chapter in my life and of someone who played an enormous role in helping me become the person I am.
Photo Gallery
Every photograph from the Marty folder is included below. Select an image to open the original full-size file.
