Larry's Sorta Fun Stories
Larry's Sorta Fun Stories
Love Takes Flight: My Journey with Dominica
Can a simple drive to the airport spark a lifetime of love and unforgettable memories? Join us as we welcome my extraordinary wife, Dominica, to Larry's Sorta Fun Stories, where we share the serendipitous journey that led to our whirlwind romance. From her nostalgic 2023 trip back to her Italian hometown to the thoughtful gestures that transformed our friendship, this episode is packed with heartwarming moments and personal anecdotes. Listen as we recount our romantic wedding on MSC's private island, complete with artificial peonies and the delightful reactions from our families.
In a nostalgic twist, we then travel to Grove City, Pennsylvania, where the beauty of Dogwoods lining my driveway stirs cherished memories. With stories of family warmth and personal reflections, this chapter adds another layer to our narrative tapestry. Tune in to celebrate these heartfelt experiences and stay with us for more delightful tales in future episodes of Larry's Sorta Fun Stories.
well pulling down my script. Hi, I'm Larry, and this is Larry's sort of fun stories. And today is something very, very special because I have a very, very special guest with me and we're going to be just talking about some fun things today. So I want to introduce you to my wife, dominica. Dominica, welcome to Larry's Sort of Fun Stories.
Speaker 1:Well, thank you, Larry J. It's a pleasure to be here. It's a pleasure sharing life journeys together.
Speaker 2:That's what we're doing. So in 2005, or in 2000,. What was it 23?
Speaker 1:23, 2000.
Speaker 2:You made a trip to Italy.
Speaker 1:I did. I went back to Italy, to my hometown, where I was born and raised, and wanted to trace the steps of my grandparents and my parents, and it was phenomenal.
Speaker 2:Okay. So the important thing was how did you get there, your first step of the way, what happened?
Speaker 1:Well, I wanted a seamless trip to Italy and I wanted a direct flight from Miami to Rome.
Speaker 2:No layovers anywhere and you live in Orlando. You live in the Orlando area.
Speaker 1:I live in the Orlando area, but I didn't want to fly from Orlando to anywhere else and lose luggage and run into drama, so I wanted to go to a direct flight from Miami to Rome.
Speaker 2:So how did you get to Miami?
Speaker 1:Well, it just so happened that I met my neighbor, larry J, and I saw that he gave people rides here and there. So then I said, larry, would you be interested in giving me and my cousin a ride from Trilogy to Miami and then pick us back up?
Speaker 2:Oh, so you got to Italy, you had a great time, and then you had to come back and there I was at the Miami airport on a very rainy day. Oh, and then we couldn't figure out which level you were on.
Speaker 1:Yes, that was a bit of confusion, because they told me to have you pick me up at the departing area because there was less congestion, right, but somehow you and I didn't communicate that well, and so you had to go around a couple of times before you could find me.
Speaker 2:And I must say Miami is a little busier than the Orlando area airport.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:So we did. And so then, what this? This was what, in our relationship.
Speaker 1:This was in October and we were. We were friends and just getting to know each other. Yeah, this was in October and we were friends and just getting to know each other and when you picked me up you had grapes and you had cheese and you had water for us to enjoy on the way home and you were just so gracious to pick me up and I thought you know what? This is a pretty special guy.
Speaker 1:I have never been treated this royally before oh wow, so that changed, uh, our relationship from friends to maybe I might consider having a husband if he's this nice, okay, and you had said how long you you were never going to get married again. I was never, ever going to do that again, oh no.
Speaker 2:No, no, no.
Speaker 1:No, and along came, larry, and along came.
Speaker 2:Larry, is there a song like that? I think there is, yeah, we can't sing it because I don't know the words.
Speaker 1:Oh, neither do I. You don't want to listen to me sing, that's for sure.
Speaker 2:So we ended up getting married in February, february 12th Of 2024. Yes, so we can date this so that someone's listening in the future, they'll know that we got married 2024, almost on Valentine's Day.
Speaker 1:Yes, it was a Valentine's cruise.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yes, and we went off to an island to get married.
Speaker 1:Yes, it was MSC's private island and it was a lovely setting and it was just beautiful oh my bride looked so beautiful that day.
Speaker 2:She had such a beautiful dress on. It wasn't a gown, but it was a dress, right?
Speaker 1:It was a cream-colored lace dress and I had a little bit of a crown you know just a little bit and beautiful um flowers.
Speaker 2:Now the flowers. I got to tell you about the flowers. You got the flower. You couldn't have any live flowers on a cruise ship, right? So what did you do? This is what my bride I.
Speaker 1:I just went to um hobby lobby and and picked up a a bunch of, and it was peonies, and peonies are my father's favorite flower, that's what he grew and it's. It's just a memory of my dad, oh, oh, neat. And so I made an artificial bouquet. Bouquet and everybody exclaimed about how beautiful those flowers were. And I said, yeah, they're just little flowers, sell flowers.
Speaker 2:Yeah, look at smell them here.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yes.
Speaker 2:So we got married. See, that's the Larry's sort of fun stories it's. We got married. Yes, that's the exciting part. Well, so now you have kids in the Orlando area.
Speaker 1:I do you have family. Right, I have three daughters One is in Gainesville, one is in Orlando and one is in Vero Beach.
Speaker 2:So they're all like with a couple of hours away from each other. And over the time period over Christmas and things I had a chance to meet your family Right, so they kind of knew me.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes, they got to meet Larry to see who he was and give their approval and their blessing.
Speaker 2:Well, they kind of didn't know who he was.
Speaker 1:No one is like, wow, this is fast, what's the hurry?
Speaker 2:Yeah well, we've known each other for quite a while now.
Speaker 1:We did.
Speaker 2:So it came down to now. You didn't know my side of the family.
Speaker 1:Correct and even though I spoke with them on the phone, I think it would be nice so that they could meet.
Speaker 2:Yeah. And so I called up my young son and I said Josh, we're getting married. And what did he say?
Speaker 1:Dad, what are you doing? What's going on? What's going on?
Speaker 2:And then he went and saw my sister before you got to meet my sister, yes, and what did he say to my sister?
Speaker 1:Well, we had met your sister by then, your sister had met me.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's right.
Speaker 1:And so when Josh went to see his aunt, the first thing he asked her was what's the scoop on this lady?
Speaker 2:What's she like?
Speaker 1:Tell me, tell me.
Speaker 2:So we had to indoctrinate you into meeting the family.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:And so that's kind of what Larry's sort of fun stories is all about. Today we're going to talk about our trip to meet the family. I was going to say something else, but yeah, we're meeting the family, so we drove to. No, we didn't drive to. Yes, we did.
Speaker 1:We drove. My first trip out for the family was we went to Illinois to see my sister and and that was in may yes, and that was a road trip it was, and even though I've traveled many places, I had never seen that part of um, the beautiful usa from that angle, from the south going north uh, usually I went east and west or, but this time I got a whole new view of our country, and it's a beautiful country.
Speaker 2:And we first stopped in Chattanooga, at the top of the mountain there Well, I guess we weren't really on the top of the mountain we could view Lookout Mountain from the hotel. Yes, that's my middle spot between Orlando and Champaign. That's where we're headed Champaign, Illinois.
Speaker 1:Okay, and what astonished me about Illinois was the vastness of the land, just farmland, field after field after field, and the huge silos. They were astounding and I thought you know, if I go to stand at the bottom of that silo I'll look like an ant? Yes, you will. You know they were huge, they were huge. So I nicknamed the silos the castles of Illinois, the castles of the Midwest.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah.
Speaker 1:Because they are majestic.
Speaker 2:Very majestic. They're good to see because that's where they store the grain before they ship it off to wherever they ship grain to.
Speaker 1:Yes, yeah, and now I realize why it's called the breadbasket of America.
Speaker 2:And we got to Champaign Illinois, and how did we go with my sister? Did we do okay?
Speaker 1:I think so. I think that she and I had a lot in common. We talked nonstop. She shared some of her makeup secrets with me.
Speaker 2:Oh, she hasn't shared that with me.
Speaker 1:So it was. We had a lot in common. We talked about our lives and our ups and downs and it was great. It was great getting to know Carolyn.
Speaker 2:And so one of the things that we went to Illinois for at that time was that I wanted to meet some of my old high school friends, and so we were moving. We were going from Champaign Illinois, to Chillicothe, illinois and at Bloomington, what happened? And I love the name Chillicothe Illinois at Bloomington, what happened?
Speaker 1:I love the name Chillicothe. I mean, that just sounds so quaint and Midwest.
Speaker 2:Well, you do know that that was Chief Chillicothe is who it was named after.
Speaker 1:Oh, I didn't know that.
Speaker 2:That was an Indian chief named Chillicothe, yeah.
Speaker 1:Nice. Yeah, I'm going to have to look that up and get to know that a little bit more. Yes, so you know, I got to meet Larry's classmates and hear some of his you know high school stories and I thought this is a good way to get to know my husband you know and get to know about him and meet the people in his life and I thought there is nothing as wholesome as Midwest life, the small town you can't beat that.
Speaker 2:That's what a lot of us think. When I get together with my friends, we always say we are so thankful to grow up in a small town in central Illinois. It was just very good, but you grew up in a small town didn't you?
Speaker 1:Yes, I'm a small town girl, from a small town in Italy to a small town in Pennsylvania, sheffield, pennsylvania. My graduating class was 39.
Speaker 2:Oh, my goodness.
Speaker 1:And they were like my brothers and my sisters. They were instrumental in teaching me how to speak English and get acclimated to this country. It was wonderful. So, yes, I do value small-town living.
Speaker 2:Well, now we were on our way to see my small town in Bloomington, illinois. We turned off and I drove down Route 66, the old Route 66, the famous, infamous Route 66. And where did we end up?
Speaker 1:Well, we ended up in Funk's Grove, funk's Grove, funk's Grove, funks Grove and I love flowers and trees and it was springtime there and they had cottonwood, not cottonwood trees.
Speaker 2:Oh, my goodness, I can't think of it, they were big trees.
Speaker 1:At any rate. And then you know the flowers that were blooming, like the peonies and Mount Laurel, and those were the things that I saw in Sheffield and in Grove City, Pennsylvania, and so I was just getting all excited over plants. I mean, you know, it's the little things that always make me happy.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:Oh, and I remember the name of the tree now is Dogwood, Dogwoods yes, oh, I love Dogwoods, dogwood trees yes. I had Dogwoods lining the driveway to my home in Grove City, Pennsylvania, so they were. You know, they were near and dear to me and I just couldn't get enough of it.
Speaker 2:So we, we went and went part, went to meet part of the family and I think we're going to, we're going to wrap it up there, that's. That's, that's one of Larry's sort of fun stories and I think we've got some more and we're going to do that on another episode of this fantastic podcast called Larry's Sort of Fun Stories, Brought to you by Collage Travel Radio Media Network Streaming Radio, Collage Travel Radio and ZmexRadiocom Nope, back that up, it's ZmexRadiolive and podcasts and travel information. So join us again next time on Larry's Sorta Fun Stories.
Speaker 1:Thank you.