Published: September 14, 2009 12:00 am      

Couple receives Andes honeymoon

By Patricia Breakey
Delhi News Bureau

WALTON _ A touch of luck, a special friend and perfect timing worked to provide a romantic Delaware County honeymoon for a newly married Walton couple.

Don and Diane Rule Gray were married Sept. 6 at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church in Sidney and spent Friday and Saturday night at the Andes Hotel, courtesy of Diane’s friend Leeann Otto and the National Bank of Delaware County.

Otto won the two-night romantic getaway weekend in a drawing held by NBDC at the Delaware County Fair, but because of time constraints, Otto couldn’t use her prize.

Otto and Rule Gray work together at Delaware Valley Family Health Center in Walton, and the wedding seemed like a perfect way to put a romantic getaway to good use.

“I decided to give Diane and Don the weekend getaway for a wedding gift,” Otto said. “I asked them if they were interested and happily they were able to use it. It was perfect timing.”

Andrea Paternoster, NBDC spokeswoman, said that when bank officials began planning the giveaway at the fair, they initially talked about the Caribbean, but soon realized some of the most romantic retreats are located in Delaware County.

Paternoster said the weekend package included two nights at the Andes Hotel, dinner for two at the hotel and dinner for two at the Midtown Grill in Delhi.

It also included two tickets on the Delaware & Ulster Railride in Arkville and a prepaid debit card to cover the cost of lunch.

Otto said that as she wandered through the fair, she stopped and filled out the ticket, never expecting to win.

Paternoster said that normally, trips are nontransferable, but when the tickets and poster about the trip were printed, the nontransferable disclaimer was inadvertently left off.

“I am so glad we made the mistake on the poster because this has worked out so wonderfully,” Paternoster said.

Don Gray said that when Otto offered them the trip, they were thrilled. Their 10-year-old son Hunter has autism and can’t be left with baby sitters for long periods of time.

Rule Gray said the trip is a special gift from someone who understands about being the parent of a child with autism because Otto’s daughter also has the disorder.

“Leeann is so thoughtful. I really adore her, and we have so much in common,” Rule Gray said. “We really don’t have a chance to get time away, and for her to give this to us was so thoughtful.”

Rule Gray’s mother, Evelyn Haskin of Bainbridge, cared for Hunter during the honeymoon.

Don Gray said that after their wedding during Labor Day weekend, they had a reception with a backyard-barbecue theme, and then they had a honeymoon just a few miles from their backyard.