Mount Cuba

A beautiful park in the middle of northern Delaware.

In 2024, I got the idea to start making videos. I started with iMovie, and then in 2025, experimented with FCP, because I wanted to make some vertical videos, but have full creative control. I remember the first video I made in FCP (Final Cut Pro), which was of my wife and me on our trip to Mount Cuba.

Mount Cuba is a gorgeous place to visit in the fall. The entire area, which is just outside of Wilmington, fills the eye with wonderful scenes that cannot be replicated with pictures, art, or any other format. While I can say it all, it won’t matter unless you actually go and witness it.

Anyhow, we always remember our first. Our first kiss, our first dance, the first time doing anything. I can remember the first time I met my wife, and just seeing her get into my car with a backpack the size of her will always be an image I’ll remember. And almost a decade later, every time I look at her, I see that image. One of my fondest memories ever.

That is the great thing with firsts, they create new experiences. The first time I was in a country where English was spoken (France), it was definitely a memory that will not go away.

So, the Mount Cuba video is special, as it was the first in a new program. While it may show up as the fifth video, it was mostly because I went back and fixed the audio levels, so it is no longer the first. Apparenlty I had a thing for making the audio extremely high, probably wanting to explode everyones speakers that choose to watch the video.

So what is everyone else’s first? Or, the firsts that you remember? Such as the first movie you went to see without your parents at a theatre, or your first R-rated film. I remember seeing American Wedding as my first midnight premiere R-rated film without a parent. My dad vouched for me and two friends to watch the movie even though we were all 15 years old. Or the first time drinking? I remember drinking Mike’s Hard that my dad’s girlfriend got me at 15. There was the first time to see the Eiffel Tower, the first time to fly across the pond, the first time I tried Starbucks, or the first time I read Harry Potter. And the great thing, there are so many more first to look forward to, but so many to remember. So here is to first.

So, I’m going to do something different. I am going to link the video I am referencing instead of pasting it in. YouTube lets you put it in 4k, and the sights of the place should be watched in its full glory.

Thank you for coming, and remembering firsts with me. And hopefully it has let you think back in your past, and remember your first as well.