We drove through ridiculous traffic, hoping to make it to town in time for the rehearsal dinner, to which we were all invited (sweet, huh?). Kamorin, yet another close friend and former roommate of mine, was getting a little anxious. She was a bridesmaid, but the only person she knew there was the bride. I got a text from her that said something like, “Hurry up and get here. I’m uncomfortable.”
Well, we did get there, eventually. We checked into our castle, I mean our hotel first. Seriously, though, it looks like a castle! Emily made all the booking for us, so we got a pretty sweet deal for a hotel room. If it were me, we would have been staying in some hostel downtown, or some cheap motel… I bet the girls were glad I didn’t do the booking. :)
Anyway, we ate dinner in Andrew’s backyard, had an awesome reunion with old friends, had some laughs, etc. It was fantastic to be with them again. :) I hope it isn’t two years until our next meeting!
That evening the three of us decided, on Emily’s suggestion, to do a little exploring of the hotel. This included looking for the pool…
Scaling rock walls in the parking lot…
Climbing trees…
And the general roaming of hallways.
Finally we went to bed, which frankly, the beds were unbelievable – so comfy! The first thing we did, in fact, when we got into our room, was jump on the beds. I believe it was simultaneous for the three of us to notice their basic amazing-ness.
The next morning we prepared ourselves for the wedding! We all know how dressed up I get for events like these. Ha. I had my khaki skort, which looks like a skirt (sweet), and a white shirt. Everyone else had bought dresses and looked lovely. I felt a little out of place in my Tevas… Oh well. I don’t think I own a skirt, and I couldn’t be bothered buying a one-time-only dress. At least the complimentary breakfast was fantastic.
Well, we were a little caught up in traffic (again) on the way to the wedding. But I can say, we never got lost. Christine used part of her Economic Stimulus check to buy a GPS unit. It’s original name was Jill, because of the voice, but I thought she was rude and obnoxious, so I muted her. Then we decided to rename it Sven (sp?). He got us through the hard times. Anyway, back to the wedding, it was a sweet as building, so retro, all brick, really lovely. And the wedding was just gorgeous! I think the most unforgettable moment was when the guy marrying them slipped and called them “Amandrew.” That’s basically their full name now – Amandrew J. Beyea. Pretty sweet that they now have the same initials – both of their middle names start with J. :) Anywho, there were tears of joy, smiles, relief, and everything was just perfect.
After the ceremony we were able to have our mini Houghton reunion. Chris, Rob, Breanna, Emily, Christine, Kamorin, and Amanda were all there. It was good. :)
We at our yummy lunch, danced for a bit, etc. There was wine at the wedding, and it is amazing what a little wine does to older folk… the dancing was hilarious! So we got a little crazy, but it was loads of fun. We hung out with some of Andrew’s college friends, since they were the only other people there our age.
After a bit, we all went out to “decorate” Amdandrew’s car. There was window paint, there were plastic cups tied to the back, there were balloons, and it was wonderful.
The reception ended and Amandrew headed off to Boston for the night. The following day they headed off to Paris, Switzerland, and some other place in Europe that I don’t remember. Andrew went to all these places for architecture study. Amanda has never left the country (until now). This time Andrew is going to show her all the fun places, they will do the sight seeing, and of course have all sorts of fun. ;)
Anyway, after the reception, we thought it would be fun to hang out with the other guys for a bit. They came back to the hotel with us and we hung out in the lounge area for a few hours, just talking, but it was cool. Made the time pass.
The next morning we gathered our things and Kamorin, Emily, Christine and I began the road trip down to Philly. Emily was originally going to go back to NYC, but she decided to come down to Philly with us to see Kam’s place. It was a long car ride, but it was fun with all of us together. By this time in my travels, though, I began to get more ancy, more restless, more tired, and of course, more moody. I wasn’t quite myself, mostly, I think, because I was just ready to be in my own space. But whatever. It was sooo good to see Kam’s place and meet her boyfriend Evan and roommate Shannon and see her life. She seems very happy, which is good. Hopefully I can get down there sometime when I am more travel anxious and have more time. Maybe Hawaii? ;)
We had dinner and ice cream, hung out at the house, and then of course watched a movie. We watched The Labyrinth, which frankly, was a horrible movie. I think Christine and I were alone in this one. But I don’t care so much that it’s a classic. I could totally see it in Mystery Science Theater 3000. But it was fun anyhow.
The next morning we said our goodbyes. Christine and I took Emily to the bus station, and then we began our final road trek to her house in Pittsburgh. We met up with her boyfriend Jason and went to eat and rent a movie, after we went to REI. I had to introduce Christine to the coolest store ever. I needed to exchange my backpack for one that fit and was a little more practical for me. Success. That night we watched The Other Boleyn Girl, which was fantastic, and went to bed around 2am. Poor Christine…
The next day was a sewing day. Christine had to go to work, but her sister Sarah helped me with the sewing machine. Without a pattern, we designed a reversible purse, which is what I wanted, and I made two: one for Christine, and one for me. I got kind of into it, so I got some fabric for some other projects at Jo-Anne's. :)
The next morning I was supposed to be on a flight at 7am. Boo. So we were going to get up and leave by 5am or thereabouts. Unfortunately, we both turned off our alarms, so her mom woke us up at 5:36am. Not good. But everything worked out and I got on the next available flight, and since I had two stopovers before Anchorage (NYC and Chicago...), somehow it was all okay and I made all my flights. They lost my luggage, but they said they'd send it directly to Unalakleet, so I'm okay with that. I was going to mail it myself anyway.
So here I am, in Anchorage... I actually like it better than most cities, and I'm familiar with it, so I'm definitely glad to be back in Alaska. Thursday morning meant the dentist for me again. Super. So I went, and the cleaning wasn’t as bad as the last time. And then I got two cavities filled. It didn’t take very long, but somehow it’s always a very traumatic experience. But it’s done, and I am so glad I have dental insurance! For some reason, it makes me feel more secure. I also went ahead and bought myself a bike, which I was planning on doing anyway, so that’s done. It’s a pretty nice bike, actually, and even though I got the cheapest one, it’s the nicest one I’ve ever owned. I guess since I’ve only owned 3 that I can remember (this one and two others), I hope this one lasts for ages. It’s going back home with me. :)
I did a little grocery shopping, and there are still some things I'd like to get, but I'll be back soon. I'm good for now. I'm very excited to be getting back to Unalakleet. So cheers to you all. And I hope all is well with you! Write soon! :)
And once more, I want to say CONGRATULATIONS to Amandrew - I'm so happy for you both!! I love you, and I can't wait to see you again soon!
1 comment:
hey girl! great pictures and a fun blog entry! i am so glad that you were able to come to the wedding and share in our day. i hope that you will come and visit us in maryland at some point! have fun in alaska!
Post a Comment