| San Francisco & Michelle's Wedding - Day 2 |
| I didn't get many opportunities to take a picture of the fair city of San Francisco from afar, but I was able to snap this one from the car window. It doesn't do it justice, but I did what I could with the limitations that I had at the time. It's unfair for you to judge me. |
| My Brother James travels for work and was God only knows where in the World and coordinated so that he could fly out to San Francisco to be here for the wedding. He didn't get in until the wee hours of the night and needed a little personal time with the family. I won't go into details about our conversation that night (mostly because I don't remember it - when James arrived he said to pour him a drink and didn't say when until the whiskey reached the brim of the glass) but both of us needed this night. And since we were staying at a shady hotel, we got plenty of interaction with the people who stay at places like this, including a weary older woman who had a lot of miles on her tires and was begging us for beers. But that's what happens out on the road. |
| When we arrived at the Rehearsal Dinner, we saw our cousins Michelle and Kelly for the first time in a while. It was really nice to get to hang out with them again and even better that it was on the eve of Michelle's wedding. We drank some wine outdoors and had some tasty hors d'oeuvres before heading inside for the night. |
| I'd like to reiterate how much fun it was to hang out with Tyler. He had so many humorous observations and comments that had us laughing like a bunch of kids. We served ourselves some wine because the bartender was MIA, which kind of tells you where the night was going for 2 out of the 3 of us. Settle down ya drunks. |
| Michelle was getting married up in Wine Country in a town called Healdsburg, which is about 70 miles North of San Francisco. In order to get there we had to cross over one of the most recognizable landmarks in the United States. When I was first out here in 2005, we walked halfway across it. In 2009 I got close enough to see it in the distance. This would be the fist time that I would cross over it to see what was on the other side. Much like the Chicken (crossing the road), I was looking forward to what would be there. I got to see it. |
| We couldn't afford to stay in Healdsburg, so Dad booked us a another shady side of the freeway Travelodge in Roseland (17 miles South). We got to the hotel with just enough time to change before the Rehearsal Dinner. But we made it on time. |
| The invitation for the Reheasal Dinner mentioned that the dress was "Smart Casual". Since I had no idea what that was, I wore khakis and a polo shirt. I couldn't be more wrong. "Smart Casual" is apparently wearing a suit without a tie and the top button undone. So I was a complete outsider. What else is new. This place was way too fancy for me anyway, as the Seghesio Winery had windows that made me want to genuflect and confess my sins. When we were served the dinner, Jenny had some very interesting comments. Jenny tried it and said, "you never forget your first salmon. You only have your first salmon once." and "it looks weirder than it tastes." I wondered what the green stuff was and commented that it looked like someone threw up on my plate. Needless to say, I didn't care for the salmon. |
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| We sat at a table of misfits (what else is new?) and Jenny asked this gay guy to save her a dance at the wedding tomorrow night. There was a girl rocking some serious side boob and I prayed to every god I could name that she would save me a dance. The night eventually ended and we had to make the trip back to the slums of Roseland. When we got back, I decided to take a dip in the gross pool. I yelled out JUMANJI!! and disappeared into the unknown. Luckily I came back within seconds (unlike Robin Williams who had to wait until some kids played the game again). After all the wine country wine and a whiskey and whatever, I would do just about anything. |