Stand in bun -- to Georgia and back, a Hobbit's tale
Note: Long post. A recap of the wedding weekend.
So not to belabor the point, I've been ill for about 2 weeks. Since about five days before my trip to Georgia, culminating to this weekend where I think.. I think... I'm better. But who knows. I got into work and started sneezing and coughin. Yay.
But I took off Friday and Monday last weekend so that Nola and I could head down to Georgia for Cynthia's wedding, a good friend of mine from college that I try to see at least once a year. I've been to Atlanta four times prior, and she's come up to Rochester several times, this last time at my insistence and on my dime. She's a good friend and I was all too happy to be there for her wedding day. Plus, both Laura and CindyV were in her wedding party, so it meant a good little college reunion for all my friends. Seeing how we've been out of college for five years, it's been far far too long since all of us have been together.
Leaving packing and house prep to the very last minute, I was up until 1am getting ready for our 6am flight. Arriving a tad late to the airport, we still made our departure without issue only to have me experience the worst ear pain of my life as we took off. I didn't know what to make of it and was pretty much deaf by the time we landed. Getting our rental car and walking the six miles to the bus, we headed out to Target to get supplies before meeting up with the gang for breakfast. I had already gotten a couple calls from both Cynthia and Laura, so the urgency of the morning was already felt.
We all headed into the city to spend the day hanging out and walking the Coke museum. Having already done this (and enjoyed it) previously, I talked it up to Nola and Laura. Unfortunately, neither really enjoyed it and mostly looked forward to the tasting room where you could try 60 different drinks from around the world. Seeing as I was not in the bridal party, they all had to leave for activities at the spa leaving Nola and I enjoying another hour of taste testing and filling ourselves up with regret with such marvelous creations like Pineapple Sprite India and Beverly Stomach Bile. Seeing how we were both exhausted, we ended up resting on a coca-cola couch in the art room for about 30 minutes. Good times.
After finally checking into our hotel and taking quick 3 hour naps, we made our way with our chicken scratch directions to the Phở place about ~30 minutes away. Everything this weekend was around 30 minutes away. And driving on 8+ lane highways something I thought only existed in L.A. But we finally made it and enjoyed an evening of laughter, jokes, alcohol and good times at everyone's expense. Except Tony, since he couldn't find the place until we were about done. And then on to karaoke.. or what was supposed to be karaoke.
We got kicked out of the first place for not being Korean enough (no joke) and then wandered aimlessly looking for another place; many times doing u-turns in the midst of traffic and having our leader run down the road during red lights (phone anyone?) to give directions. But sipping soda and singing up a storm finally way way into the night was a lot of fun (gratuitous singing videos not gonna be posted), but we finally left and headed back to the hotel. A long day, seeing as I got 4 hours of sleep and was up until 2am that night, but it was well worth it.
Saturday morning was really low-key, with a quick jaunt to Waffle House for breakfast, hotel for a workout and some sunbathing and quick swim in the pool and hottub, and then off to the airport to pick up Luke (Laura's husband). We drove around for a bit, parked, waited, waited, made a sign, waited, shopped a little, and finally he arrived. I took the group to Underground Atlanta (regrettably) and then we made our way to the wedding rehearsal at a really nice area next to the Yellow River. With everything going quickly and without complication, everyone split up to meet back up for the rehearsal dinner at 7. With the promise of ribs and cake, we made no question we'd be there.
[...]
And then wedding day arrived! The girls all met up to get ready with Cynthia, and Luke, Nola and I headed for breakfast at... ya.. Waffle House (?) before wasting no time to get ready for the wedding that was to be around 11:30. Since the wedding location was almost an HOUR away, we made sure we were not late [again]. Dressing in our finest, and sporting cute and stylish outfits, the three of us arrived and tried to stay out of the way the best we could. The wedding began and Cynthia looked marvelous. And as quickly as it started, it ended and everyone was up in the reception hall snacking on cheese and water. With the crowd quickly dispersing, our little group danced up a storm and had a grand ol' time doing what we do best; acting like fools and making a scene for the cameras. Ha!
And then the bride and groom were whisked away in their car, and the rest of us were left behind to wonder... how is all this stuff getting back to their house? You heard right! So Kim and I spent the next couple hours getting everything situated back at the married couple's house before I drove Kim back to Alpharetta.. which is apparently... 45 minutes away. Back at the hotel, the gang was getting(?) hungry and I fought back several text messages from them as I received phone calls from the bride. Not being in any situation to accommodate anyone, I just did what I did best that weekend: drove.
But I made it back to the hotel, and we all walked over to the Spaghetti Warehouse for a hilarious dinner of drinking and joking about the whole weekend. It was a blast to be there with everyone, and walking out on the bill (or so we thought?) was an even more awkward but hilarious moment. Deciding on bowling a split second later, we spent the rest of the evening having a great time fooling around and just being ourselves.. which turns out to fit right in with the rest of the crowd. Several rounds of jello shots later, we ended the night on a high note and everyone on great terms. Who knew the weekend would end so nicely?
Monday came, and with Laura and Luke flying out around 11 and us flying out at 3, we all made our way to the airport at 10ish and hung around our gate for what seemed like forever. But just recalling the experiences of the weekend and knowing just a few hours separated us from home... made the whole thing feel like a dream.. a dream you only have once.
Unfortunately, for the next two nights, I had unsettling dreams of marrying people from high school and being miserable. What that means I have no idea.
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