"If you could see it then you'd understand"

If you had asked us Friday night, we might not have been too optimistic about this past weekend's outcome. We left after work and as soon as the vehicle hit I-70, we were stymied by traffic. Unbelievable amounts of traffic. WHERE ARE ALL THESE PEOPLE GOING AND WHY ARE THEY IN MY WAY traffic. We crawled through half of Maryland, found a shortcut, and kept on trucking. We weren't going to make it in time for the bachelor party, but we got directions to the home of M's parents and kept our spirits up by singing along to Cake and chatting as we went. Then we hit some pretty hard thunderstorms. Then we stopped and c r a w l e d slowly forward toward a jack-knifed semi blocking the entire road and making us detour AGAIN and lose another half an hour. As K so accurately and depressingly noticed, our trip took 50% longer than it should have. Curse math majors! Curse two-lane roads! Curse them all!!!

But we made it. At 12:30, we arrived, hit the hay, and slept like the dead. The next day's weather couldn't make up its mind, but it was a lovely service that really reflected G&S marvelously. Their love of music shown through with a few specials which were skillfully sung. They were blissfully happy. It was contagious. The reception, too, was very nice. They both LOVE to dance, so much mirth was had by all watching and participating. Plus their favors were bud vases filled with yogurt-covered raisins and CHOCOLATE-COVERED ESPRESSO BEANS OF GLORY!

After the wedding, everyone was beat. Some in our group wanted to hottub it at their hotel, but others of us had neglected to bring appropriate attire, so J, M, K, and I went back to home base and changed into comfy clothes. We talked to M's delightful parents before we met up with our friends again at our favorite local eatery, Rachel's Roadhouse, a landmark bar with great food, loads o' yokels, a kickin' shuffleboard, and fresh service. Now usually the "fresh" would refer to something like "Young Man, don't be FRESH with me!" kind of service. This time, we had the sweetest girl who was excellent at her job. Who knew Rachel's had it in them to hire GOOD help?


The ladies work the limelight.

Anyhow, K and I beat M&J at shuffleboard, despite the fact that M was WAY better than all of us combined. I had a delicious Blue Moon with a slice of orange in it. We ate pretzels with hot fudge dip and an onion blossom, and we heard the new Coldplay single "Speed of Sound," and I wanted to hold on to that dream-like moment of music and my beautiful friends' smiles and laughter.

The next day, a plan was hatched to visit a local vineyard called the Wilhelm Winery which had a festival that day with wine-tasting, folk music, and free food. There was no cover charge, and we tried a bunch of different wines. Most were not all that good, but a few that were delicious, so we brought a couple home and we enjoyed them with our tortillini last night.


Near Leesburg Falls: a rock ledge, light, and mounds of moss and ferns

We found out one of our friends was having a birthday the next day, so we hatched yet another plan to visit Leesburg Falls, a local landmark not far away, and have a car "get lost," get a cake and supplies, and surprise the daylights out of him. Everything worked beautifully. A was without a clue until the Dairy Queen ice-cream cake arrived and we all sang boistrously. We wandered around the trails for a while, snapping pictures and lingering until we absolutely had to go. Eventually the time arrived, and we headed home, arriving late and missing everyone just a smidge until we closed our eyes and fell instantly asleep.


Leesburg Falls, where my husband almost proposed to me, but didn't. Someday, he and I will go back to our spot in the wilds of New York state and I will take photos of it, but until then, we must all content ourselves with a sight which, while second choice, is not second rate.