Lee's Wedding

Another friend got married last weekend. It was in Darimiscotta, Maine.

The wedding was in The Old Meeting house. It was a church that has been preserved from colonial times. It still had pew boxes. It was a beautiful setting. Both Lee and Charlotte looked great. After that we went to the reception at "The Farm".

It was outside under a tent on the edge of a terrific view of the valley sprawling out for miles with trees and rolling hills. It also was beautiful. The day was perfect, just a little too hot. The reception was awesome.

The next morning, Jenn and I went to Concord NH to visit the Hamiltons, Mark, Melissa and Bryan, Tom, Judy and Dirk, and Art, Lois, Edie and Ian (Officially they are now the Cory's). They had arranged to have a BBQ at Tom and Judy's. We went to the lake to play on the floating dock and float in the water. It was a great time and I think I enjoyed watching the kids playing more than anything.

After that, we ate and Tom took us around the house showing off the deck that he is building and the hottub that he is putting in. It will be a nice addition to their great house. We then, regretfully, said our goodbyes. Jenn and I both feel blessed to have gotten to know the all of them and hated to leave. We are hopeful that we can work a ski trip to Colorado in Feb with them. It was a tearful goodbye and we look forward to the next BBQ.

Bridal Shower

Dee had scheduled a surprise Bridal Shower for Jenn last weekend. Jenn figured out that it had to be this weeked because the movers come this week and we would not have room for the presents. Jenn wasn't feeling good enough to drive and called in sick Friday night. Dee was panicking. It all worked out and we drove down early Sat morning.

We got there 90 minutes late but it all worked out. The ladies had brunch and got ready for the big arrival. It was a great location - the top section of a very nice resturaunt. I grabbed a to-go box and John and I headed out.

We picked out tuxes and looked at motorycycles while we waited to go pick up the loot. It seemed appropriate.

We got to the shower just as it was ending and loaded up two vehicles with the presents. It really was overwhelming. Both for the amount and the thoughts for the folks that got Jenn stuff. It was quite fun going through it back at home.

That night, we had a BBQ for John's Fathers day. It was a perfect day. It looked like rain but it never rained so it was a perfect blend of cool but warm to sit outside and eat.

All the "kids" were there, even Rob, which surprised me. I had a case of Johnny Walker Gold for Steve, I got a deal on it so he wanted to save some money, and then we broke into it later that night. Good stuff.

The family got me a "how to fix things in the house" book, which I guess is traditional for all the guys. John and Steve and Rick both wrote inscriptions. Rick annotated that the other brothers-in law suck, Steve gave me tips on the honeymoon and John wished me the best of luck.

It was a great day and night.

The next day we went to mass and listened to a singer.

The cable guy is here to disconnect me so I guess that is the end for now. Fitting.

New Orleans

Because three of my friends are also getting married this summer, they planned a "bachelor party" and invited me. I was flattered as the oldest on of them is 10 years younger than me. I thought it may be too much to do as I wind down and prepare to move, but Jenn encouraged me to go and so I went. I had a great time.

Thursday

I was the first to arrive. I stepped off the plane and realized quickly that I would not need the sweatshirt I brought with me from Boston. I also realized that I would need shorts. It was hot and humid. Man I miss it. I caught the shuttle to the hotel, they stored my bags, I went to the store and bought some shorts, I changed and was off to walk around by myself.

Before I left, I got a few tips on places to see good music and good beer. Well, drink beer and listen to music. I walked to Frenchmen street. This is a nice area that is more local than Bourban street. It was a beautiful, hot, sunny day and I enjoyed the walk. I saw street entertainers, jazz bands in restuarants, a cigar store where several men were hand rolling the cigars, some history tours, carriage rides, Louis Armstrong park, the waterfront and all the clubs that I wanted to visit for the music.

I doubled back and had lunch on the way. Red beans and rice, shrimp creole, a few beers, some people watching and I was in a great mood. I miss the cajun spice.

I camped out at the hotel bar and the gang slowly showed up. Several were drunk from the airplane and in great spirits. We headed out to eat and then find a place to get kicked out of.

We ended the night late and it was a blast. We never made it past Bourbon street, which is fine because there is a lot of fun to be had there. Tomorrow night I will take them to the cool music clubs.

Friday

I took JP for breakfast at Mothers - a small well known local place. He loved it and I loved it. The coffee was very very strong. I couldn't finish it. The sausage was spicy and the grits, well, grits are grits no matter how you fix them. We went back to the hotel and then headed to Harrahs casino. I thought this would be fun for a few hours.

I lost some money quickly and cashed out. I then spent the remainder of the day watching one of our crew win $600 in blackjack. He actually was up just shy of $1K but then lost a few key hands and cashed out. Not bad for sitting down with $60.

We then went to Howl at the Moon. It is a sing-a-long bar that has two pianos and two guys joke and sing and take requests while the entire bar sings along to greats like "Sweet Caroline", I think they played it a few times. The group got too rowdy to take to a quiet music bar so we stayed there all night. It was a lot of fun.

Tomorrow night, for sure, I will take them to the cool music clubs.

Saturday

We went on a swamp boat tour. This was fantastic. It was hot and sunny and the crew was in particular good spirits. We made fast friends with everybody on the bus out to the boats. While in the swamp, we saw several gators and some good landscape. It was a hit. The driver of the boat was baiting the gators with chicken to get them in close and get them to "jump" out of the water so we could get a good look. It was cool to be that close.

We went back to the hotel and changed for dinner.

Another person in our party arrived and we headed out to eat dinner and then to Bourbon street, because he hadn't been there. We wandered aimlessly unable to make a decision on which place to go into - the are only about 40 clubs and restuarants on the street. We had a hand grenade and settled on Patty O'Briens. Patty O's is an outdoor patio style restuarant/bar. It is famous and worth the trip if you get the chance. Is there anything better than sitting outdoors with your friends while they bring you drinks? Perhaps, but not too much better. It was a perfect night - warm but not humid, my friends were there and I was in New Orleans.

The gang got rowdy again, in a fun way, and they decided that we needed to show our new arrival the Howl at the moon club. At some point, I realized that they would not be allowed entrance to any of the cool music clubs and we were to spend another night at Howl at the Moon. It was fun, again. The piano players had the USAF guys on stage a couple of times to sing "Proud to be an American". That was fun and the whole bar loved us. We were officially rock stars, if only in our minds. I left early, at 2am.

I woke at 6am and caught my flight home with no problems. Tired and happy, I got home and needed to collapse with a smile on my face. Thank you Jenn.

When I come back with normal people, I will hit the cool music clubs.