Year 8 Week 18 In The US: Sarah And John’s Wedding
07 May 2015 | Las Vegas, NV
Dave/Sunny
One of the reasons we are spending so much time in the US this year was to attend two weddings. The first one was our son's wedding, the second one was our niece's wedding. Sarah is the youngest daughter of my brother, Don and his wife, Debbie, and this week was her special time.
The weekend wedding festivities first started out with a round of golf that Sarah's fiancé, John, had put together. My brother Don and I were paired together in a cart and had a great time playing our round. Neither of us set any course records but we sure enjoyed ourselves. This was a special treat for both of us since we just don't get many opportunities to see each other, let alone play golf together.
The day concluded with a welcome dinner at a local bistro where Mary Margaret and I were introduced to John's side of the family. We had only met John a few times previously so this was a real treat for us. We also were able to enjoy Debbie's sister and her husband. We had last seen Barbara and Dave 12 years ago at Don and Debbie's oldest daughter's (Katie) wedding. Plus, we also enjoyed being with our two daughters, Heather and Christina, and Christina's husband, Michael. They had all flown in from the western part of the US to attend.
The next day was the wedding and it started out with a big breakfast at our hotel where the out of town guests and the wedding party were staying. It felt like a family reunion and we were so happy to see so many relatives.
In the afternoon we all boarded a bus which took us to The Mansion where the wedding and reception was held. It was an outside wedding and the weather was perfect with temperatures in the high 70's and lots of sun. Amongst flowers, flowering trees, ponds and fountains the lucky couple were wedded by a good friend of theirs to the applause of about 100 friends and family that were attending. The only one's beaming more than John and Sarah were the proud parents of the bride and groom.
Dinner was a gala affair with various serving stations filled with delicious food, an ever flowing bar, Sarah's favorite guitarist who John had flown up from Florida as a surprise for Sarah, and then an evening of dancing which Mary Margaret and I especially enjoyed. By the time it was all over Mary Margaret and I were exhausted but very happy.
The next day we packed up and said our said goodbyes to everyone and then drove off to the airport. We finally returned to Las Vegas around 11 PM local time where we were picked up by our friend Valerie. Her husband, Joe, was in Hawaii on business.
Now the real car traveling part of our stay in the US begins. Today we head out for the Carson City area of Nevada. We will be stopping by to visit with our blog friends, Client and his wife Rosemary and their two teenage boys, CJ and Remy.
By the way, we would like to note that while in the Philly area for the wedding, we also met with a couple of our blog readers, Greg and his wife Mary. They live in Virginia and drove up so we could get together for lunch. Greg had asked if he could crew with us this year as we make our passage from Africa to the Caribbean. We first wanted to meet and get to know each other before any commitments were made. Through lunch and long into the afternoon we enjoyed each other's company and by the time we said our goodbyes we all felt that we had known each other for ages. Mary Margaret and I felt it would be great to have Greg crew with us and Greg is looking forward to it since he and Mary share our dream of cruising. They hope to start their adventure in a few years.