Special Report: Tales from the East

Me, Kari (cousin), Ryan (cousin and groom), and Ashley (my sister)
Ryan and Heather's wedding, June 6th, 2008

My vacation is over; I returned to San Diego a little after midnight Tuesday morning. While it was hot as bloody hell in Atlanta and Florida, I did have a really good time back in the East! Here's a somewhat brief recap of my trip back to the homeland (excuuuse me, where do you think you're going? This is good stuff!! lol):

Thursday - Around 5:30 am, I made my triumphant return to Atlanta. The jaws of life had to pull me out of my seat on the airplane...not really, but I felt like I was inside a clam all 4 hours. lol After my dad dropped me off at his and my mom's house, I spent some time catching up with some relatives that were staying there too. Then, after a few hours' sleep, many of us headed off to a funeral. I felt so bad for my cousins Danny and Betty, who lost their 39-year-old son, Jason, days before. It's so much worse to see parents bury a child, no matter how old the age of the child. Danny gave such a touching, tearful eulogy. It had been a few years since I last saw Jason, but I will always remember him being so full of life and love for his family, his extraordinary musical talents (incredible pianist), and of course his fantastic sense of humor.

It was a nice to have some comedic relief at the gravesite, where a little girl took off during a prayer to steal flowers from neighboring graves. Her mother, when she opened her eyes, had to chase after her lol. They'd better watch out for ghosts wanting their flowers back!!

Another brightside was getting to see many relatives I haven't seen in a while, Danny and Betty being some of them. They are all a wonderful, loving bunch of people. It's a shame it takes such events to bring all of us back together, but that is life, I suppose.

I ended up rounding out the day with my old friend Julie and her husband, Matt, at a Cheesecake Factory in Dunwoody. Good times! And I didn't pass out in my food, so that was quite an accomplishment after a jam-packed day.

FYI: If you see a scene like this while heading to FL from Atlanta, you're going in the wrong direction.

Friday - around 6am, my dad, mom, sister, and I embarked on a 5-6 hour drive to Gainesville, FL for my cousin Ryan's wedding. It was like old times...the entire family on the road to FL in the wee hours of the morning! My dad was concerned we might not have enough time before the wedding as it was. I agree...we only had about 3-4 hours to prepare for the wedding when we arrived at the hotel.

The only bad thing about the wedding was that it was outdoors. Beautiful, humid 95-degree day. And my grandmother wanted to know where my suit jacket was! I asked her if I looked insane lol. It was a wonderful, amazing wedding, even as sweat dripped down my back and pooled above my belt. The bride and her father were carried in via horse and carriage. Very cool. Also, my cousin the groom and all the groomsmen wore black and white converse tennis shoes to symbolize the running the unwed men do before being tied down by commitment/marriage.

Heather and Ryan walk down the isle after officially tying the knot!

I hadn't seen Ryan and the rest of his family in at least 4-5 years, so I was so thrilled to have the opportunity to see them again, as well as spend time with other relatives on my dad's side of the family. He and his wife are stationed in Italy as part of their tour of duty with the air force. My sister and I may visit them next Spring, I hope! If not, who knows when I might next see any of them?

My grandmother and Tyler (her great-grandson) at the wedding...I love this picture

Saturday - my family and I returned to Atlanta by late afternoon. My parents treated me to a nice dinner out at a really cool new restaurant out in the middle of almost-nowhere, and I treated them to a movie outing to see Iron Man. Now, THAT is a blockbuster superhero movie...and maybe it was something I ate, but Robert Downey Jr. was damn sexy in the movie. I think I had to fan myself a few times...not really, but almost. We then spent further quality time watching a few episodes of Law and Order.

Sunday - finally, a nice, quiet, relaxing day...AT LAST, I was able to try out my parents sweet new pool (they put it in over the winter). It was so hot outside, the water temp was 86 degrees lol. We had a blast. My mom even challenged me to a race across the pool, breast-stroke, followed by free-style. I won, even after pretending to have a cramp in my leg! lol

That night, I did go out to meet up with an old Michigan friend/date, who recently moved to Atlanta. He took me around Midtown, visiting a few very cool bars. Fun times! And we even got to see the Celtics giving the Lakers a whoopin on tv. Woohoo!!

Monday - I always intended to not even leave my parents' house until before my flight that night, so I just hung around with my parents' black lab, Casey. I sat out by the pool, reading, did some more swimming and "tanning" (that means burning for us fair-skinned people). I felt bad for not being able to see more of my friends, but I really, really, really, really did not want to leave the house lol. I needed the cleansing the chlorine gave me. I know...I'm selfish, possessed by the tiny-hearted Grinch.

My parents and grandmother took me out to eat before I went to the airport. Delicious meal. It's always hard to say goodbye, especially to my grandmother, who along with my grandfather, I can't stand to see get old. Same with my parents, though, they seem to be retaining their youth well!

My flight looked to go without incident, until we were all herded onto the plane and forced to sit for an hour before take-off. This without proper a/c..just circulation of hot, sticky air from outside. Blech. We had to wait for our flight attendants...and other passengers to arrive in Atlanta. Something tells me if the flight attendants hadn't been delayed, those poor connecting passengers would've been left high and dry lol. By the time they all arrived, a thunderstorm loomed. It was kinda thrilling to take off with lightning striking way too close by for me. But I had told my parents earlier that I was disappointed in not seeing any storms while visiting...a genie must've been listening in.

So, now I'm back in sunny, cooler San Diego and reunited with my little girl, who I missed so much!

End of a looooooong entry. If you stayed with this till the end, give yourself a pat on the back...you deserve a nice bottle of wine (at your own expense, of course!! lol).