Our Big Event!
Well, it's been a couple of weeks since the Big Event. still a lot of glow from it. The biggest thing, of course, was seeing all the family & friends together in one place. But the whole day worked out so well - weather, setup in the morning, moving smoothly to each stage, ceremony, dinner, dancing. And the whole week - with my family in town & Bonnie's family in town. Here's how the week went :
Thursday - organizing last minute, running errands. Andy & Becki & Maggie came over in the evening, went to Shen Hua & walked over to Telegraph and Amoeba, then back for some musical exchange with me & Andy.
Friday - Met up with my family at their breakfast grotto at the hotel in Marin (Greg & family (Vicki, Elise, Sterling), and my parents, and my sister Rebecca & Rob). I had a rapid-fire itinerary for a driving tour of San Francisco w/ a few stops, which everyone seemed on board for, so we were off (in 2 cars, I was with Rob & Becca). We got through a few stops - GG Bridge, Presidio, Great Hwy/Ocean Beach, GG Park (w/ Bison), Haight Ashbury, Twin Peaks. Then we took a trip to visit my sister's former workplace in Diamond Hgts, and the group decided to go for Chinese food, which was the day's undoing. Ordering for that many people & kids is a debacle, with an orgy of food & long wait times. Then a few people were tired/cranky & a trip back to the hotel took up the rest of the day. Lunch I can deal with, ( I was thinking of stopping for lunch at our next stop, Pier 39), but this just derailed us & we missed out on seeing : Castro, Chinatown, Marina, Fisherman's Wharf, North Beach, Embarcadero, downtown, Bay Bridge, Treasure Island... Becca & Rob and I ended up going back to East Bay, via downtown/Market St, which was a spectacle of seething humanity to behold (worthy of being its own tourist attraction). We hit some of Berkeley (Sho Chiku Bai!) & went to Lake Merritt, then headed back. Friday night was our planned BBQ w/ our immediate families. But we showed up inconveniently early - Bonnie & crew were still hard at work in the kitchen...
So, when Greg & crew showed up, we had to scoot. Which was fine, my mom wanted to see the East Bay Vivarium, so we had a good time checking out the place (even ran into Chere in the parking lot!) By the time we got back, brother Gordon & family were there, and the festivities were underway. Gave a speech welcoming everyone, then explained the lay of the land & what to expect at the event.
Saturday was an early start. Nicole went to pick up the cake & Susan from the airport, Bonnie & I stopped at Costco on the way over, Tracey was holding down the fort & waiting to help load up our friends w/pickup trucks who were coming by. The next batch of time went smoothly - getting there, getting in to the hostel, unloading rentals. Casual lunch started around 1, it was a good thing we had people come early - a few got lost (though the didn't mind the scenic route). If they were targeting getting there at 4, they woulda missed. Saturday day was great - so many people huggin together, friends I hadn't seen in a long while, Bonnie's fami I'd met only once or a few times.
Got ready for the pictures at 3 - Bonnie looked so great in her dress, I felt rather dapper too. We ran through the family pics - 15 groups/poses, all outdoors, then we stll had half-hour til the ceremony.
(to be continued)
Thursday - organizing last minute, running errands. Andy & Becki & Maggie came over in the evening, went to Shen Hua & walked over to Telegraph and Amoeba, then back for some musical exchange with me & Andy.
Friday - Met up with my family at their breakfast grotto at the hotel in Marin (Greg & family (Vicki, Elise, Sterling), and my parents, and my sister Rebecca & Rob). I had a rapid-fire itinerary for a driving tour of San Francisco w/ a few stops, which everyone seemed on board for, so we were off (in 2 cars, I was with Rob & Becca). We got through a few stops - GG Bridge, Presidio, Great Hwy/Ocean Beach, GG Park (w/ Bison), Haight Ashbury, Twin Peaks. Then we took a trip to visit my sister's former workplace in Diamond Hgts, and the group decided to go for Chinese food, which was the day's undoing. Ordering for that many people & kids is a debacle, with an orgy of food & long wait times. Then a few people were tired/cranky & a trip back to the hotel took up the rest of the day. Lunch I can deal with, ( I was thinking of stopping for lunch at our next stop, Pier 39), but this just derailed us & we missed out on seeing : Castro, Chinatown, Marina, Fisherman's Wharf, North Beach, Embarcadero, downtown, Bay Bridge, Treasure Island... Becca & Rob and I ended up going back to East Bay, via downtown/Market St, which was a spectacle of seething humanity to behold (worthy of being its own tourist attraction). We hit some of Berkeley (Sho Chiku Bai!) & went to Lake Merritt, then headed back. Friday night was our planned BBQ w/ our immediate families. But we showed up inconveniently early - Bonnie & crew were still hard at work in the kitchen...
So, when Greg & crew showed up, we had to scoot. Which was fine, my mom wanted to see the East Bay Vivarium, so we had a good time checking out the place (even ran into Chere in the parking lot!) By the time we got back, brother Gordon & family were there, and the festivities were underway. Gave a speech welcoming everyone, then explained the lay of the land & what to expect at the event.
Saturday was an early start. Nicole went to pick up the cake & Susan from the airport, Bonnie & I stopped at Costco on the way over, Tracey was holding down the fort & waiting to help load up our friends w/pickup trucks who were coming by. The next batch of time went smoothly - getting there, getting in to the hostel, unloading rentals. Casual lunch started around 1, it was a good thing we had people come early - a few got lost (though the didn't mind the scenic route). If they were targeting getting there at 4, they woulda missed. Saturday day was great - so many people huggin together, friends I hadn't seen in a long while, Bonnie's fami I'd met only once or a few times.
Got ready for the pictures at 3 - Bonnie looked so great in her dress, I felt rather dapper too. We ran through the family pics - 15 groups/poses, all outdoors, then we stll had half-hour til the ceremony.
(to be continued)
posted by pegasusgiraffe at 5:23 AM
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