Just spent the weekend with a bunch of wonderful family and friends and I at LEAST need to document that experience for now. It was quite the reunion weekend.
Trying to plan for this little weekend was pretty stressful, I'll be honest. We were kind of behind the eight ball with buying tickets for a couple different reasons, so once we cracked down and decided to get the tickets, it was a game of finding something affordable. For Dave flying out of Atlanta (after driving from Alabama) and me out of Wichita. But I wasn't giving up because Chris and Marina's wedding was a must. So that was that.
Things started falling in place a little more when my sister Angela suggested I stay with the family the night after the wedding instead of in a Pittsburgh hotel. I booked a flight that left Monday instead of Sunday because it was WAY cheaper (Wichita, you suck for travel plans). Dave, however, had to fly out on Sunday to be back to class on Monday. When I decided to stay with Gene and Emma (who have claimed me as a daughter:), we figured out we'd need two rentals so that we could both drive back to the airport. Last minute, Dave thought of the idea of me just driving him to the airport on Sunday, driving back to Erie, and then back to Pittsburgh on Monday (2 hour drive each way). Crazy? A little. More time with Dave, even if it's in the car? Yes. Sometimes the chaotic logistics can be fun. We're used to them.
Wake up at 3:30 a.m Saturday. Stop at Dillon's for quart-size bag for toiletries and travel-size contact solution (I'm surprised those are the only things that came up missing). Get to airport at 5:10 a.m. for a 6 a.m. take-off, usually plenty of time for ICT. Huge lines. Get through, board plane. Layover in Minneapolis. Huge breakfast and bloody Mary. Board plane for Pittsburgh. Listen to pilot say "giggity" after all his announcements, laugh. Arrive at Pittsburgh to see Dave waiting for me at my gate! :) Get rental (Chevy Aveo) and refuse $9 upgrade to an SUV just on principle! Start trip to Erie and realize that might have been a mistake as it shakes and rattles. Arrive at the Avalon hotel to find our room isn't ready yet, along with all of the Endicott rooms, haha. Have some interesting customer service interactions but finally get our room. Get ready and walk to The Union at Concourse Station. Proceed with watching beautiful, short ceremony, party and several drinks......walk to the Plymouth Tavern bar, and the rest is history. Seriously. Was really out of it. Good times with the crew.
The next morning we got up and got ready to go and ended up stopping at Gene and Emma's for the family post-wedding lunch. Dave got to visit with some crew members for a little bit before they left and then we left to take him to the airport. I spend 4 hours in the beater, little red, driving to Pittsburgh and back. I may or may not get a cheeseburger and small fry from McDonald's on my way back to Erie just because it always just makes me feel a little bit more normal after a little bit too much to drink.
When I get back, the family went to a nice local Italian restaurant where they know the Tudico name. It was so good....I got Veal Parmesan. I could eat that every day. So many good laughs...even a little glass of wine :) and we practically closed the place.
Angela, Chris, Marina and I had driven separately in the beater, so we proceeded with our U.P trip-in- one-night plan. We headed to the beach on Lake Erie to get a glimpse of the sunset. Then we headed home, where Chris demanded Gene build a fire, haha. We sat around the fire for a bit and then our exhaustion got the best of us. My sister was gracious enough to let me sleep in her room and I slept a good 9 hours......nice!
Woke up and had some coffee and breakfast and a couple hours later.....A MONDAY HOT DOG ROAST! It was so fun.
I headed back to Pittsburgh and made little red go like 80 in a 65 the whole way, Yikes. She didn't like to stop, but racing was not her thing either. Dropped the car off real quick and then....BAM. HUGE line for security. It was 4. My flight was at 4:55. Wasn't gonna happen. So I did what I could and asked the lady for some help, while sort of flashing my mil I.D., and she sent me to the first class line. I'm in.
I'm not sure what has changed, but I'm really glad that I can focus enough to read now....in general, and on the plane. I continued reading "MWF Seeking BFF," as I eyed this little scrawny 17 or 18 year old teenage boy next to me (who really smelled like one, too) who had a big, sealed yellow envelope addressed to Parris Island Recruiting. HellO, Marines. Please don't kill this kid.
I can REALLY relate to this book and Rachel Bertsche. Have to love a book that is describing how you feel exactly. Ok, guess I'm not completely crazy. Ironically, I'm at a part of the book where she is traveling, and describing how she is being more open with talking to people when normally she would run from situations where she finds herself in a convo with a stranger, and that travel is a good opportunity to meet a potential BFF. Well when I settle into the Sam Adams Brewery in ATL, this older man on the way to FL to visit his Mom (in the hospital) talks to me and we talk until I lose track of time and trot toward my gate after boarding begins (will this like mid-fifties guy be my BFF? Um, no. But there was plenty to talk about!). Luckily, like the earlier flight, it was a full flight and things were delayed and I waited for a few minutes. Ok, not sure if it was the 2 beers I had, but I talked to the girl behind me walking onto the plane. She sat behind me and then I found myself talking to her and the lady next to her, as well as the girl siting across the aisle. Meanwhile, I guess the guy next to me was listening to what we were talking about because an hour into the flight he asks "So what kind of plane does your husband fly?" Then we talked the rest of the flight. What is my point? This is not like me. And it was fun, and a good ending to a great trip.
