Our Vacation

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Originally uploaded by jjdrury81

I am sitting on the couch watching Fantasia 2000. It is 20 after 10:00pm on Friday night. Lauren is asleep next to me on the couch. She has been that way for about an hour. She has not been feeling well. Both of us have had spats with a stomach flu since our vacation. It could have been the airport food. Or it could have been the food on the plane. Our stomachs our so sensitive now. If we go more than a day with out fresh home cooked food we get wonky. It could have been any number of things.

I want to write down my experiences from the trip while they are still fresh in my mind. I have been trying to think about the best way to do this. I always think about my longer blogs before I write them. I spend that time when you are lying in bed but not quite asleep imagining what I should write and how I should write it. It always sounds so much better at night. Sometimes I have half a mind to get out of bed and start writing. But I never do.

At any rate I have decided to do a day by day analysis. It is the cheap and easy way out.

Sunday December 21st: We slept in this morning. We had found out the night before that church was to be canceled this day. Portland was in the midst of the worst snowstorm the city has seen in almost a century. In all we woould get approximately 8 inches. The city has only 50 plows to deal with its population of over 500,000. They keep no salt or sand on hand. Side roads were definitively not plowed. Shortly after we woke up Lauren learned that her grandmother did not intend on planning the wedding. We were not getting married in the catholic church. The day was turning sour and quick.

We spent the next few hours worrying about our flight being canceled. The snow kept coming. There was a statewide law in effect stating that no cars were allowed on the road without either chains or 4X wheel drive. The snow kept coming. We ended up leaving our house around 5:00pm. Our flight was scheduled for 10:30pm. Roads all over the city were being closed to all traffic. We did not want to be stuck here.

We spend our time at the airport hoping our flight would not be canceled. Approximately 80% of the flight into and out of PDX were canceled. We waited and waited. Our flight was delayed and then delay some more. Eventually, at about 3:00am our flight left for Newark.

Monday December 22nd: We arrived in Newark approximately 11:00am Eastern Standard Time. We were originally supposed to catch a flight to Rhode Island at 8:30am. Since we had obviously missed that the airline had booked us on a 4:00pm to Boston. The flight was delayed until 6:00pm. We decided that it would be easier to have Bonnie come pick us up in Newark. We talked to baggage claim and order our bags pulled. We called Bonnie and sent her on her way.

About 2 hours later we still did not have our bags. I went back to baggage claim and discovered that our baggage had already been sent to Boston. Bonnie was about halfway to Newark. Lauren's wedding dress was in the luggage. She had not really slept and was on the verge of hysteria. It was all I could do to remain calm and discuss what our options were at this point. We decided the best course of action would be to drive to Boston with Bonnie.

Bonnie picked us up, I got in the drivers seat, and we headed for Boston. We hit New York City traffic and a 20 mile portion of the trip took 2hrs. We were nervous that we would not make it before the Boston baggage claim close. We reached Logan International Airport around 11:00pm. I was told to find my bags amidst literally hundreds of others from people in similar situations. I got the bags and waited outside for Lauren and Bonnie to circle back and get me. I thought I was going to freeze to death on that Boston not. I have gotten weak. I thought Portland had been cold as of late. Nothing I have experienced since I got to the Northwest could compare to the cold of this New England night.

We headed back for Pittsfield and got back to Bonnie's around 2:00am. We were in transit for over 30hrs. We had plenty of scares. We were tired and worn down. We had lost a full day of an already very busy vacation. But we came through it fairly well. I calmed Lauren down when she was hysterical. She calmed me down when I had lost my nerves. We had heard so many horror stories in airports. We were actually quite lucky. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people were stuck in an airport on standby until Christmas. Families had children with them in Newark yet their luggage, Christmas presents and all, were in Houston or New Orleans or Colorado. The airport was not a happy place. We were overjoyed to be back at Bonnie's that night preparing for sleep.


Tuesday December 23rd: We slept in. I honestly have no idea what time we woke up. We had things to do this day. We had coffee and some quiche and were out the door. Bonnie let us borrow her vehicle. I dropped Lauren off at the Norman Rockwell Museum. She was meeting old friends, having lunch, meeting her brother at the Cheese Monger to finish the cheese purchasing, buying wine and then going to my grandmother's house to drop it off. I drove to my parents house. I briefly saw my mother. I saw my father for the first time in a year and a half. I went in the house and spent about an hour and a half with him. We shot the shit, he made fun of me for my glasses and we generally caught up.

After that I headed over to my grandparents house. They were, after all, letting us have our wedding and 30 people into their house. We had only given them 30 days notice, if that. I stopped by saw the both of them and took a look at the house. Everything looked great. We discussed the wedding, life and so on. I spent about an hour over there.

At some point in all of this, and I do not exactly remember when, we learned that Lauren's grandmother would be attending our wedding. Lauren had sent out a plea to several of her aunts to beg their mother to attend. It worked. I can not describe how eternally grateful we were for this.

I then went to the Dakota to see some old friends. It was still early and a Tuesday. Accordingly, only a few people were there. I visited for several minutes and went across the street to Guido's to see Laura. We stood in the store talking for about a half an hour before hunger pushed me onward. I stopped at Hot Harry's and brought it back to my parents to eat. The burrito was good but definitely showed me the extent to which I have been spoiled in Portland. For $2.00 less I get a burrito that has fresher ingredients and is more authentic. But this is a side note. We do not dine out nearly enough for me to care. I do love those chips.

I headed back to Bonnie's and took a nap. I was still very tired for the previous days of travel. I called Lauren and she informed me that she would be going to the Larkin's for a wedding party for Janet. I was to go to Dave's. Dave picked me up and we headed to his place. We had a lot of catching up to do. We ordered a pizza from Tyler street. I would like to stop here to note how absolutely delicious the pizza was. We watched some sports. We went to BigY to buy ingredients for his office potluck holiday the following day. Dave's brother Paul stopped over. We did more catching up.

I was home around 11:30pm. Lauren was not. I woke up around 2:15 to pee and Lauren was still not home. I assumed she was dead. Ever since I was a very young boy I have done this. It is a coping mechanism. I prepare for the worst. Turns out she had went out to a bar with some friends and then went back to one of their houses. A mini “bachelorette” party. She was home shortly.

Wednesday December 24th: It is Christmas Eve. I am also getting married. We woke up, had coffee and some quiche. Lauren went to her mother's and then to my grandmother's to get everything set with the wine and cheese. Her and her brother put a lot of time and effort into having delicious wine and cheese pairings. We had the best cheeses that Whole Foods and the Cheese Monger had to offer. We had crackers, bread, fruit and red and white wines. Some of the best I ever had.

I was instructed that I had to be there two hours early. Our ceremony was to be at 2:00pm so I arrived before noon. It was immediately evident that there was not a single thing for me to do. Lauren and her brother were arranging the cheeses and wine. My grandmother was arranging glasses for the champagne toast. I paced. And then I paced some more. I received a brief respite from the pacing when Meghan arrived and we did a rehearsal. We had arranged the ceremony and readings several weeks before. True to our fashion, we had not looked at it sense. I stared at Meghan too much during the ceremony. I am a goofball.

Around 1:00pm Lauren went upstairs to dress. I was not to see her again until the ceremony. I paced. People started arriving. I paced. I could not eat the cheese until after the ceremony. No wine until after the ceremony. I paced. I greeted people at the door. Lauren's family and mine started arriving. In all approximately 30 people were in attendance. Right at 2:00 pm we were ready.

Meghan came down to inform the crowd we were ready. Lauren's father went to the top of the stairs to walk her down. I hear it tell that she began to cry. He walked her down the stairs and through the crowd of family and friends. He dropped her off at me, shook my hand and stood next to his wife. The ceremony had begun. I had arranged for Meghan to read a beautiful quote about love from C.S. Lewis. I thought it would bore people. It actually went over quite well. I have been told that I looked around too much during the ceremony. Lauren kept squeezing my hands. She was beaming with nervousness an joy. I thought she was going to burst. I am a goof. The fact that I said my lines is a miracle. My head was swirling. I thought Lauren was going to burst.

Meghan pronounced us “man and wife” and announced us to the crowd as “Mr. and Mrs. Joseph John Drury, Jr.” I can hear scores of thousands of jealous women out there as I type this. Finally, I thought, wine and cheese. I was married. Now I wanted to enjoy myself. Oh but how wrong I was. At first we had a touching champagne toast. Ciana walked amongst the crowd with a basket of red and white flowers. She was our flower girl. She handed out a flower to every guest in attendance. Meghan gave a short speech to “the newlyweds”. My grandfather attempted to give a speech. He was all choked up. Eventually he got out his advice. “Never go to bed angry” and “Always say 'I love you'.” Wise words indeed. He then chokingly welcomed Lauren “to the Drury family”.

But wine and cheese were not in my immediate future. First there were pictures. Then there were more pictures. There were pictures of me and Lauren. There were pictures of me and Lauren and her parents. There were pictures of me and Lauren with my parents. There were pictures with our grandparents. There were pictures with aunts and uncles. There were pictures with siblings. There were pictures with Ciana.

At some point I was able to enjoy wine and cheese and relax. Pictures went on throughout the day. But they lessened after the first hour. Elvis Christmas blasted through the house. I enjoyed some great cheeses and wine. I smoked a cigar with Murph and Dave. I visited with family members I had not seen in a long time. I conversed with members of Lauren's family that I had only briefly meet.

Lauren's aunt from Seattle, a dear friend of ours, had ordered us a wedding cake.  She had also ordered an apple pie for me.  I will write at some point about my "you are either a pie man or a cake man" theory.  Barack Obama agrees and is a cake man himself.  At any rate the top of the cake was the piece from my grandparents 25th wedding anniversary.  We cut the cake and lovingly fed eachother bites.  I did not 'mash' it into her face.  I much preffered to give it to her gently as she lived in constant fear that I would smash it in.

Eventually things winded down and people started to filter out. Our goal was to have everyone on their way by 4:00 pm. We left around 5:00pm. We headed off to our hotel room. My family had chipped in and gotten us a nice room at the Crowne Plaza for our wedding. At first we thought it was silly. We ending up being extremely appreciative for it.

After a brief respite we headed off to Lauren's aunts house for an annual Christmas Eve Christmas party. We mingled, at food and had some drinks. At one point there was a champagne toast in our honor. Around 8:30 we had Dave come pick us up to go back to my parents. We stayed at my folks house for about an hour and were pretty much done with the day. We were ready to go back to the hotel. It had been an extremely long day.

Thursday December 25th: Merry Christmas. We are married. I have a wife. Merry Christmas. We woke up and went down for our free breakfast. We packed and my mother picked us up. It is hard getting used to this ring. We spent about 2 hours at my parents. We opened presents. We watched Ciana open presents. We ate some great food. Of particular note was a homemade coffee cake that Bonnie made.

After this we headed over to Lauren's aunt's house (other side of her family) for Christmas festivities. We exchanged gifts and had a drink and some appetizers. We conversed and were generally merry. We proceeded to a sit down dinner. We had beef tenderloin with hollandaise sauce, falafel, mashed potato, squash, green beans and more. I took part in some of the beef tenderloin. I do eat meat. I am not a vegetarian. I just do not eat meat as a practical matter. It is never in our house. Meat that would be acceptable to me is expensive. At any rate, it was delicious. I could only have a very small piece. These things fill you up when you are not used to them.

After Lauren's aunts we went back to my parents. We put on some Elvis Christmas and relaxed. Lauren's folks had given me a new Elvis Christmas duets cd. We made sure to work that into the mix. We had a second meal and watched the Lakers-Celtics game. We ate and drank and were merry. Murph and Ada stopped over to visit. Around 8:00pm Lauren went to go meet back up with her family at here cousins house. I stayed to spend time with my folks and Murph and Ada.

Later on in the evening Murph brought me back to his old man's house to see his cat that he had brought home for the holidays. Murph's dad offered me a beer and I did not refuse. The four of us ended up spending the waning hours of Christmas day sitting around the kitchen table drinking a beer and discussing life. We discussed god and religion, Christmas, politics, weddings, buying a house, the 'stuff white people like' book and a whole lot more.

I was to Bonnie's around midnight. Lauren was already fast asleep.

Friday December 26th: Lauren woke up early to go out with a friend. I slept in and slumbered around in the morning eating quiche and drinking coffee. I meet the two of them at Patrick's for lunch. We split their nachos which are of immeasurable fame in our house. I had a bowl of clam chowder and a diet coke.

After this I head off to the Dakota. Everyone that I was unable to see on Tuesday was there. It is still the same old place. It is amazing to me that for the better part of 7 years I worked there. I feel intimately connected to the place. It can pain me if I meditate on the fact that I will never work there again. I did plenty of catching up. I might have even found a pig for our wedding party this summer. We want the party to be accessible to as many friends and family members as possible. We are considering the a pig roast at the Controy Pavillion.

I spent over an hour at the Dakota. After the visit I headed back to Bonnie's and was just in time for her annual Christmas party. She had an array of appetizers, soup and salad and beverages for everyone. We partook in the traditional brown bag secret Santa We exchanged gifts. We all watched Ciana participate in the Christmas activities. Of course, I had Elvis Christmas going. There are many food items worth noting here. While Bonnie's was visiting she discovered “Rose City Pepperheads” pepper jelly at our Farmer's Market. The stuff is good enough to have shipped to New England. She had a jar set up with cheese and crackers. She also gave my father a few jars as a gift. There were also some vegetarian back jalapeno poppers that I do so love. I had a few white russian's myself. The night was capped off with Ciana giving everyone 'tattoos' from the tattoo book she had received for Christmas.

Next up was seeing Dave Brown. He was sitting in with a band at a bar in Lenox. We got there and the both of us experienced some mild culture shock. We had forgotten what “going out” is like in Pittsfield. We are used to people going out in their pajamas. We are used to people going out in clothes that have holes and tears from use and not from purchase. We are used to people having outfits that are clearly cheap and clearly artistic. We are used to going out to dark and dingy places. We do not go often. But we do on the rare occasion. And this is the only experience to be had in Portland. We were shocked to find that people had “dressed up” to go to a bar on a Friday night. We were surprised at how well lit the place was. We were surprised at how many people were there.

Between the two of us we saw more people than we care to remember. We knew, at least second hand, almost everyone there. This is also not a familiar experience with us. I did see some old friends from my hockey days. It was nice to see people for the first time in 15 years and discuss life. But the night was about Dave Brown and he did not disappoint. It was great to see him play and to converse. Murph and Ada stopped by as well. It was great to see them one more time as well.

Saturday December 27th: We woke up and had our parents over Bonnie's for breakfast. We had Dunkin Donuts, scrambled eggs, leftovers of the homemade coffee cake and plenty of coffee. Lauren and I scrambled to ensure that everything was packed. Eventually we loaded the car and my in-law's (first time I ever used that term) brought us to the airport. The ride was relatively quiet. There was not much talking. When we did arrive at the airport Lauren's father said something to me that I do not think I will ever forget. As we were saying our goodbye's he said “you're a good guy Joe. I'm glad you married Lauren”. I was going to make a joke out of it at first. But I could not do it. I just shook his hand and gave him a hug.

The flight home went without incident. We arrived back at our place and showered Alice with love.