While all of the family plans were taking root, Lor and I had arranged some plans of our own. In addition to our February anniversary celebration, we had decided to extend the 30 year milestone party to travel to Nashville and then to our home in Bradenton in conjunction with the Iowa wedding we were attending in the end of June. First, we would attend the wedding of my sister Lisa on the 24th of June. The affair was held in a barn setting in Bucks County on a very warm evening. The dress code was casual as was the atmosphere. It was both Lisa and Jim’s second time around. I think that there were about eighty plus people there to join in the festivities. Nick and my niece, Chelsey, danced down the grassy aisle throwing rose petals along the route as Lisa followed accompanied by her six year old son James. My Dad had the opportunity to deliver a rousing yet pretentious speech during the reception that had the guests quite amused. It was perfect.
The next leg of our journey led us that evening to South Philadelphia where we spent the night at Nicks newly renovated home. It was beautifully remodeled from top to bottom. Crazy that he would be putting it up for sale shortly. We went right to bed as we would need to leave at 8 am on Sunday, the next morning, to be at the airport for our flights to Des Moines, Iowa. First, a flight to Charlotte, NC. The packed airplane would depart at 10 am and take us to Chicago where we had a 45 minute layover. A quick lunch and we would take off again, another packed plane, landing in Des Moines, IA at 2:30 pm. With no time to spare and our second wedding in two days starting at 4:30, Lor and I bolted across the airport to the rental car pickup and then right to the hotel to get ready for the formal event. Our destination was about forty five minutes south to another barn style wedding where we would watch Kevin and Liz tie the knot. Joey was a groomsman for Kev and had the pleasure of walking down the aisle with a beautiful blond… Golden Doodle! OMG! Kevin and Liz wanted their ‘Kid’ to be in the wedding and Joe accepted the challenge. It was cute. The day was beautiful and the affair equally exquisite. With about 125 people in attendance, the event lasted late into the night. We had a wonderful time, especially because all of Joe’s buddies were in the wedding. All hockey players, the boys all grew up playing together until they split up in their different directions across the country, following their dream. All excellent players and athletes in their own right, they were a great group of young men. It was a blast.
The next day, we had planned a down day to relax and spent the day hanging out with Joe and Kara. We explored downtown Des Moines and traversed through masses of cornfields that made the rural roads feel like paths in a Halloween corn maze. We had a nice time and afterwards headed back to the hotel to get ready for our trip to Nashville. It was time to get this celebration in gear. We had never been to Nashville before and were very excited to see the southern city that never sleeps. The honky tonk bars and Country music capital of the US. Another packed plane to Chicago, a 2 hour layover, a full flight to our new destination and my very first Uber ride from the airport to the Nashville Marriott! Five days to explore the city, celebrate our 30 years of marriage, indulge in a well earned vacation, and just relax. It was Our Turn right now…. to get Covid.
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