Magically Whisked Away To Delaware
Last weekend, my Dad got hitched. He married a lovely woman named Nancy Carol Willis. The service took place in Middletown, Delaware. That is exactly 2,880 miles from Portland. I left on Friday; I was home by Sunday. What a whirlwind of a weekend.
I stayed in Baltimore with Yasser and Katherine. I wasn't able to stay at my Mom's. She has been sick, but she is feeling much better now. Friday night I arrived in Federal Hill by 11pm. As I walked from Camden Yards to Clement Street, I felt an overwhelming sense of being home.
Early Saturday morning, the girls picked me up. The four of us drove north to Delaware. The service was scheduled for noon. We arrived in Middletown with enough time to eat an early lunch. I had Safeway Sushi. Yum. I can't remember the church's name, but its located in the middle of a farm field. It wasn't very large.
We arrived early and had time to greet others. I saw so many people I hadn't seen for many years. Over time, I have become decent friends with my Dad's friends. I was happy to see Jason and his wife, Ashley, Patricia, Art, Diana, Zoey, Mark, Valley, John, Eileen and Jim. Of course, I also saw my cousins Lindsay and Natalie and Aunt Liz.
The ceremony was short, sweet and beautiful. A few family members played music. Aunt Liz had a few readings. The Pastor was jovial and not long winded. My Dad and Nancy seemed very happy.
Directly after the ceremony, everyone drove to the reception. It was held at the Frog Hollow Golf Club. The club house is a converted barn. As you enter, you walk into a large room with extremely high ceilings. It has plenty of light with room for tables and dancing. In the corner was an open bar with Dogfish on tap! Yay Delaware! In another corner sat a three piece jazz band. They proved their talents throughout the afternoon.
For the first part of the reception, everyone mingled around the room. I really enjoyed spending time with each aforementioned person. It was especially cool to hang out with my cousins. Before too long, we took our seats for dinner. I shared a table with Art and his family. Nancy's step daughter and son-in-law also sat at the table. Our conversation was interesting and ranged from Presidential politics to Rock 'n Roll. I do have to say, the food was awesome. I ate some sort of stuff chicken with an array of vegetables. For dessert, the cake was top notch! It featured strawberries baked in chocolate batter.
After dinner, everyone loosened up. There was a speech by Nancy's best friend. It was very moving. The jazz band started to fill the dance floor. I danced with a few of my sisters. Everyone was having a wonderful time. Unfortunately, the afternoon was over before I knew it. It didn't end without a few goofy pictures of the entire family. I even signed a large framed photograph of Dad and Nancy. They were wearing seasonal sweaters, so I wrote, "Nice seasonal sweaters. Love, Simeon." As everyone was saying goodbye, Nancy and Dad gave me a present. It is a signed copy of "The Robbins In Your Backyard." Nancy's illustrations are amazing.
Right after the reception, Nancy and Dad drove to Philadelphia to catch a flight to Paris. They are there right now. Nice right? The girls and I gathered with my cousins. We wanted to hangout some more, but we needed a plan. We decided to try and get some dinner. The next few hours were a bit annoying. We trounced around Delaware trying to organize ourselves. At one point, we were thinking of driving to Kent Island for dinner. I am glad we ditched that plan. We ended up at the North Star in Middletown. The food was decent, but the company was most important. I haven't caught up with my cousins in years. I really enjoyed this experience.
After dinner, we said our goodbyes. My cousins drove back down the Eastern Shore to Grasonville. We went around the other side of the Chesapeake to Baltimore. The girls dropped me back on Clement Street before continuing on to Annapolis.
The time was about 10pm. I finished off the night with a few hours at Rafters with Yasser, Tim and Lincoln. We played beer pong. Some girl put $65 bucks worth of music on the jukebox. Horrible. Lucky for us, it ended before the night was over. The entire bar was elated when the country and rap stopped. To finish off the evening, we stopped by Hilltop. Its the worst, but can you really mess up cheese fries?
I was back at BWI by 7am Sunday morning. I touched down at PDX by 1pm PST. I was gone approximately 48 hours. Wow, that is crazy. It was well worth the journey! I am extremely happy for Nancy and Dad. It is awesome to have new family members! Hopefully, I'll have more time to get to know everyone. I was very grateful to see Aunt Liz, Lindsay and Natalie. I am happy they are all doing well, and I hope to see them soon. Now, I can't forget Rafters. I miss this amazing establishment. All good things must come to an end. This good weekend came to an end faster than I hoped. I was dead tired until Tuesday.
