Wedding

Betty stayed over at my place Thursday night, then we left for my friend's the next morning.  Her guy got our mountains of stuff into the RV, we hopped in, and off we went to Beacon, New York.
Nice going up--tree-covered rolling hills and so on--and fairly smooth drive.  Stopped for lunch (which we had packed) and got there in three or four hours. Went first to the campground--a very nice one with a pool and free pancake breakfasts--unhooked the car and were driven to the Days Hotel, somewhat of a dump, but it had the virtue of being cheap.  Friend and hubby went back to the campground, then picked us up later for the first festivity of the weekend: the "rehearsal party" (not to be confused with the rehearsal dinner, which was for wedding party and parents only).
Party was held at Chill, a kind of storefront wine bar and was lots of fun.  We stayed talking and imbibing until after 11:00, then back to hotel.
Saturday, the day of, we had the free, but mediocre breakfast at the hotel.  Nephew Tim, his friend, Halley (a girl, but not his girlfriend); his boy, Cal (who is, I calculated, about six four), also stayed there. They invited us to the nearby Red Line Diner, where they had breakfast and we coffee.
Got an e-mail from nephew David, asking who all wanted to go to Kingston with them to visit some old friends of theirs from Duck.  I did and so did Cal.  Betty would have gone, but there was room for only four in the rental car, so she was okay hanging out at the hotel and environs.
Dave and Polly picked Cal and me up and we spent a pleasant day with Mary Ann, Sandy, and their daughter, Katie, at "Keegan," the brewery they own with a partner.  Had lunch and good ale outside, then we drove back to get ready for the wedding.
I walked in at 3:00 with just barely enough time to get changed and primped before we were picked up and for the short drive to the Gulian Historic Site.
This includes a house built in the 1700s and a luxurious green lawn which rolls down to a spectacular view of the Hudson.  Lots of pictures were taken, of course, and nephew Tim and his assistant set up his video equipment to record the wedding.
We mingled for a good hour, then sat in the chairs facing the river and, a bit uncomfortably, the sun beating directly into our faces. Luckily, I had my hat, but it was still pretty damn hot.
Ceremony was conducted by the bride's uncle with lots of homey expressions of the undying love variety.  Groom's mother recited a poem and bride's mother original haiku, neither of which were audible; best man performed on drums with hired duo, who sang; others said a few words and the ceremony ended with, of course, congrats all around.
We were then treated to pre-dinner cocktails and wine, along with mingling with relatives and others. After that, there was dinner in the barn, with music and dancing throughout the meal and, I understand, until about three am, but we left about 11:00 (?) to fall into bed.
The next morning, there was a "top off the weekend" breakfast at the Courtyard across the street from our hotel. Went and had scrambled eggs and more visiting and talk until we said goodbye to all.  Shortly, friend and husband picked us, plus nephew Rob and his Jan, up, and we drove to the Walkway Over the Hudson, maybe twenty miles away.
The five veteran walkers among us made it the total of 3.6 miles on a former concrete rail carrier over the river, along with lots of other people and dogs (the whole area is the doggiest loving place I've ever seen).  Betty walked over, but with her bad knee, asked to be driven back on one of the ranger golf cart, not an unusual request, we understood.  The views are magnificent here--California has nothing on the upper northeast--and it felt good to be out of confined spaces. After, we went to Mahoney's Irish Pub and ate outside on the veranda.  The waitress spilled a soda on friend's husband's shorts, which on this hot, hot day was no problem--in fact, was the occasion of much hilarity.  Dropped back off at our hotel late in the day, Betty and I were glad to relax and we turned in early.
Home yesterday after an activity-packed three days that must have cost forty grand, considering the number of people there--two hundred maybe, although I'm no judge.  Had a ball, the best part seeing so many of my older sister's grandchildren and great-grandchildren, a beautiful bunch if ever there was one.
The bride being an artist (the groom is an architect), there were several art-related features during the weekend, including little (about 4" by 4") canvases which each guest was asked to decorate with Magic Markers provided.  These were then used as attendees' place cards at dinner.
The above is just a bare bones account, of course.  We had a great time and I loved all of it. Now I love being home again.
Got home to find that super-sweet son, Mikey Boy, had replaced my old computer keypad and mouse with a brand new one--happy day! He had stayed over here while I was away.
A very pleasant home-again happening was a Skype call from that adorable little dynamo, K., in Tokyo.  Betty was happy to see him, too, as he demonstrated his dexterity with several objects.  You would swear he was texting as he used his thumbs on his cell phone; not sure if it's a toy or an actual old phone.