For fear that this post may miraculously morph into a book I will spare details, instead focusing on destinations, and perhaps provide a few anecdotes along the way.
I left Georgia at around 2 PM on Thursday, July 31, and drove to High Point, NC to stay with Bethany Limpach. She only lives 5 1/2 hours away and yet it has taken all summer for me to finally make a trip to see her! This was necessary, and the perfect beginning to an amazing week.
On Friday, I left High Point at around 11 (later than expected--Bethany and I got to talking in her bathroom). The trip to Cleveland was, for lack of a better word, looooong. But I survived, meeting up with the bride, her groom, and several other friends for dinner at Lise's sister's house. Jess drove up from Hudson, joining Libby, Lise, and me on a trip to the airport to pick up the other bridesmaids.
Time with the quadmates was also necessary as we have not all been together since first semester of our senior year. How I have missed those girls!
The rest of the weekend went like this: coffee/breakfast on Saturday morning, getting our nails done, a bridal luncheon at Lise's house, the rehearsal/rehearsal dinner/a trip to the Sullivans' house in Hudson to retrieve Jess's things so she could stay with us at the hotel. We visited with Tom and Jen Chamberlin for awhile--it was wonderful. On Sunday, the b'maids made a trip to Dunkin' Donuts to get coffee for Elise and bring it to her at the wedding site. We were surprised to discover that only the Richardson family was there to help, and when I say Richardsons I mean the immediate fam. So we did what all good b'maids would do: we pitched in and decorated until everything was done. The rest of the day we spent getting ready to make our "smashing" debut at the ceremony.
Lise and Austin were married on Sunday, August 3rd, a little after 5:30 pm. It was a great ceremony, and an awesome wedding--probably one of the best I've ever been to (and I've been to a LOT!) On Monday, I met my friend Danielle for lunch in Cleveland, and then drove 5 1/2 hours to Indianapolis. I went to Yats and my favorite bookstore, Half Price Books, with my friend Neil. He was quite the trooper, being sick and all, but he survived.
Tuesday and Wednesday were devoted to Indy excursions: there was never a dull moment. Between meeting a friend of a friend to talk about L'Abri, to driving up to Anderson to see Libby, to going downtown with Strickland, Kaufman, and Lisa, I felt so grateful to have such amazing friends. And that was just Tuesday. On Wednesday, I hung out with Bethany Limpach again, going to dinner and seeing our friend Julie, and ended this crazy trip playing dutch blitz and eating ice cream at Julie's boyfriend's house.
All in all, it was worth the gas and mileage put on my poor car, and the hours I sat in front of a steering wheel and windshield. I hope to make it up to Indiana one more time before leaving for Europe. But if not, I will wait impatiently for April, for the chance to rejoin everyone permanently.
blessings,
liz
