When we last left our intrepid heroes, they were having all kinds of mechanical difficulties... and mentioned that they had just returned from the Great Northwest.
Well, I suppose that tales from that trip must be told, and told now. The reason for our trip was a wedding. One of Mrs. Geek's second cousins was the groom in question, as a matter of fact. The wedding of a second cousin (who you haven't seen since God knows when) is a bit of flimsey excuse for travel... but I had not visited the Great Northwest before last week and had only heard good things. Plus, there were a whole raft of relatives who were unable to come to our wedding last year. This was my chance to meet even more them... especially since they were quite fun.
The wedding itself was at 5pm on a Saturday afternoon, with the rehearsal dinner and the reception at the groom's parents' house. This dwelling shall henceforth be known as The Shack By The Beach (TSBTB). TSBTB is... well how to describe it? Mrs. Geek's Stepmom said "all your relatives need to know is that it is 7000 square feet and there are clothing racks in the closets that spin like the ones at the dry cleaners." I think that description goes far. The only thing I would add is that the entry way is a Great Room with 40+ foot ceilings and walls of glass (some of it etched) on two sides.
Both the rehearsal dinner and the wedding day were quite fun. We brought excellent weather with us -- sunny, warm, and clear. There were a few clouds when we arrived on Friday, but our weather mojo banished them by Saturday noon. Good food and booze flowed abundantly. The ceremony was in a Catholic high school chapel -- the groom's alma mater -- where the couple was married by the groom's uncle, the Jesuit. Mrs. Geek and I were pleased that we were seated at a table with her Dad and two of his siblings, plus the widower of a third sibling (plus assorted spouses). Everyone got along well -- which hasn't always been the case, let me tell you!!
Sunday involved more meeting and mingling with various family members. There was a family Mass in the TSBTB great room, the Jesuit celebrating, followed by brunch. After that, we headed over to an afternoon BBQ with another branch (of the oh-so-many) of the family tree. From there we traveled about 90 minutes north to have dinner with one of my Mom's first cousins, R. and his wife T. R. lost touch with the family for a good 25-30 years -- my Mom hadn't seen him since sometime in the Watergate years. He's very interested in making up for lost time though, and we had a very pleasant evening with them.
Monday involved looking at houses for sale. No, Mrs. Geek and I haven't suddenly decided to pull up stakes and head to the Great Northwest. We are not uninterested in what other areas might have to offer though. One of Mrs. Geek's relations is a realtor and we availed ourselves of the opportunity to see what a different real estate market looked like. We saw four houses that had been on the market for a while, all early 20th Century with at least 3 bedrooms in the $350-400K range in one of the most desirable nearby neighborhoods. While none of them were real gems, we were assured that much more interesting homes do regularly pop up on the market for comparable prices... and quickly sell within days. I'll say this: it was VERY refreshing to see homes of decent size and good location that we could realistically afford. VERY nice.
Tuesday was devoted to various tourist-y pursuits... followed by a night flight home.
In all, I think it was a very successful trip... and a nice break from the daily grind. As for what's happening at Company O. these days, that's another story entirely and will be discussed next. Tune in next time! Same Bat time, same Bat channel!
said drgeek
on 2005-07-25 at 9:59 p.m.
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The Wayback Machine - To Infinity And Beyond
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