Tour Diary - Day Five
Nov. 5th, 2016 10:17 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
waitingmanThe least amount of travel, but the most fun so far...
Saturday 8th October - Boulder & Denver
A bit of a sleep in today, with the smell of breakfast pancakes wafting into our bedroom & getting us out of our sofa-bed... Julia a lot sooner than me, but finally the thought of breakfast guided me up the stairs to the kitchen, where Gary was making crêpes
Today was wedding day for our friends Scott & Debbie & the invitation stressed that the dress code was 'flannel, relaxed & comfortable' which is kind of code for 'pyjamas' as far as we could tell... There was a tiny part of us that suspected this was an elaborate ruse to make the out-of-towners (country-ers?) look a bit silly at a formal occasion, but our sense of adventure & bravado kicked in & we decided to just go with it, no matter the outcome. Photographers can always be bribed... or threatened. Gary offered to take us into town where we could hit the Walmart for suitable wedding clothes (Hello Kitty pyjamas & rainbow unicorn slippers for Julia, a flannel shirt, drawstring pants & Captain America slippers for me), then do some boot shopping reconnaissance at a couple of outdoor stores in the area. Didn't really find what I'm looking for, but there a couple more stores & a couple more days, so hope is not lost
Back at the house, we changed into our new clothes, posed for a few photos that will probably, somehow leak onto the interweb despite our protestations, then we climbed into Travis, woke up TomTom & headed for the venue, still wondering aloud if this dress-code was too good to be true. With that in mind, we sat inside Travis at the carpark until we saw other people heading into the venue similarly attired, so felt confident enough to make an entrance. We were immediately greeted by the Bride & Groom... both in very comfortable-looking pyjamas. They introduced us to various family & friends - all in comfortable pyjamas & dressing gowns & we were served drinks by relaxed staff in flannel shirts. Feeling comfortable, relaxed & vindicated, we mingled with other guests for about 20 minutes, playing the "How do you know Scott & Debbie?" game. Then were all called down to the front of the room for the ceremony where, in front of around 30 family & guests, Scott & Debbie exchanged their own vows & before you knew it, they were married. Tears & cheers all round, even from the Celebrant. I love weddings that don't stick to the script, or even write their own & this was one of them. Even the venue was unconventional - a reception area in a cemetery... but there was nothing morbid or grave about the occasion. Comfortable & relaxed indeed
Afterwards, we joined a table that had a few spare seats which were soon filled with other friends of the happy couple, all curious about the 2 Australians & how we could possibly know Scott & Debbie. Turned out there were a few people who are/were on LiveJournal.com & welcome proof that not everyone who writes a 'blog is an agoraphobic introvert. Especially not the guy who calls himself Pink Halen, because his real name is Van Floyd. He arrived after the Ceremony, but in time to take the last seat at our table & quickly establish himself as the larger-than-life conversation-starter of the group. An interesting, well-travelled & entertaining person, he served as a kind of 'glue' for our table, keeping everyone involved in conversations that ranged all over - from good taste to bad, from the gutter to the stars, from Australia to Europe & back via Asia. Both Scott & Debbie managed to squeeze onto the table & into the fray at various times, especially given that 2 of Debbie's old friends were in the thick of it as well. Chris & John were another well-travelled & amusingly sociable couple &, from the sounds of their calendar/itinerary this year, we were lucky to see them
As the reception ended & 'official' photos were taken, we were asked to stick around, as the newlyweds wanted to have dinner with us. We thought there'd be other people coming along, but it turned out to be just us. Scott & Debbie are catching up with a few other wedding travellers in the next few days, but we were the first ones, which was a very touching honour, considering we hadn't actually seen them since 2012. We must have made an impression! So, a quick change out of our wedding clothes & into something a little less comfortable, then a late lunch or early dinner at the Village Inn, about 5 minutes drive from the venue. Good sandwiches, soup & slices of pie - none of which were intimidatingly large - & a fun catch-up & conversation with the newly-weds. So much so, that if we hadn't insisted that they go & spend some deserved time with each other, it's possible we might still be there... & that wouldn't be a bad thing, albeit a little selfish on our part
The drive back to Boulder got off to a bad start while trying to exit the carpark, but other than a couple of beeping horns, nothing was damaged except my ego... a little. Miles on the freeway with only one wrong exit taken brought us back 'home' at quite a respectable hour for a wedding/reception day. Gary & Kathy had just started watching 'Now You See Me 2', so we joined them for a bit of escapist fun with an impressive cast. Then the evening news & now bed... with the chance of an even better sleep-in tomorrow. We shall see
Saturday 8th October - Boulder & Denver
A bit of a sleep in today, with the smell of breakfast pancakes wafting into our bedroom & getting us out of our sofa-bed... Julia a lot sooner than me, but finally the thought of breakfast guided me up the stairs to the kitchen, where Gary was making crêpes
Today was wedding day for our friends Scott & Debbie & the invitation stressed that the dress code was 'flannel, relaxed & comfortable' which is kind of code for 'pyjamas' as far as we could tell... There was a tiny part of us that suspected this was an elaborate ruse to make the out-of-towners (country-ers?) look a bit silly at a formal occasion, but our sense of adventure & bravado kicked in & we decided to just go with it, no matter the outcome. Photographers can always be bribed... or threatened. Gary offered to take us into town where we could hit the Walmart for suitable wedding clothes (Hello Kitty pyjamas & rainbow unicorn slippers for Julia, a flannel shirt, drawstring pants & Captain America slippers for me), then do some boot shopping reconnaissance at a couple of outdoor stores in the area. Didn't really find what I'm looking for, but there a couple more stores & a couple more days, so hope is not lost
Back at the house, we changed into our new clothes, posed for a few photos that will probably, somehow leak onto the interweb despite our protestations, then we climbed into Travis, woke up TomTom & headed for the venue, still wondering aloud if this dress-code was too good to be true. With that in mind, we sat inside Travis at the carpark until we saw other people heading into the venue similarly attired, so felt confident enough to make an entrance. We were immediately greeted by the Bride & Groom... both in very comfortable-looking pyjamas. They introduced us to various family & friends - all in comfortable pyjamas & dressing gowns & we were served drinks by relaxed staff in flannel shirts. Feeling comfortable, relaxed & vindicated, we mingled with other guests for about 20 minutes, playing the "How do you know Scott & Debbie?" game. Then were all called down to the front of the room for the ceremony where, in front of around 30 family & guests, Scott & Debbie exchanged their own vows & before you knew it, they were married. Tears & cheers all round, even from the Celebrant. I love weddings that don't stick to the script, or even write their own & this was one of them. Even the venue was unconventional - a reception area in a cemetery... but there was nothing morbid or grave about the occasion. Comfortable & relaxed indeed
Afterwards, we joined a table that had a few spare seats which were soon filled with other friends of the happy couple, all curious about the 2 Australians & how we could possibly know Scott & Debbie. Turned out there were a few people who are/were on LiveJournal.com & welcome proof that not everyone who writes a 'blog is an agoraphobic introvert. Especially not the guy who calls himself Pink Halen, because his real name is Van Floyd. He arrived after the Ceremony, but in time to take the last seat at our table & quickly establish himself as the larger-than-life conversation-starter of the group. An interesting, well-travelled & entertaining person, he served as a kind of 'glue' for our table, keeping everyone involved in conversations that ranged all over - from good taste to bad, from the gutter to the stars, from Australia to Europe & back via Asia. Both Scott & Debbie managed to squeeze onto the table & into the fray at various times, especially given that 2 of Debbie's old friends were in the thick of it as well. Chris & John were another well-travelled & amusingly sociable couple &, from the sounds of their calendar/itinerary this year, we were lucky to see them
As the reception ended & 'official' photos were taken, we were asked to stick around, as the newlyweds wanted to have dinner with us. We thought there'd be other people coming along, but it turned out to be just us. Scott & Debbie are catching up with a few other wedding travellers in the next few days, but we were the first ones, which was a very touching honour, considering we hadn't actually seen them since 2012. We must have made an impression! So, a quick change out of our wedding clothes & into something a little less comfortable, then a late lunch or early dinner at the Village Inn, about 5 minutes drive from the venue. Good sandwiches, soup & slices of pie - none of which were intimidatingly large - & a fun catch-up & conversation with the newly-weds. So much so, that if we hadn't insisted that they go & spend some deserved time with each other, it's possible we might still be there... & that wouldn't be a bad thing, albeit a little selfish on our part
The drive back to Boulder got off to a bad start while trying to exit the carpark, but other than a couple of beeping horns, nothing was damaged except my ego... a little. Miles on the freeway with only one wrong exit taken brought us back 'home' at quite a respectable hour for a wedding/reception day. Gary & Kathy had just started watching 'Now You See Me 2', so we joined them for a bit of escapist fun with an impressive cast. Then the evening news & now bed... with the chance of an even better sleep-in tomorrow. We shall see
