I Do - Chapter 4

Saturday, April 21, Wedding Day

Wedding Day. Chris has lots to do and many things to worry about. Sadly, his assistants don't take their assigned tasks as seriously as he would like. The sorry truth is we just are not as serious as Chris would like us to be. Chris, no doubt, was elevated to sainthood on this trip.

Saturday Agenda:
7:30 - get up, get showered, get in the car, get to the Boat House for breakfast
9:00 - arrive at the Boat House, greet Pat, order food and beverages, get our marching orders from Chris, say good-bye to our new friends, Gail and Mark
10:15 - arrive at the church, take pre-wedding photos
11:30 wedding
12:00 - head to Club Sel for reception

Don't get too excited.  This was a stranger's wedding at Alderbrook.

We got out on time, had breakfast, and took pre-wedding photos.

The wedding went off without a hitch, on time, and it was very nice. Marita looked beautiful. Dave looked handsome. They both seemed happy as clams. Congratulations, Dave and Marita.

When we arrived on Wednesday, pretty nice day; Thursday, downpour; Friday, not raining but not nice; Saturday, 70 degrees, sunny, couldn't have asked for better weather.

The reception was held at Club Sel, Ricky's shop, but not the kind of shop you may be thinking. It is perched up on the hill across the road from the main house on the Hood Canal. It is the size of Texas, with an office upstairs on one end and an apartment upstairs on the other end. A big screen TV sits on the wall in the middle of the huge downstairs. It has a kitchen, and the music is piped throughout the building. It is really a party hall.

Ricky and granddaughter Heidi

We were invited guests, years ago, to a wonderfully thrown party at the Ricky and Deb main house on a beautiful summer day. Apparently, they had heard Dave's wayward cousins (us) were coming to town. And, since Ricky and Deb are awesome people and they value Dave's friendship, they wanted to do something nice for him. Ricky and Deb are also teachers. They are gems. As outsiders (the wayward cousins), we would describe them as follows: some of Dave's best friends; hospitable to everyone and anyone they meet; it would appear that they would do anything for anyone; they are also meticulous. The cleanliness of the house and shop, the perfection of the landscape, the height of the grass, the size of the gravel in the driveway, perfection. Ricky and Deb are really fun, nice, caring, manicured people; the whole enchilada.

When we stopped at Club Sel on Thursday (completion of lay of the land task), I noticed that Deb had her name printed on her box of cleaning supplies. I know at my house, I typically am the one to use the cleaning supplies, but I don't consider them my very own personal property. I am happy to share my cleaning supplies with anyone that is willing to use them. Anyway, we love Ricky and Deb. Thank you for a great party.

Club Sel was the perfect place for the reception. I honestly couldn't imagine anything better.

I loved seeing the Washington people that I had known from years past but hadn't seen in a really long time. I loved meeting friends of Dave that I had heard so much about over the years. I loved meeting Marita's family and friends. It was, plain and simple, a good time had by all. (I know I had a good time.)

It was time to leave the reception. After many rounds of good-byes, apparently some people got three, we headed back to Alderbrook. We changed into shorts and headed outside for a beverage and to enjoy the view and weather. As we were sitting there, one of our group looked out onto the long dock/pier, and to our surprise, there was Dave and Marita and a few of their friends. I remember the guy in the red sweater was retired from J.C. Penney, and we discussed how a department store makes money, etc., and what the Ellen commercials are doing for the company, or not doing, but I can't for the life of me remember his name. Once the reception wrapped up, they decided to drive down to Alderbrook, as it is just so beautiful and would be a perfect ending to a perfect day.

As we do live for food, it was now time to discuss dinner. "Where should we eat?" "How about the Robin Hood Pub?" "Why not?" We had fun on Friday, why not go back on Saturday? "Sorry, we're closed, but we can give you some bread and baked garlic, but then you have to leave." Back to Alderbrook. You get the picture. More crazy chaos, sister style.

Kristi and Gordie had to get up early to get to the airport that was almost 2 hours away. Chris and I were going to hang around the area and drive back on Monday. Erik, Marcie's husband, had suggested that we head to Woodinville for the day. We didn't know anything about it, but we took the suggestion, and it turned out to be a great one; Red Hook Brewery and 85 wineries.

Four days down. Wedding over.

"Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving."