Tim and I flew out of Tampa on Friday morning (Sept. 26). We had a long layover in Atlanta, which turned out to be a good thing because it took forever to get lunch. Tim said I wasn't any fun to travel with - apparently I slept a *bit* that day on the plane and in airport chairs (OK, maybe like 7 hours, but I was hopped up - down? - on Dramamine). But the flights were uneventful. We sat near a group of 42 senior citizens on our flight to Phoenix - they argued for a good 30 minutes about the time change. I wanted to turn around and explain how it worked to them, but I slept instead. They also chatted about their friend's flu shot ("She had a reaction?" "Is she OK?" "I thought they were supposed to make you healthy, not sick!") and I was more than ready to be away from them when we arrived at 5 p.m., Phoenix time. We got our rental car and were on our way!
Only we had one problem - I had printed directions to every place we needed to go that weekend EXCEPT from the airport to the hotel. So we got a litttttllllleeeee lost. And then we had to stop and ask for directions. But eventually, we made it to our hotel, where we found out they didn't have a reservation for us (we found out later that they did but it was grossly misspelled). We got a room, though, and showered and headed out for dinner. Meg had recommended a yummy Mexican restaurant in Tempe. The food was soooooo good. We sampled the "best chips and salsa in the Valley" and ate a ton of good food. Then we had some deep fried ice cream - SO GOOD. We headed to downtown Phoneix - and because of construction, we got lost :-) We *did* get to drive by Chase Field while the D'backs were playing a game, and that was pretty cool. Then we met up with Meg, Mike and Mike's sister, Erica, for some drinks. It was great to see Meg and Mike again - I hadn't seen them since March, and Tim hadn't seen them since Memorial Day weekend of last year. Mike's college friends came out, and suddenly we were surrounded by Nittany Lions. We stayed out for a while but were getting tired, so we headed back to the hotel and crashed. (Side note - while we were out west, the Rays clinched the AL East, and they did it at the worst possible time for the Tampa area newspapers. But in Phoenix, it was still early enough that it was manageable. Either way, Tim and I were grateful that we weren't working that night!)
On Saturday morning, I met up with Erica in the hotel lobby and Meghan's mom and dad picked us up. We headed over to Meghan and Mike's condo, and then we were off to the hair salon with Meg to get wedding hair for Meghan and Erica. When they were done, Meg's mom and dad dropped me back off at the hotel, and Tim and I went to get some lunch. Tim wanted to drive In-N-Out Burger, a West Coast staple.
Then we lounged by the hotel pool for a bit before getting ready for the wedding. The ceremony and reception were held here, and it was gorgeous. It wasn't too hot, it was right before sunset, and the desert wildlife was a beautiful backdrop to the wedding. I was extremely emotional and Tim had to keep asking me if I was OK while he videotaped the ceremony.
During the cocktail hour, a storm nearly blew in and drenched everyone, but the rain held off and we were only left with some strong winds. Meg and Mike had a small ceremony and reception with close friends and family, and it was a good-sized crowd for mingling and celebrating with the newlyweds.
There was much eating, dancing and fun, and then it was time to go - which means that the next wedding that Tim and I will go to will be ... OUR OWN!
We went back to the hotel and crashed again. The next morning, we watched football - at 10 a.m.! craziness! - and then headed to a cool little restaurant near the Arizona State campus for a post-wedding brunch. The food was DELICIOUS. They had muffins that were absolutely amazing. We got to spend a little more time with Meg and Mike and the Penn State crew, and then, sadly, we had to leave to get to the airport.
We returned our rental car, said goodbye to the cacti and waited for our flight. We had another layover in Atlanta, but it was really short, and we were on our way again, back to Tampa. We landed around midnight and headed home.
It was quick weekend, but it was awesome to be able to be there for Meg and Mike's wedding and see them all three days we were in town. Tim had never been to Arizona, and the weather was really nice. I've had some rough days at work lately, and Tim had worked 16 days in a row, so we were both ready for a long weekend away. And we get to see Meg and Mike again soon! - at our wedding :-) They are currently on their honeymoon in Cabo, lucky jerks :-)
-Kristin
