After the best wedding EVER....

Since my last entry, it has been non-stop for me! Hard to believe it was already a month since the wedding.

Bert and I flew to Seattle on the 19th, and although we were very busy with errands, chores and cooking (Rachel had us jumping!), the weather was great and Bert and I enjoyed our visit very much. We even had a drop in visit from Uncle Ron on Sunday afternoon, a nice surprise. On Thursday before the wedding the troops started to gather, and the partying began in earnest! Friday was a beautiful day as we transferred guests, wedding party and a whole bunch of stuff to Pt. Townsend. We had a fabulous rehearsal dinner cookout on the beach, with a full moon rising over a beautiful Puget Sound. We enjoyed a beach bonfire with a few friends after the youngest guests went to bed, and the wedding party went to drink!

Saturday dawned stormy, and didn't get any better. By wedding time, it was blowing a gale outside, but the ceremony was beautiful in the Commons at the park. Rachel and Michael made the decision in the afternoon, and it was "Operation Relocation"! Everyone was warm and cozy at wedding time, which was what was important, and the bride and groom were beautiful inside or out!

The ceremony was perfect: funny, touching, romantic, all in the right places! All the family was with us, except for cousin Erin, who had to be in Europe, and it was great to all be together. Michal made a beautiful Maid of Honor. All in all, the perfect wedding.

Sunday we said our goodbyes, and headed to the airport, for Bert to fly home, and I went on to Savannah, Ga. My meeting there was a bit of a blur, not sure I contributed 100%. Arrived home on Tuesday, and it was back to summer time. Had not rained once while we were gone, and it would be another 17 days before it would rain again.

While I was in Savannah, I asked my friend from Pittsburgh if it was possible to buy a ticket for the Steelers game the next weekend. Little did I know that you have not been able to buy a Steelers ticket for years! But that Thursday, my friend called with a pair of tickets for the game that weekend, courtesy of his boss! Bert and I got up Saturday, enjoyed a really nice drive to Pittsburgh through Maryland farm land, stopped and met some adorable Amish children selling corn stalks and gourds on the side of the road, and took 6 hours to make a 3 hour trip. We couldn't get a hotel in Pittsburgh (you would think there is not much to do there besides football!) so we stayed in a Kabin at a KOA! It was actually pretty nice, had a Cracker Barrel right nearby, and had a pond where we practiced a little casting with my rod/reel, and I caught a fish!

The game was bad (21 - 0 Pittsburgh) and it was HOT! 93 or so on the field at game time. Our neighbors around us could not remember a game that late in the season where they weren't all bundled up, instead we were sweating like crazy! They are a little crazy about football there, but since it was only my second pro football game, I guess I am not much of an expert. But I don't think there was one person there in the stadium that did not have either a Steelers jersey or a handfull of folks with Seahawks jerseys (oh, except us!).

We made a quick drive back home after the game, and on Wednesday I flew back West again to Spokane, WA. We had a member meeting at the resort at Lake Coeur d' Alene. We had a good meeting, and everyone loved the town and the lake and the resort. I got a chance to see my friend Kelly, who still lives in Spokane, and I caught up with the new son-in-law(!) Michael, who was at a meeting at the Spokane convention center. Quick visit, but funny that we were right across the street from each other. Flew home on Sunday, the 14th, on a half empty plane with room to stretch out! Thank goodness.

Got home on Sunday, spent a couple days at the office, and was back on a plane on Thursday the 18th to go to Traverse City, MI. The Maritime Administration (gov't agency) hosted a meeting there for women in the maritime industry, and had invited me to come speak. It turned out to be a real girl-fest, and I visited with a lot of old friends, and met some women that I knew of, but had never met, and met a bunch of young gals just getting into the industry, so it was really fun. When I got home Saturday afternoon, Ann Marie was here visiting from Seattle, and we had a really nice time with her. Great dinner out, the famous night tour of the monuments and then a trip to the National Art Gallery on Sunday. An Edward Hopper exhibit that was amazing; who knew that he liked to paint lighthouses!

After we dropped Ann Marie at the airport, we came home so I could pack again (or should I sat take out the dirty clothes and throw in some clean ones) and Monday I was off to Niagara Falls for 3 days. My second trip now, and I continue to just be amazed by the place. When you are busy working, you kind of forget, and you look out the window, and its "damn, thats Niagara Falls out there!" Due to a power outage in the city, I still have not gotten to ride the Maid of the Mist yet, so I will have to go back a 3rd time for sure!

Summer had finally ended when I got home, and it has rained hard for 3 days. Cooled off now, no more 80 degrees, and tonight it is supposed to drop to the low 40's. We did silly errands yesterday, but today it was sunny but windy, so we biked all around the West end of the Mall; Lincoln and FDR memorial, and Potomac Park. Riding up the river in the wind was too much like work, reminded me of biking the spit in Port Angeles! Tommorrow I am off to Lewes, DE for a visit to the ferry operator there. Just a day trip, and then will be in the office for the rest of the week. Whew!

Next week, Florida!