Alabama Trip - Friday Evening thru Saturday Night, including the "White" Wedding

So, this past weekend Angel & I made a trip to Alabama. The adventure of getting there was interesting. The week leading up to the trip was more exciting than it should have been. However, majority of those preparatory tasks were car related, therefore, I'll save you the details for the car post. For that reason, I'll fast forward to Friday.

I had taken Friday off of work, just to be certain that I would be able to tie up loose ends as they appear. Angel had to work until 2ish. I had anticipated that we would have been on the road by 4. Well, I ended up being close. We left the house at about 4:15, except we were not in route until shortly after 5. This ultimately put us at the hotel at shortly after 9 central time. We had encountered a couple of situations that were more time consuming than I had anticipated as I expected to be at the hotel at 9 eastern time (I had forgotten about the timezone change).

When the timezone change was realized, this produced an interesting response. Angel was using my phone to read a text message and noticed that my cell phone clock was an hour before my head unit clock. She immediately accused me of not fixing my clock, but I knew well better that it had been correct when we left the house. Therefore, the only remaining reason for the difference was switching time zones.

Well, I had been keeping tabs on the weather before our trip. I knew we were going to be driving directly into an approaching low pressure system that was producing some serious rain. However, when we were leaving it was such a beautiful day, I couldn't bear to drive with the roof up because of an imposing rain situation. Therefore, as I'm sure you can conclude, we got wet. At first it wasn't so bad. The windshield was getting wet, but we were chilling dry. I was hoping against hope that I could make it to the next rest stop to put the roof up. Well, this was not going to be the case. We had about 4 miles to the next exit (though we didn't know it because the billboards only said "Next Exit" not what exit number). We got about two miles closer before the cats & dogs started to fall. There we are, on the side of the road and sitting at a dead stop trying to close up the car getting much, much wetter because the road speed wasn't creating a wind buffer to swish some of the water away. Yes, we were drenched by the time we got the car closed.

Then, even though the car was closed up, we were still getting wet because the side rails were wet, the rubber surrounds were wet and holding some of the felled water. This meant that water was pouring in on us from the window area. Thankfully, I had grabbed a towel for a quick Sunday morning wipe down that was easily accessible and was able to dry the areas wetting us further. Once we got back on the road and to the rest stop we wiped down the rest of the car interior so that it wouldn't spot or contribute to the humidity in the car.

From this point on, the rest of the trip was spent primarily in the rain. Due to the rainfall within the car, the air conditioner was required to some degree to prevent fogging of the windows. Thankfully, other than the road side stop, that was as exciting as the trip got. FYI, if you ever travel to Huntsville, review the turns that will be required before you get there (mapquest, Google maps, ect) because some of the directions are really hard to follow without some researched reference.

Once at the hotel and checked in, we were able to find Janette and spent some time with her at the bar until the rest of the guys got back from the rehearsal dinner. It was great to see some familiar friendly faces. The last time that either of us had seen these guys was at our wedding. Additionally, it was excellent to finally meet Randorushiro in person. We had been introduced via Exile and had collaborated a bit on some code. Unfortunately, he has since dropped out from the project, but we stay in touch.

The bar closing is what got us moving in our respective directions. I still don't understand why hotel bars close at 12, but they do. This didn't sit well with the younger crowd and they continued to drink in one of the rooms well into the night. I had called it a night when I got to the room. I had not expected this to be the case, but I was more tired than I had realized.

The next day was the wedding, the "White" Wedding (their last name is White). With the event starting around 3 and we met in the lobby for 2:15, I was expecting this to be an all day affair. It was a surprise when it was not. More on that in a bit. However, the drive to the location was certainly notable. Remember, we are in Alabama, not West Virginia. However, the trip up to the lodge was uneventful, but interesting. The trek began with a short jaunt down the highway. From there it was an accent to the top of a small mountain or a large hill. The first indication that this would be interesting was a sign that indicated large vehicles and vehicles with trailers were advised. I was having a hard time understanding what this meant. Though, with time, I would know well.

The road snaked up the side of this hill. There were a severe drainage ditch on the right side of the road and what appeared to be a sheer drop-off on the left. The drainage ditch was intimidating. Where the asphalt ended, it dropped into this ditch that would certainly do major damage to the underbody of the car and likely frontal damage (depending on where & how you fell into it) and I don't even want to think about the other side of the road. Then later on, after the winding road decided to straighten out, we figured out what was up with the signs for the trucks and larger vehicles. There were 2 180 degree turns in the road. I can't imagine what a vehicle of any great scale would do with this area. Before I move on, for those that missed the WV reference, they are known as ridge runners. This type of road would be more expected within the WV mountains than in the deep south in my opinion.

Apparently there is a dramatic difference between Northern and Southern weddings. The ceremony was beautiful and quaint. Following the ceremony, the reception did not include a meal, however, finger foods, wine/cocktails, and cake/dessert proved to be more than enough. The whole atmosphere was different from what I've come to expect from a ceremony, but definitely not in a bad way. There was not a DJ present for the reception. The only dancing that was done was between the bride & groom, for their first dance (again, very much fine by me). There wasn't any assigned seating, there wasn't a wedding party head table, there wasn't a best man toast, and there wasn't too much else in regards to pomp and circumstance. Additionally, the biggest difference between a Northern and Southern wedding is duration. I don't recall what time we left the location, but it was definitively still daylight.

I hope that these note points do not infer a negative spin on the day. This was certainly not intended. The whole day was beautiful. The actual wedding ceremony was what was expected, with the exception that Randorushiro's mother was presiding. This ceremony was purely designed for show. The couple have been married for 5 years now. They were wed before he got deployed and was done by a JP. This assertion of their vows was for the families and to have the opportunity to share the event. The reception following the ceremony was very nice as well. Just because something is different, it doesn't mean that it is bad. I am certainly glad that I was given the opportunity to join them.

You can see the pictures that I took of the event below. Address Book.


So, following the ceremony, we returned to the hotel and began our search for dinner. We finally decided to follow a recommendation of the front desk for some good, local BBQ. It was about a 15 minute drive to the location and it was certainly in a rural area. Right next to the restaurant was a grazing field for cows. Man, this stuff was good. Not quite the same as JRs back home, but it was very good. If I could remember the name of the place, I would certainly recommend you to it if you ever find yourself in Huntsville.

After our southern grub, we again return to the hotel. With nothing better in mind to occupy ourselves, we break out Munchkin. With 6 people at the table and only using one deck (Bites), we were surprised how long this one game took. It was after midnight before Angel & I returned to our room. Anyway, it was a wonderful way to spend an evening with good friends. It was an intimate, simple, and quiet way to spend the night. Certainly much better than spending the night in a bar or other nightlife establishment that only 1/2 of us would have had any serious interest. Additionally, with us each crashing at different times, it certainly made the event more manageable for all.

From this point, the rest of the weekend was spent solidly revolving around my car. See that post for the weekend ramp up and conclusion.