Wedding Season

September 17-October 14, 2018

TL;DR: At the risk of sounding spoiled, we were invited to five weddings in three weekends. We hit two in one weekend by going separate ways, but were so sad not to be able to make one. We topped things off with a trip to Jess’s home town, and then some time on Lake Michigan.

The sights

Charlotte

Tons of breweries and a really relatable age range for us. Cute little town that we’d definitely like to go visit.

Plus, Steph and Matt live there, which adds about 1,000 points. Site of wedding #1.

Temecula

Site of wedding #2.

Didn’t get to spend too much time exploring, except to taste quite a bit of wine, dance quite a lot in a barrel room, and toast to Jess’s cousin’s happily ever after.

San Francisco

We were in the city together for about one day, and it was a beautiful one. Good to be back for a hot second and see friends.

Calistoga

Jess went to Calistoga for wedding #3 (when Bri when to Chicago for wedding #4) and was reminded how stunning wine country is. And this happy couple.

Chicago

Bri’s wedding (#4) was at a downtown Chicago hotel with a bunch of friends from college and our time living in LA and SF.

Port Huron

Jess’s aunt lives here, and we had the distinct pleasure of staying at her cousin’s lake house (thank you, Jenny!). It was pure bliss to be right on the water. Did a lot of local eating and drinking, family time, and relaxing.

Columbus

Jess’s home town for 14 years and where many of her good friends still live, including those kind enough to let us stay for the weekend! Even had a mini high school reunion with some of Jess’s old classmates.

And very crucially went pumpkin picking at Lynd’s pumpkin patch (but not before stopping at Fox and the Snow, an amazing Columbus coffee shop with THE most delicious things).

[Show thumbnails]

Naturally, we were reminded of Hocus Pocus.

Details, details, details

Bri had a tough time getting water and finding a dump station outside Chicago. After trying three different places, he figured it out.

The drive in between Port Huron and Ohio was particularly windy, long, and bumpy, with construction to boot.

We hit a crazy patch of fog on the trip from NC to Chicago.

And then this happened…

On his way back from picking up our friend Craig from the airport for the Chicago wedding, Bri was driving Layla under a suspiciously low bridge with no sign (why) when he heard a very unpleasant noise: Layla’s air conditioning unit scraping the bridge. Thankfully, there were just a few scratches and all is well!

When Bri was in Chicago, he picked up some servers he got online to re-sell. Because we totally have room for two 40-pound servers.

At our first wedding in Charlotte, the deacon’s cell phone went off in the middle of the small family-only service, to which he said, “I know it’s not God!”

Now we know

Staying an extra night at the RV park post-wedding is pretty clutch. As is ordering pizza to Layla.

While at our first wedding in Temecula, we left Layla at an RV storage center outside Chicago and though it was a bit of a to-do to get there, it was super cheap. Aptly named Vacationland, they offer RV storage for only $50-75 per MONTH, and if you’re there for a shorter amount of time, they pro-rate it. Way cheaper than finding a parking spot (or two) for a week.

If you’re ever staying at McCormick Place in Chicago in an RV, you can get delivery. But you might have to guide the delivery man so that he doesn’t call three times, and you may witness a car crash (again, all is well).

There’s a 24-hour McDonald’s in Chicago that’s quite handy post-wedding.

Our friend Simi’s Mama made us Turkish coffee one day and my goodness it was delicious. She also said they used to read the grounds. Ours said we were finally done with wedding season.

Road food

The off-menu fried basa fish sandwich at Bogey’s is the best. Ever.

Hogwarts meets coffee shop at The Raven.

My mom used to get French fries and pickerel fingers at the Palm’s, and they’re still just as good. They also have livers and gizzards.

Where we stayed

Nights one and two: Crown Cove RV Park

Close to the airport. Easy spot near the front.

Night three: Cracker Barrel outside Charlotte

Pretty sure it was the one in the Northwest part of town.

Nights four through seven: Camp Wilderness at Carowinds, Charlotte

We weren’t able to book this spot until very last minute, but we’re really glad we did. It wasn’t exactly convenient for our wedding, but it was really beautiful. Plus, if you’ve got kids or love roller coasters, it’s conveniently attached to an amusement park (though you can’t hear noise from the actual park at all).

Night eight: Cracker Barrel, Beckley, WV

Halfway between Charlotte and Columbus.

Night nine: A friend’s place in Gahanna

Snuck in a quick 12- hour visit complete with a viewing of A Simple Favor (whoa).

Night 10: Cracker Barrel, Naperville, IL

Close to Vacationland where Layla stayed while we were in CA.

Night 11: Jess’s parents house in Laguna Beach, CA

Aka heaven.