Inside Confidence: Long Weekend

Here is the run down of my trip to Cali.

Thursday after work we took a nap, finished packing, dropped Sandy off with friends, picked up our rental car and hit the road. Yes we started driving at 10pm.

I'm just glad we had a rental car. It was a new Ford Fusion and very comfy. We made it almost to Carson City before needing another nap. We woke up with the sun (3 hours later) and kept driving.

We drove through the ugly part of Cali I swear, and the pollution. It was sad not being able to see the mountain or valley. Our first stop was to pick up his tux.

So let me tell you about this tux. I think it must be lined with gold dust cause it cost 220.00. We showed up at the store and yes I had called ahead. Well this snippy lady tells us we would just have to come back in 30 min as we didn't have a reservation and as a bus just dropped a bunch of other guys needing tuxes.

Talk about rude. She could've been kind about it, could've asked us if we were needing a fitting or just picking up. We had to tell her three times we were just picking up and that we didn't have 30 min to wait and then come back for a final fitting.

After getting the tux we went to the beach. We waded into the water then sat on the sand. Sadly we only have 30 min before we had to drive another hour or so to get Matt to dodgers stadium.

Only in Cali does it take an hour to drive 12 miles. The traffic is horrible and the drivers do not signal. Matt made it to the stadium in time for the party with the guys and I took off with Jessica (she is the best man's wife). We went to pier. Never made it back to the beach but did have fun wandering down the pier. We ate fresh seafood and saw some of Frozen as that was the movie they were projecting onto a big screen.

Matt and I stayed in a hotel in San Marcos for the night. It was fairly cheap at 75.00 per night.

The wedding day nothing went according to schedule. Go figure, I think mine is the only one that ran on time. The sealing was to start at 8 am and pictures were to start at 10 am. At 8:20 they still hadn't started. I'm not sure what time we got around to pictures. It did feel like forever...I also heard comments from members of Matt's family that my wedding affair had been a lot simpler.

Lunch was provided by the groom's parents. It was a wonderful sandwhich and salads and fruit platters on a patio fairly close by. The food was good and I ate a ton. So if you didn't get any it was my fault. In my defense I thought they were bringing more food out but they never did.

The reception. Was held a couple hours away in Torrence. I was beyond sick of the car by this point and just wanted to go to the beach for the rest of the day. Sadly I was told the bridal party would be having more pictures at the church at 4. Ugh.

The church where the reception took place is really old. It even smells old. I loved the detail, the brick work, stained glass, and all the wood. I'm so glad we got there an hour early so I could explore a bit. I'm also glad I didn't bring my camera along as I'd still be there snapping pictures.

Inside it was heavily decorated. I'm not sure what I think of the decorations. Draping can be nice at hiding doors and such but too much and, well it felt like it was in the 80s. The pictures I've seen of the events look dated.

The bridal party did not take more poctures. In fact I don't think the bride and groom even had pictures taken around that church. That's a a shame as it was a photographers dream!

The dinner was cooked for us by the bride's brother. Again the time table got all out of whack. We had salad and a brother and then waited well over an hour for the main course. It was alright the meat was dry and everything was cold. Well not everything. The potatoes were still warm and they tasted pretty good, so not a complete loss.

Matt decorated the car. As it was a rental they just covered the license plate with white duck tape and wrote just married on it. Then they took tool and hung left over hot dogs from the game and peanuts from the trunk.

We did dance and had some fun. Matt's whole family dances. It's crazy. Matt's promised to teach me to swing. I can do the other dances by following my partner but swing is a bit trickier.

The bride and groom were sent off to sparklers and we left soon after. We drove as long as we could then slept in the car again for a few hours.

We heard from others that were driving home and they got stuck in traffic near Vegas around 1 or 2. I was so glad that we were near Ceader City by this point.

We stopped at Cove Fort and a cemetery on the way home.Cove Fort is one of 2 forts still standing from that time frame. It was built by President Hinkley's grandfather and still has the original doors on it. It was a fun stop and our guide was very accommodating to our time schedule.

The cemetery we stopped at was in Parson City (I think). We went looking for a headstone of Matt's great great great great grandfather and sister. An eagle scout had completed the plot directory this year and so it only took us 3 min to find the markers and snap pictures.

We finally made it home. 6:30. We were tired and just glad to be back in town. Sandy missed us but loved her new hair cut. (Our friends buzzed her)

Here is the view of the pollution driving I to Cali.