The Wedding (Part 2)

My previous post was about the events leading up to the our son Adam and our new daughter-in-law Melissa's wedding last weekend.  I wanted to include a lot of pictures and the blog was getting to be a really long post, so this is the second of two parts on The Wedding.

The wedding was Saturday @ 5 PM and in the early afternoon it was time to get dressed up and get over to The Hunter House.

The Hunter House was not far from Melissa and Adam's place and about 2 miles from the Mosaic District (trendy hotel and restaurant and shopping area) where most of the out of town guests were staying.  Pam and I and the Baker's were about 20 minutes away at the Lake Fairfax Park Campground.

We got to the Hunter House about 3:30 PM with plenty of time 'for contingencies' in case something didn't go according to plan.  But it was all looking good, and we wandered around and took some pictures as everyone else was arriving.

The event rental company had already set up the tent and chairs, and flowers were set out all around the place accenting it with some color.

Before the ceremony, the family gathered upstairs for a few more pictures

and the signing of the Ketubah - the marriage contract.

Then it was downstairs for the procession and public ceremony.  Not surprisingly, as the father of the groom with a front row seat, I did not get any pictures of the ceremony...

The tent was packed to capacity with 100+ guests and they had to bring in more chairs to get everyone inside.  It was a wonderful, joyous event with family and friends from all over:  a good friend of theirs flew in from India, friends and family came from Philadelphia, Boston, out West and many other places.

We got to meet them and it was just one great moment after another. We had a lot of pictures and here are a few:

 Melissa's family:  parents Jeff and Marilyn and brother Rich

Kelly and Jon with Brad (Meghan's brother)

Meghan's parents and Brad with Adam and Melissa.

Jeff and Marilyn and us with the bride and groom.

Another picture of the twins:

Melissa and Adam had some great ideas it all turned out to be perfect.  Instead of catering, they went with two food trucks.  The green truck was for the main meal - they offered chicken, lamb and a combination along with rice and chic peas, spinach, okra and a couple of other items.  They also had a vegetarian plate.

Tasty Kabob was exactly that Tasty!  And then for dessert (if you didn't want the cupcakes that were inside) the pink food truck had freshly made donuts.

The donut bits were a bit hit and we had some great food with all we could eat!

We stayed and talked to a lot of people and didn't leave until about 9:30 PM then went back to the campground.  

Sunday morning we said goodbyes at the Hyatt House before folks returned home.

It was one of the most supportive, family, friendly,  and generous times we've had in a long time.  And as far as I know everyone had a good time. 

We learned a lot about the Jewish wedding ceremony and some traditions.  Most of all, the bride (The bride is always beautiful!) and groom were very happy.  It all came off very well and we have some new and renewed friendships, great memories and lots of smiles over the events of last weekend.  We couldn't be happier for Melissa and Adam.

Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

The Wedding (Part 1)

Melissa and Adam got engaged last year, and they tied the knot this past weekend, October 3, 2015.

It was a terrific few days and lots of fun---before, during and after the wedding.  They had loads of friends and family to help them celebrate. The wedding itself was an outdoor event so there was some concern about the weather; despite hurricane Joaquin lurking offshore for a few days, it all went off very well.

One of the things I like about these occasions that we get a lot of time to see the extended family and visit with friends and get to know each other better.  Melissa and her family are mostly from the Philadelphia area and Adam's relatives are predominately from 'out West'.  It was really fun.  I haven't hugged that many people so many times in a long time.

Many guests stayed at the Hyatt-House/Merrifield in the Mosaic District of Fairfax (VA); it was the perfect location. The rooms were efficient and high tech and the full breakfast downstairs each morning was well done. The hotel was in the same city block as a Target and a number of trendy restaurants (all within walking distance of a block or two).

On Wednesday evening, Pam and I joined Adam, Melissa, and her family at the True Food Restaurant, where we had a chance to meet Jeff and Marilyn again and spend some time together before things got busy.  Melissa's brother, Rich, works and lives in DC and he came out to join us too.  It was a great way to start off the wedding festivities.

Friday night before the wedding, Out-of-Town relatives all met at the Matchbox Restaurant in a private party area, which worked out well and the food was excellent.

This was the first real chance to meet and greet all of Melissa's and Adam's relatives and family and extended family.  It was really fun and we all had a great time.

 The prospective bride and groom --

Interestingly enough, Melissa's dad is a twin (on the right) and Adam's dad is a twin (second from the left).

One of many group shot of the twins with Melissa and Adam

Here's the only photo I got of Melissa's Aunts and Mom (with Uncle Mel and his daughter)

Aunts: Gail, Debra (Debbie), Mel, and Melissa's mom Marilyn on the right

Warner and Goldman women: Adam's Mom (Pam), Aunts (Amy, Elena, and Sue) and sister (Kelly).

It rained a little throughout Friday... more like a steady drizzle. Saturday morning, the skies were a bit overcast, with some misty rain from Joaquin which was off shore.

Thankfully, it moved from the Caribbean and started heading north and away from the East Coast.  It could have been a factor in the [outdoor] wedding, but was never a problem.

Saturday morning, our Grandson Brooks made an appearance.  Kelly and Jon were staying near friends Jeff and Tiffany who babysat him both Friday and Saturday nights. He wanted to see everybody, so Jon and Kelly brought him over to the Hyatt House on Saturday morning during breakfast.

After breakfast, we ran some errands and then met Marty & Elena, Brad & Sue, Reid & Amy, and Marg & Bill at the Red Apron for lunch.  

We didn't have to be over to the wedding site until 4 PM.

Pam and I stayed in Reston at the Lake Fairfax Park Campground and were joined there by Marg and Bill who drove down from Ontario with their RV and had the campsite next to us.

This has turned into a really long post, so I am going to end it here and pick it up with my next post at the venue.  More pictures and details to follow...

Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Roadrunner Financials - September 2015

Roadrunner Recap
In September we visited the following locations stretching from

• Henderson Beach State Park, Destin FL
• Postal Point FamCamp, Fort Walton Beach - Eglin AFB FL                                                         
• Henderson Beach State Park, Destin FL                     
• Eagle Hammock, Naval Submarine Base, Kings Bay GA  
• RVacation Campground, Selma NC                 
• Sea Mist RV Campground, Oceana Annex Navy Base, Virginia Beach VA             

Good News Areas We Are Under Budget

We did pretty good on the gas costs and were under budget for maintenance.  


Biggest Expenses
I think I may have entered some October receipts here in September but once I enter it in the spreadsheet, I throw it away.  So I really have no way of telling.  As I look at October expenses, I am guessing that is what I did.

Large One Time Cost Item
Our largest cost item(s) probably had to do with the wedding but we would gladly do it again.
Campgrounds were high because we spent 10 days in Fairfax and had to pay top dollar there.
Groceries and eating out were high as well as Household items.

Monthly Average
We traveled from Florida to Fairfax VA so we had a couple of fill ups in the Roadrunner.

We were considerable over this month but my hope is that we can hold back on a lot of big dollar items within the next few months.  Our budget year goes from Jun-May so we have a few months to 'catch up'.As always, if you think this spreadsheet might be useful I'd be glad to pass it along at no cost.  Just let me know.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!