Wedding #2 – Summer Camp!

I have officially been educated.  Who knew a it was still possible, in the USA, to have the most efficient route on a 600-mile  stretch not include an interstate?

The drive from the isolated coast of Northern California to Boise, Idaho is still very much a wild land criss-crossed by lonesome two-lane highways.  Miles of it qualifies as other-worldly.  Oh, and HOT.  We were in danger of vaporizing on not less than three occasions in twelve hours.  Thankfully, we arrived to a late gathering of young folk and a rousing round of cocktails.

The following day was the official bachelor party!  We started off with a round of golf at a fancy course where glorious water features abound.  I changed my mind at the last minute and decided the once-in-a-lifetime-bachelor-party-fun-day was not the day for me to learn to play golf.

Instead I enjoyed adult beverages, dipped my toes at bridge crossings, played in the sand when appropriate,  took a few swings with advice from the golf-pro in our party, drove the cart, and in general had a great time.

That night was filled  with classic bachelor party shenanigans.  Suffice to say we had so much fun that it was all we could talk about for the next two days.  The die hards ended the night singing at the top of our lungs to Greg’s guitar playing while smoking cigars.  Poor Austin didn’t last and ended up with a giant mystery bruise.

Austin!  Allow me to introduce the groom – aka one of the greatest college pals in the world.  Ironically, although we started off our U of O tenure in the same dorm, our friendship didn’t blossom until later.  My good friend Amy, who knows everyone, probably gets the most the credit: one day she and I were traveling across campus and she said, “Hey.  There’s that kid Austin.  Let’s go talk to him.”  And the rest is history – a history of beer drinking, video games, college sports, country music, team spirit, fooseball, and ridiculous late night dance parties.

The rehearsal dinner was  a great party at Dana’s grandpa’s cabin.  The front-lawn rehearsal broke the ice when Dana burst out laughing (okay, everyone said it was a snort) as soon as Austin started saying his “vows.”  We were all practically rolling on the grass and had to be  called to order.  Dana’s awesome mom, Jena (Gina),  made killer pulled pork, and the keg had been tapped  on arrival.  By the end of the night, young and old were engaged in adolescent card games, keg stands, and general debauchery.  It was great!

Being in the groom’s party  made for a relaxing Saturday morning.  We hung out and told stories until the cabin started to fill up and Austin needed a reprieve.  We took a tourist trip to the grocery/general store before it was time for me to join the ladies for a hair appointment.  Hours and half a can of hairspray later, I looked quite silly.  Lesson learned – I’m sticking with simple for the rest of my life!  The next few hours were a back and forth between the bride and groom’s parties – the hardest part of being an honorary dude.  I wore my purple dress with dignity, but told Austin next time they get married I’m wearing pants!

Pre-ceremony was fun –  dressed, ready, and having a few drinks during our photo shoot on the dock.  Then it was time for their beautiful ceremony in the outdoor chapel.  It was such an honor to have a front row seat to watch someone I “grew up” with get married!  The post-ceremony photos were taken on a cliff overlooking the lake – an INCREDIBLE view.  WOW.

Then it was time for food!  Dana has worked for a catering company the last few years in exchange for them catering the wedding (I was told).  The ahi-skewers, cheese and fruit platters, fancy appetizers, salmon and wasabi pesto creations – all of it was to-die-for.  We danced the night away, kept the party rocking around the beach bon-fire, and even went swimming in our birthday suits!  I did sustain a major mystery injury somewhere in my left shoulder/neck/back – probably as a result of BUI  (breakdancing under the influence), standing awkwardly while I was sewn into and then later cut out of my groomsmaid dress, and finally leaping into freezing water in the middle of the night.

The next morning I inched my way from our cabin to the breakfast hall with the help of my wonderful man and consumed copious amounts of bacon and eggs.  Yum!  Eventually we had everything loaded in the trailer, camp was picked  up, and we all zombied our way back to Boise.  We spent the day recovering and helped take Austin’s family to the airport the following afternoon.  By Tuesday, we were back on our feet and ready to party!  We celebrated the new Mr. and Mrs. Browning with an awesome evening of karaoke at one of their old haunts, and headed back west the next afternoon.  Bring on wedding #3!