Right, Part 2. I suppose I should get around to writing that.
Saturday, September 9: It’s wedding day for roho and genet! As usual I was the first one up in the house and made sure that there was coffee ready once the zombies started awaking. Eventually, everyone got up and about. Since we were providing the photography and music for the wedding, takaza and I left early, at about noon. Everything was set up when we got there – a nice tent, tables for food, and the caterer was building a nice little firepit for the lobsters. I hooked my laptop into Mr. Dunn’s stereo system (which was wired with outdoor speakers) and was pretty much good to go. Dan had a few more problems since the film camera we brought as a last resort…died (the shutter mechanism broke, actually – certainly repairable, but not much help on that day). Fortunately, we had our digital camera and that seemed to stand in nicely.
At 3:30 PM, it was time to start. Everyone gathered on the deck (it was a small crowd – maybe 40 people), the groom and the best man were ready, and I started the bride’s entrance music. Well, I started it a bit early since that played as the maid of honor went down the aisle, but it ended at exactly the right time, as the bride reached the groom, so I figured it worked out well. The ceremony was quite short, maybe five minutes, punctuated by a lonely yelp from Briana, who was sad to be held inside when everyone was outside, but everyone was very happy. Afterwards, Dan and the wedding party went to a lovely little spot just down the road for the traditional pictures, then they came back for a delicious lobster and steak reception. (Wedding pictures, reception pictures). After the reception wound down many of the group drove over to the barn for a rousing evening of Apples to Apples, booze, and general merriment.
Sunday, September 10: On Sunday morning I drove datahawk in to Portland so she could catch a bus back to Boston for her flight. When I got back to the barn I got a call from Roho, with some suggestions for places in Portland to go for breakfast (it was only 30 minutes between Freeport and Portland so it was no big deal). After some entertaining logistics (not that restaurant! It closed months ago!), we got 14 of us together for a lovely lunch/brunch. Afterwards, as everyone scattered to the winds, a small group of us retreated back to the barn. Linnaeus, Feren, Lady_Curmudgeon, Pawtuxet, and I went for a lovely walk along the beach right near the house, admiring the bay and playing with the passing sealife. When we got back, we were chatting in the living room when Dan spotted what he first took for a coyote in the back yard. It turned out to be an adult fox out for a walk; the fox spotted them and took off across the yard, and I snapped a picture of it before it disappeared across the road into the woods. That evening, while Roho and Genet drove friends back to Manchester, we returned to Gritty McDuff’s and enjoyed a sampler of the beers they make, eight in all. Four of those were quite tasty, three were OK, and one (the raspberry) wasn’t to my liking at all. Afterwards we retired to the barn and I crashed early.
Monday, September 11: After playing a bit of phone tag, we returned to Harraseeket Lunch with Roho, Genet, and several members of their family. We gorged ourselves once again on tasty seafood (though my crab roll – basically a huge amount of fresh crab meat on a homemade roll) was only so-so. Chebutykin had to leave to catch her flight in Portland, and the rest of us retreated to the barn for a quiet time of napping and laptop-geeking. After a few hours, we returned to the Dunn’s and spent some time chatting. Feren and Lady_C elected to have a quiet dinner back at the barn, but Roho, Genet, Linnaeus, Pawtuxet, Takaza, and I hit a local pizza joint that was rather good. Afterwards we stopped at the ice cream shop next door that was OK, though Dan’s bubblegum ice cream was horrid. We parted with Roho and Genet and crashed early again.
Tuesday, September 12: I was up early and made coffee, bacon, and eggs for everyone. Then it was time to go! We had to be out of the place by 11 AM, but before we left we had to clean the kitchen, vacuum the floors, strip the beds, run the dishes, and start the laundry. Split between five people, though, we had all of this done in short order. We stopped by the Dunn’s for some final good-byes, then it was off to Manchester for the return flight. Predictably, our flight was delayed, but only by about an hour and fifteen minutes. It was a turbulent flight back, but not too bad, and the chatter from the cockpit was rather amusing as we approached O’Hare. Once we landed I was once again extremely glad we elected to park at the airport, even if it was $54 to buy our car back. We got home without incident and after briefly checking e-mail, we went to bed.
So there you have it: From Chicago to Maine and back again. We had a fantastic time, met many wonderful people, and rented a fabulous house. Plans are already underway to make the trip again next year, possibly renting both barns if we can get enough people. Thanks to Roho and genet for a great time, and I really hope we can do it again next year! (OK, maybe not the whole wedding part, but everything else…)