Helen & Nathan

Friday

Ma and Pa went to the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner, and I opted out to have some me time. I put on a dress and grabbed the AirBNB free pass to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I took the buss, the Jazz B line, downtown. Easy peasy. The aquarium had clusters of school kids on a field trip, but it was nicely not packed. All the kids were well behaved. No runners or screamers. I could take my time with the exhibits. Had a wonderful time. I saw the otters get fed, saw the puffins get fed, saw the penguins get fed. Saw many jellyfish, which are my favorite exhibits in aquariums, and cuttlefish, and a hammerhead shark in the big open sea tank. Very nice! I had lunch in the aquarium. Ma and Pa picked me up from the front (after I helped people take many photos) and we got ice cream, and then headed out to see cousin Annie and Paul at their hotel. We had drinks in the hotel bistro and caught up.

Then it was back to the hotel to get some rest before the big day!

Saturday

The wedding! The big day! We had our little breakfasts and I took my time getting all lathered up and spackled and false eyelashed. I put my hair up and then took it down. Put on my pretty dress and shoes and then off we went!

To Wendy's! Because dinner wouldn't be for a while. Then up into the hills to the ranch for the wedding. We got there early because we were part of the procession. Hung out in the games room with the groomsmen and the groom, who looked swell. People arrived. Family. Ben, Erin, Muchim, Averie, Dan, Brynne, Celia, Annie, Paul, Carmen, Josh... New family too! Janet! A new Janet in the family. I walked down behind Nate and Ma and Pa with Ben and sat in the front row. It was a nice, quick ceremony. OH! I also was the witness to the marriage signing thing. So that's nice and official.

So the ceremony was nice. Helen cried and Nathan held the tissues for her. Then they were married! Whoooo!!

Photos happened during cocktail hour. I was in a few of them, then I went to join the rabble and drank some lemonade and a glass of wine and talk to this person and that person. The weather was perfect. Warm, with a minor breeze. It cooled down in the evening. Dinner was consumed at a long table, with plates going back and forth. The Carmen and Josh way. I had a bit of everything. Yum! I was seated between Carmen and Garth and across from Nate and Helen, so a prime location indeed. I ate and chatted and the dance floor was opened up, as was the donut machine!!! I had several and they were very good. Fresh, hot, sprinkles. Mmm! I played large jenga, danced a little bit.

The night wore on and I opted to go hang with Garth, Danny, Mike, and Sarah after the shindig, but the drive down left me sick and I ended up just crashing at their AirBNB instead. Oops. Oh well.

Sunday:

Called Ma and Pa and they came and picked me up (an alternate driver wouldn't have been available for a while, and Ma had tickets to this birdwatching kayak tour on the Elkhorn Slough. So I groggily showered back at the place and off we went!

I was tired but it was a wonderful trip. It was just us and the guide, Rachel, out on the water. Ma and Pa had their kayak, and Rachel and I had our own. Oh! And we had wetsuits as part of the tour, so that was nice. I was very cozy and snug. We saw Bonaparte Gulls and and Oystercatcher and a batray, well the fins of a batray, which was very cool! And otters and seals and sail jellies and lots more birds that Mom is better versed on than I. The weather was good. A bit of sun, a bit of shade. No rain. I eventually felt less groggy, though I was looking forward to a nap.

After the tour, we returned to the house and took naps. I stayed behind and vegged and watched TV and got caught up on the internet. Mom and Dad brought back chicken, artichoke, anchovie pizza. I'm not keen on fishies on pizza.

Tomorrow we head back. It was a lovely wedding. Only happy tears.