California Sunday: Friends and Wedding
I'm nearly a week behind recording my trip notes, but I don't want to stint on my trip reporting mainly because there's so much I want to remember.
Breakfast
Sunday I got up early. My friend AC picked me up at the hotel for breakfast at the Egg Plantation, home of 101 omelets. The place is hugely popular locally, and though they don't take reservations, A managed our arrival so that we were seated minutes after we arrived. As it happens, I didn't choose one of those many omelettes; I had the quiche with fruit, which was absolutely delicious. Visiting with A was a delight. She's a friend that I met through penny-smashing, and I haven't seen her in more than a decade. She's the reason, in fact, that I got into Disney pin collecting. I had forgotten how much we have in common, between our collecting and our crafting, and we chattered like girls through the whole meal.
Museum
When we concluded our meal, we realized that I had time before I needed to be back at the hotel to prepare to attend my cousin's wedding, so we headed over to the William S. Hart Ranch and Museum to poke around. Neither of us realized how much silent film history and Western film history the place would cover. Our timing was such that while we could walk the grounds and do the self-guided tour of the bunk house (which featured some interesting architectural detail, some cool memorabilia, and beautiful tack) we couldn't take the mansion tour. We did see some of the resident bison herd, but they were pretty far off from the overlook point. Had we been within easy reach of A's truck, we might have gone back and driven down to the corral to see them up close. As it is, I've made a mental note to return on a future trip when there's more time.
Wedding
I was back at the hotel by 1 PM, napped, showered, did my hair and make-up, and got into my party duds. My brother, sister-in-law and I drove over the venue--the clubhouse at the development where my cousins will be living moving forward. It's a beautiful facility, with a spacious foyer, a courtyard, a vaulted-ceiling great room, and a sprawling porch overlooking a lake in the heart of the development.
The evening started with cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. Soon enough, we were herded into the great room for the ceremony. The place was festooned with flowers in jewel tones, and the bouquets all featured silk butterflies (a lifelong interest of my cousin P's). Every chair was wrapped with a burgundy swag tied with a bow and a rose. A string quartet played while we waited for the wedding party to line up. The processional included my cousin P's god daughters, his fiance's grandchildren, and then P and then his fiance accompanied by her sons. The bride wore a form-fitting, dark gray gown with a neckline that was somewhere between a boatneck and an off-the-shoulder affair, with a paler gray ruffle that trailed down her back. It was quite elegant, very lovely. Given everything that each of them has been through, there wasn't a dry eye in the house by the end of the ceremony. I was delighted to see P so happy, and S so clearly devoted to him.
After the ceremony, we vacated the room so that the caterers could switch it over for dinner and dancing. The switch happened quickly while we were all offering hugs and congratulations. Once the tables were set up and the band stand was erected, we were invited back in for a kiddush with an epic-sized challah (seriously, the thing must have been 10 feet long). Dinner was a choice of beef or salmon, with some vegetarian option in there that I completely missed. And then we danced until the party broke up at about 9ish (we started at 4 PM).
My bro, sis-in-law, and I spent the rest of the evening hanging out in my room and talking about all sorts of things. We had a long, deep conversation of a kind we haven't really had in a long while. When we all finally did get sleepy, we brkoe up the party. I was probably asleep within 20 minutes--a fine, satisfying day.
Breakfast
Sunday I got up early. My friend AC picked me up at the hotel for breakfast at the Egg Plantation, home of 101 omelets. The place is hugely popular locally, and though they don't take reservations, A managed our arrival so that we were seated minutes after we arrived. As it happens, I didn't choose one of those many omelettes; I had the quiche with fruit, which was absolutely delicious. Visiting with A was a delight. She's a friend that I met through penny-smashing, and I haven't seen her in more than a decade. She's the reason, in fact, that I got into Disney pin collecting. I had forgotten how much we have in common, between our collecting and our crafting, and we chattered like girls through the whole meal.
Museum
When we concluded our meal, we realized that I had time before I needed to be back at the hotel to prepare to attend my cousin's wedding, so we headed over to the William S. Hart Ranch and Museum to poke around. Neither of us realized how much silent film history and Western film history the place would cover. Our timing was such that while we could walk the grounds and do the self-guided tour of the bunk house (which featured some interesting architectural detail, some cool memorabilia, and beautiful tack) we couldn't take the mansion tour. We did see some of the resident bison herd, but they were pretty far off from the overlook point. Had we been within easy reach of A's truck, we might have gone back and driven down to the corral to see them up close. As it is, I've made a mental note to return on a future trip when there's more time.
Wedding
I was back at the hotel by 1 PM, napped, showered, did my hair and make-up, and got into my party duds. My brother, sister-in-law and I drove over the venue--the clubhouse at the development where my cousins will be living moving forward. It's a beautiful facility, with a spacious foyer, a courtyard, a vaulted-ceiling great room, and a sprawling porch overlooking a lake in the heart of the development.
The evening started with cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. Soon enough, we were herded into the great room for the ceremony. The place was festooned with flowers in jewel tones, and the bouquets all featured silk butterflies (a lifelong interest of my cousin P's). Every chair was wrapped with a burgundy swag tied with a bow and a rose. A string quartet played while we waited for the wedding party to line up. The processional included my cousin P's god daughters, his fiance's grandchildren, and then P and then his fiance accompanied by her sons. The bride wore a form-fitting, dark gray gown with a neckline that was somewhere between a boatneck and an off-the-shoulder affair, with a paler gray ruffle that trailed down her back. It was quite elegant, very lovely. Given everything that each of them has been through, there wasn't a dry eye in the house by the end of the ceremony. I was delighted to see P so happy, and S so clearly devoted to him.
After the ceremony, we vacated the room so that the caterers could switch it over for dinner and dancing. The switch happened quickly while we were all offering hugs and congratulations. Once the tables were set up and the band stand was erected, we were invited back in for a kiddush with an epic-sized challah (seriously, the thing must have been 10 feet long). Dinner was a choice of beef or salmon, with some vegetarian option in there that I completely missed. And then we danced until the party broke up at about 9ish (we started at 4 PM).
My bro, sis-in-law, and I spent the rest of the evening hanging out in my room and talking about all sorts of things. We had a long, deep conversation of a kind we haven't really had in a long while. When we all finally did get sleepy, we brkoe up the party. I was probably asleep within 20 minutes--a fine, satisfying day.