I Got my Feet Did

I'm not sure if I can credit the fertile fields of Cleveland, GA or the relaxing back deck of the Compleat Angler in Daphne, AL for my condition, but one of them left my feet looking like a Christmas Tree. Well, maybe less like a Christmas Tree and more like two feet covered in chigger bites. What I thought were mosquito bites, had me scratching my feet for a week before I realized that wasn't normal. If you weren't aware, nail polish over the bites usually does the trick in a couple days. Unfortunately, Jillian doesn't have clear nail polish... so in the end, my feet did look a bit festive. See below:

Jarred and Kristen's Wedding

Last week, Jillian and I drove out of town around mid-day Friday to make our way to Cleveland, Georgia. Her younger brother was getting married that Saturday and we wanted to make it there in time to get settled in and meet everyone who was going to be involved. It was a big family event for her and I both in that She had yet to meet Kristen's (her sister-in-law to be) daughter and I had yet to meet either of her kids. It was also a pretty big occasion for me in that I had still not met Jillian's older brother, Jeff, as he lives in Montana and rarely makes it back to the southeast.
As most 7+ hours drives are, this one was pretty uneventful. I believe we made one stop for gas, which is Jillian's preferred travel plan. After phone conversations with Jillian's brother and mother, we decided not to stop for food, but instead accompany her mom and step-dad to dinner in downtown Helen. For those that aren't familiar with Helen, Georgia, it looks like the photo below. It's basically a tourist-driven town that is made to look like an old German village. I had been there once before for an Oktoberfest during college. They do a pretty good job of it.

Anyway, it was a little rainy when we got into Cleveland GA (where her brother lives), met up with her mom and all carpooled to Helen for dinner. I'd say we arrived at Cafe International just before 9pm and the place was near deserted. Surprisingly, the wait staff told us the kitchen was about to close so we didn't have long to order. I just couldn't figure out how a restaurant in a tourist town would close at 9pm. Even more strange, they started telling people after us that they were closing due to incoming inclement weather; which turned out to be a light rain storm.

Dinner was a pleasant experience, despite the rain. I had some 'German Sausages' and Jillian had a hamburger. It was nothing to write home about, but the atmosphere and conversation made the evening. I was glad the trip back was a short one b/c I was ready to find a bed and sleep.

Saturday Morning was definitely eventful. We woke up to a door flying open and a small dog running around on our bed. A lesson in when to lock your door was learned that day. Apart from the living alarm clock, the rest of the day was very enjoyable. We took showers and then headed back to Helen to explore. Before we left, we were told that we should stop by the Nora Grist Mill and Granary just outside of town and try to take the 10 am tour. It was good advice. I learned that Kristen had worked for/with that family for the majority of her life and, as guests of their wedding, we got the grand tour. (We also got extreme discounts in their gift shop/grocery) Learning about French mill stones and water powered turbines from the 1800's was right up my alley. In the background of this photo is the man-made damn that diverts water to the mill's turbine.

After the tour and our many granary purchases, we ran across the street to look inside their 4 story antique shop. The place had a very enviable collection of world war II memorabilia, but all we ended up leaving with was an old butter churning pot for our wedding decorations. The antique store browsing took a lot longer than we had planned so, unfortunately, we had to skip the winery and head back to her brother's house to get ready for the wedding, with a quick stop at a DQ for lunch (my first hamburger from a Dairy Queen).

Wedding prep was a bit of a humorous debacle. Not even the bride-to-be nor groom were ready in time (due to bow-tie difficulties)... so we all showed up to the Church about 15 minutes late. Fortunately, it was such a small wedding that we all arrived at the same time in 4 different SUVs. The ceremony itself, while simple and charming, also had it's amusing elements; mostly the fact that nearly everyone in the Church was either taking pictures or video with cameras and phones. There was even an Ipad live-streaming to Kristen's Parents via Skype. The service itself was short and sweet; what I expect Jillian and I's to be like in October. We all got together on the steps afterwards for a family photo.

The next few hours were a chore as Jeff, Cole (Kristen's son), Jillian and I basically became the event coordinators for the wedding reception at their house. It was planned to be in the back yard and nothing was set up. Jillian worked on the indoor signage while Jeff and I set up the tents, tables, chairs and tiki torches. Cole was a very capable assistant through the process. It was a narrow finish as we were lighting tiki torches and heading inside to shower and dress as guests started to arrive. It was a bit odd taking a shower while guests were being given the grand tour of their home... and making a mad dash across a hallway in a towel would have been a funny site had anyone been around to witness it. Thankfully no one was.

The end result was a good one. Jarred had hired a couple musician friends to play until the majority of the crowd had slowly dispersed. There was more food and alcohol than everyone could handle so a lot of people went home with leftovers. I'd say if it weren't for the massive amounts of bugs in North Georgia, it would have been the perfect reception. 

Sunday Morning wasn't as grand as the day before. Jillian had not slept well and we had to be up earlier than normal to go visit her friend in Atlanta before we met back up with the family for a Braves baseball game. Fortunately, I had not gone overboard at this wedding, and wasn't hungover. After quick showers, we packed up and hit the road. Her friend Brooks had offered to make us some breakfast Crepes, which ultimately became a snooty joke for the rest of the following week. This also happened to be the first time I had been able to speak with Brooks since the first time we met, he was busy getting married. He was one of Jillian's best friends from High School so, as one might think, getting to know him well was fairly important. Breakfast was great as was our conversation. Before we knew it, we were behind schedule and needed to take off for Turner Field. It was just down the road so the trip was short and much smoother than anticipated. One exit off the interstate and we were practically in the prepaid "green section" parking lot. A five minute walk and we were in the ballpark. 

Our seats were probably the best I've had in Turner Field. We were just off the first base line. Section 119. Within foul ball territory, but just far enough down the line to escape killing blow velocity. With July 4th just around the corner, there was a lot of patriotic flair to the festivities. Troops from Fort Benning were in attendance and did some pregame formation before the national anthem. They also had a wounded warriors presentation, which I thought was nice. 

The game itself was enjoyable once the clouds rolled in and it wasn't 300 degrees under the sun. I don't know where the Arizona Diamondbacks recruited their pitcher, but he may has well have been throwing underhand. It was less like a baseball game and more like a home-run derby for the braves. I think their were 4 or 5 in the game. I really wasn't paying much attention, but I'm not sure the DB's even scored a run. I don't know what got into me, but I loudly sang "take me out to the ballgame" for the first time since I was ... maybe 6 years old. It was that special kind of atmosphere I guess. The game over, we said our goodbyes and hit the road again.

 As with any high in life, it's usually followed by a low. On the way home, Jillian got a little down in the dumps and the rough weather, that had magically appeared, wasn't helping. Halfway home we stopped in Montgomery for some dinner and that's when Gus entered our lives.

 Cheesy and Shameless, yes. I stood in a balloon animal line at the Texas Roadhouse Grill fifteen minutes for a yellow giraffe.It worked though, so judge me all you want. Beyond the immediate results, Gus happened to be the source of entertainment for two "grown adults" for the next three hours of driving. 

Overall. I'd give the weekend an A -, mostly because the lottery tickets I bought in GA didn't make me wealthy.

Disc to Digital

With the upcoming wedding and long-distance honeymoon travel, I've been looking for ways to keep myself entertained on the move. I thought perhaps the best time waster would be watching movies; and though I know there will be a constant flow of movies on our plane(s), they aren't always guaranteed to be good. It was that thought that pushed me toward finding a way to watch movies on my tablet, without having to stream them... which Google is trying to push on me.

So far I've come across two great services for movie downloads: Vudu.com and Flixster. The bonus with these two websites is that they both allow me to "upload" my current movie collection to their website under my account so I can either stream or download directly to my tablet over wifi. Each upload is roughly $2, so I don't have to go buying the whole movie as a digital copy.

I know this sounds like an advertisement now, but it was worth sharing.