Well, at least they married, wet or not. Glad to have you back safely pp ----- Original Message ----- From: "Denise" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, October 28, 2005 2:57 PM Subject: Re: [HC] Interests - > Hi Mary and Dianne. > > It is fantastic to be home., After many overseas trips, I have to admit, > this time I am delighted to be back in OZ for many reasons which I won't go > into (g). > > Wedding #1 was in New York two weeks ago today. You may have all have heard > how wet it was in the northeast of USA. It was! WET and cold and windy. The > wedding which was to be in Shakespeare's Garden, Central Park amongst the > autumn leaves ended up being held in a nearby castle in the park, but > thankfully we were there at least, dry. > > The reception venue turned out to be unable to cater for the 20 of us - it > seems that was not the case from Australia; only when we arrived. The > leaves were green and WET, not autumn colours. The limo which was booked > for 4 pm to carry myself, Neil, our daughter, the bridesmaid and the bride, > did not turn up. It apparently shot past our hotel and got stuck in the > traffic but even after assurances that we were to be picked up in 10 > minutes, it didn't arrive at all. We had to find two taxis at 4.45 pm on a > Friday in New York city for a 5 pm wedding at the other end of the city. HA! > that's a joke. Finally flagged down one for the bride and bridesmaid, sent > them on their way with a request not to marry my son without my being there! > In the panic I forgot to give the bride her large umbrella! The remaining 3 > of us had to find another taxi, which took another half an hour. The driver > sensed the urgency of our situation and zapped thru and around New York at > great speed. We were dropped on the edge of Central Park in the rain, the > driver didn't know where S. gardens were! We only knew the approximate > vicinity - had no need to know for the bride was supposed to be with us. A > local, a lovely lady who loves Australians and Australia happened to be > strolling in the rain, as one does in New York, with a dog and took great > delight in leading us with great speed to the castle, all the time telling > us about her travels down under. About 15 minutes later we arrived (this > is a case of the parents, not the bride, being late) and the wedding went > ahead, a Naval Chaplin marrying them. We all then wandered with our large > umbrellas thru Central Park to the Boat Shed which kindly had found 20 seats > for us the day before, after being let down by that other restaurant. The > bride looked beautiful. The groom (and here I am biased) looked so > wonderful in his Tux. > > A week later wedding #2 went off without a hitch in Las Vegas. The limo > turned up on time, Elvis managed to 'marry' them, sing his 3 songs, have > videos taken with himself in all of them! But it was great fun, laughs and > singing all the way thru the ceremony. It appears a celebrant had married > the couple legit, in another room before Elvis did his 'version'. We then > had lunch at Bellargio on the Strip. The bridal group and guests dressed > in their Hawaiian outfits. (ug) However, I saw stranger sights in Las > Vegas than a bunch of Aussies in bright shirts. > > So the twice married bride and groom are now roaming around Utah, Nevada, > Arizona, Texas etc on their hired Harleys. Phone calls let me know how much > they are enjoying the superb scenery. > > Our stay in Washington DC between the two weddings was a fantastic time, we > were ruined totally by family who live there (thank you genealogy > research!). They took the bride, groom, two sets of parents, our daughter > and her husband out to dinner at the Navy & Army club, had arranged a > wedding cake and gifts for us during dinner, and like all good > establishments, ports and cigars in the library after dinner. (girls - the > women were allowed to join the ports and cigars session, but we did not > partake of cigars, thank you). > > So the bride and groom have had a fantastic series of events for their > marriage/s, topped by a couple of bucks nights - one at the Stratosphere in > Las Vegas and another watching an ice hockey match at Madison Sq Gardens in > New York followed by dinner. Girls' nights out included shows. > > The Grand Canyon is awesome. Washington DC is a fantastic city, so > attractive, clean and interesting. Las Vegas is loud and bright. New York > busy and crowded. Sadly because of the howling wind and rain we did not see > much of this city. > > Father and mother are glad it's over, we have seen a lot, travelled many > states and miles, walked so far and long, but are glad to be home. I do > believe that Hiram Crawford, who late in his life during the depression > years of the 1890s/early 1900s, wrote that there was no place like his old > home town in USA, and how he believed Australia was being ruined by this and > that, would today should he be alive, be proud he became Australian. > > Denise > >