I’ve been back nearly a week, but blogging has been pretty low on the list. The trip was lovely and the only drama was self-induced.

The wedding in Monterey was…dude, it was a wedding in Monterey. It was gorgeous. The weather was perfect. The bride was stunning. The groom, whom I’ve known since I was 15 and G has known his whole life, smiled more in the two days I saw him than in the rest of my memories of him combined.

Seeing the other guests was half the fun. The groom’s sister was my color guard instructor senior year, and I LURVE her. We were at the same table, which was fantastic.

Also at the table was, I think, G’s first prom date and…oh, if I have to choose, my favorite of all his ex-girlfriends. You know, other than myself. (That may sound strange, but I’ve known most of the others, too, and gotten along well with them.) We met once before, but it was long ago and very, very far away. She and her husband were just lovely.

I cannot recommend the Cypress Gardens Inn. Don’t stay there. Ever. I am torn about leaving a review–there were significant problems with our room and the manager was quite rude about them, but he did call the next morning to apologize and offer us a new room, which we moved into before G had to be at the wedding hotel for pictures.

Still, though…very rude. Also? Kind of a dump. Don’t stay there. Ever.

***

On Sunday, we drove to San Jose to visit the Pilat household: Jon, Ryan, Leigh, Nathan, and Sam. Brunch with the adults was fun–partly, for me, because Jon and G haven’t seen each other since…Senior Ball, 1995. G and I got into a fencing match that night with our silverware (over the civil rights of vegetables, which he wasn’t eating), and Jon was the first to find band-aids when G sliced TWO OF MY FINGERS with his butter knife.

(Our behavior at the Monterey wedding was vastly more dignified.)

Little Sam, the newest member of Jon’s family, wrapped me right around his little finger. It may have looked like he only got my hair with that grab, but he got the rest of me right along with it. I may be biased, though, because, as we were leaving, Nathan came over and gave G a hug. I got a wave.

G maintains that this is because I was too accessible–I got down on the floor and helped Nathan build an obstacle course, but G stayed up on the couch, remaining somewhat aloof. Also, G knew where trucks would be, which naturally makes him the more attractive adult.

I can be graceful in defeat.

***

The next stop on this whirlwind tour was the Tipton residence, newly reopened after the Fire of 2008. Bean had also not seen G since meeting him the night of Senior Ball…and hadn’t seen me in almost two years. And her husband had never met him, of course.

This seems a little lopsided, doesn’t it? I was excited just to see my friends. But it was definitely a (re)Meeting-the-Friends weekend for both of us, having been apart for so long. Plus, the way our lives were back in Pleasanton, I knew his friends far better than he knew mine; part of why Bean hosted us for a night was because she wanted to actually get to know him.

If G was nervous at all, I think it evaporated when he saw that Bean’s husband, J, has a lightsaber and a giant model of the Millenium Falcon. Kindred spirits, clearly. (Which Bean and I knew.)

I’m sorry. Their son has those things. Right. They’re his. Not J’s.

Riiiiight.

Bean and I ran out to get dinner. By the time we got back, talk of Red Dwarf had begun and G had convinced J to netflix all five seasons of Babylon 5. And then there was pizza.

***

After that, it was puppytime! We drove over to Nevada for the last leg of my trip–relaxing with G, his folks, and the puppy (who is not a puppy, but is a Westie, so it’s kind of the same thing).

As an added bonus, I finally got to see the new Star Trek, which I’m glad to report doesn’t suck at all! And I played Beautiful Katamari for longer than I would care to admit, but it was calming my travel anxiety and G was awfully nice about it.

THE END