Lewes Yourself in the Moment: Part II of our trip to the east coast

June 13 - It's time to head out to Delaware where the wedding is to take place. We pack our things and leave. We stop for lunch at Chick-fil-a. I eat a chicken sandwich and some nuggets. My gosh, it's good to eat this stuff again. Why there is not one in the Seattle area is beyond me. I should open a franchise there. It would make tons of money. Juliana doesn't enjoy long car rides anymore. We pass over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Two and a half hours later, we arrive at Sara's parents' guesthouse in Lewes. It's really nice and you can tell that they've put a lot of work into it.

We finally meet Sara's mom, Elaine, who is just as accommodating as her father, and quite funny. She tells us about the first time she met Steve and how he had a huge grin from ear to ear when she walked in through the door. I can totally see that. She tells us that she remembers thinking that it won't last between him and Sara back then. We also get to meet Steve's mom, Misty. Steve definitely takes after her a lot. About half of the wedding party goes to the rehearsal. I sign the marriage papers. We meet back up with everyone outside the local American Legion post for the rehearsal dinner. We meet a lot of the friends and family attending the wedding.

And of course Juliana steals the spotlight.
We go back to the house to put Julie to sleep and I go out with Steve, Sara, Sara's cousin Adelle, Steve's groomsman Patrick, Sara's twin sister Jade and her boyfriend Madison, and Sara's friend Dan to Rehoboth Beach for some bachelor/bachelorette fun. We cruise the boardwalk, Steve and I go on a quick safari, and we drink at an Irish pub. I leave early to get back with Bethany and the baby. Sleep.

June 14 - It's the big day. I put my old Air Force uniform on. We only do semi-formal dress which basically means white shirt and black tie instead of blue shirt and blue tie. I had to buy new pants because my old ones don't fit me anymore (I no longer have a 29" waist). The guys head to the church and get ready for the wedding. People arrive and sit. The ladies finally arrive and it's time to get this show on the road.

The wedding goes great without any big mistakes and Steve and Sara are husband and wife.

The wedding party hops in the limo and we cruise around town taking pictures at Rehoboth Beach on a carousel and the boardwalk, Lewes Beach in the sand, and the Lewes Yacht Club on some dangerous rocks. Sara requests the driver to stop at Dairy Queen for some ice cream just because she can. When we get back to the house, the cocktail hour is still going on. The guys all change into something more comfortable. The reception is held in the backyard of the guesthouse.

It's very humid so everyone sweats like pigs. Including Juliana.

I give my toast before we eat. I talk about how Steve is a dependable guy and how he has been making better decisions in his life recently. Food is served and we eat roast beef, salmon, salad, rice, red potatoes, bread, and fruit salad.

We dance.

We eat cake.

Bethany and I leave shortly after to go to the hotel. We chose to move from the guesthouse that night because we knew it was going to be too loud and crazy for Juliana to fall asleep. It turns out to be a good idea. Sleep.

June 15 - We go back to Sara's parents' for a brunch and say good-bye to everyone. The newlyweds and us go to Rehoboth Beach to spend the last few hours we have together. We hit the boardwalk, see the beach, play some games in the arcade, looks at the souvenirs, and buy lots of candy at the candy shop.

We head out to BWI Airport hitting lots of traffic along the way. We make it in time and get through the airport. We take AirTran this time which ends up being a very pleasant experience. The plane looks and feels relatively new and the service is decent. We actually get snacks... pretzels and cookies. We got a whole row to ourselves, so we were able to spread out and let Juliana move around more.


I listen to my Angels beat the Braves on complimentary XM satellite radio. We arrive back in Seattle where my parents meet us and we go home. After this trip, 8 month old Juliana has already been to 11 states and Washington, D.C. See her travel map.

More pictures of Steve's wedding can be found here.

Overall, a good trip. A hectic schedule didn't help, but I think we managed well. Juliana was a much better traveler than I thought she would be. I really appreciate her good behavior. Everyone was very nice and treated us like family. I hope to see Steve and Sara again soon.