"I'm not responsible if someone gets hurt." — me, after my cousins dragged me onto the dance floor
I had an awesome weekend as we went to Los Angeles for my cousin Cathy's wedding with my aunt Jill. Considering that we don't often get to see the Shiehs anymore, the family reunion was something I had been looking forward to for a long time. This was no doubt one of our best trips ever.
Day 1: a long-awaited family reunion
Dad wanted to start out early as the venue is over 360 miles from our house. Because there weren't many attractions along the route, our only stop along the way was Lost Hills for gas. The plan was to find a restaurant afterwards, but we decided to have a simple lunch in the car as there would so much food at the reception.
Due to the relatively light traffic — and our decision to not go to a restaurant — we arrived at our hotel much earlier than expected. Dad and I went to the front desk and were told that we could only check in after 3 p.m. However, management made an exception for us after hearing we had been on the road since 7 a.m. I truly appreciate their accommodation.
We had some rest before going to the nearby Longo Seafood Restaurant for the celebration. This was our first time seeing the Shiehs again since Connie's wedding five years ago. The reception began with a cocktail hour with appetizers and drinks. It was great to meet Cathy's husband Andrew and Connie's kids Dean and Desiree. I also got to meet Andrew's relatives and many of the couple's friends. The Frangos were especially friendly to us.
The MC invited the couple to perform their first dance before Andrew's and Cathy's relatives gave their toasts. They must have choreographed their dance because it was quite impressive. This was followed by a 10-course family-style dinner. Everything was absolutely delicious. The couple decided not to have a wedding cake, but that didn't make a difference because everyone was already full. There were actually enough leftovers to last us a few days!
The MC later asked everyone to gather together for a group picture before turning up the music and inviting people to dance. There were also games at each table, but people were more interested in dancing and socializing and barely touched the games. Connie and Cathy later insisted that I join them on the dance floor. Although I was very reluctant at first because I can't dance to save my life — especially when my RuneScape character is a better dancer than me — I eventually had to acquiesce. There was no way I was going to say no to my cousins. This turned out to be really fun and was the best part of our trip.
The only downside is that the dance ended early. Because many people have started leaving and the only ones on the dance floor were strangers, the couple decided to call it a day and suggested that we leave. This is unfortunate because there aren't many opportunities to dance outside of clubs, but the last thing we wanted was to make things difficult for the newlyweds.
Days 2 and 3: a sentimental farewell
All of us had trouble sleeping and ended up getting up around 6 a.m. There was more than enough time to get rest in our room. The breakfast at the hotel sucked as there were only pastries, but that wasn't an issue as we had leftovers from the night before.
We later headed to Griffith Park for the farewell picnic. I was pretty full from the leftovers and only had a single tamale and some drinks. However, there was more than enough time to chat with Andrew's and Cathy's friends. Even my parents had a great time talking to the Frangos. I also played Spikeball with the other young people. That was pretty fun.
As much as I wanted to spend more time with my cousins, all good things must come to an end. I'm not going to lie — three hours just weren't enough. Saying goodbye to the Shiehs and Frangos was the saddest part of the trip, especially knowing that it might be a long time before we see them again. I definitely hope they can visit the Bay Area in the not-too-distant future.
There was one place I wanted to visit before heading home: the nearby Griffith Observatory. Only Mom and I went in as Dad wasn't able to find a parking spot and Jill want to rest in the car. Therefore, I didn't want to stay too long and mainly focused on taking pictures. Of note is that the observatory is extremely popular during the summer. Getting from place to place was difficult due to the huge crowds. Where's Thanos when you need him? :-)
It was then time to head home after a busy trip. Because we left the observatory earlier than planned, Dad decided to use the extra time to take us to Costco after stopping for gas. I was getting a little hungry because I didn't eat much at the picnic, so we had some samples before continuing up north. The bad news is that there was much more traffic than we expected. The fact that there were no less than six accidents on I-5 didn't help the issue. On the bright side, we saw a colorful sunset on the way home. That was quite nice.
Mom and I went to In-N-Out Burger to get food after we stopped in Kettleman City for gas. The crazy thing is that both In-N-Out Burger and the nearby McDonald's were so crowded that people were sitting on the floor. This was like a scene straight out of a disaster movie. The good news is that there was little traffic for the last 100 miles, but it was still past midnight when we finally got home.
Conclusions
One thing that's hard to deny is that weddings are really fun. In addition to celebrating the love between two people, there's always great food and opportunities to socialize. Seeing my best friend get married was a most surreal experience. I'm so glad I got to celebrate Cathy's big day with her. On behalf of all of us, I'd like to congratulate the two and wish them all the best as they begin their life together.
Of note is that traveling to SoCal can be a pain in the ass. It would have been more relaxing to spend an extra day in Los Angeles, but we decided against it for several reasons. For one, Mom was concerned about the high crime rate and didn't want to stay longer than we needed to. She also needed to water our plants as our sprinkler system has been broken for a while. Perhaps the most important reason is that my current project's beta release is today and I wanted to be available in case any issues came up.
The not-so-fun part is that I have a bad case of the holiday blues. One thing for sure is that I'm already missing my cousins and our new friends. On the bright side, Dad is planning to take us on another road trip this coming weekend. So at least there's something else to look forward to. :-)
In the meantime, feel free to check out the pictures from the wedding and the rest of the trip.
July 11 update: the pictures are up.
Currently listening to: "Down" by Jay Sean
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