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I arrived in Belvidere on WEDNESDAY afternoon,
only minutes after Nancy and Tracey had checked in
to their respective rooms. Since Nancy and I were
roomies, she had all the forms filled out and I
just had to get a key. We called Lisa, and when she
came, we went out to eat a late lunch at Applebees.
As we were driving back to the hotel from the
restaurant, Lisa’s cell phone rings and, lo and
behold, it’s Diane! She caught an early bus from
O’Hare. We were only about 2 minutes from where she
was, so we swung in, picked her up, and crowded
into Nancy O’s car. Diane pulled into the hotel
soon afterwards, and then we went to pick up Nina.
Once Nina’s bus arrived we headed back to the
hotel. (A lot of driving back and forth, huh?
Fortunately it was only about 12 miles.) We settled
Nina, then headed out to eat at Steak ‘n Shake
(yum!). After dinner we went to Lisa’s house and
got to check email on her computer (good thing,
huh?) Then back to the hotel to wait for the groom
and his family. They finally arrived and we didn’t
even get to glimpse the groom and Lisa disappeared.
What was that about anyway? <weg> We talked,
laughed, ate cookies, and had a wonderful time
getting to know each other all over again. Once we
made the decision about what to do on Thursday,
everyone just went off to bed.
THURSDAY was going to be a long day, so Nancy O
and I went off to get bagels and muffins to fuel us
before we took off for Crystal Lake to catch the
11AM train. The 45 minute drive to the train was
interesting. Lisa has a little race car driver in
her, and Diane had a hard time keeping up with her.
She had to pull over at least one time in order to
let us catch up! The ladies in the Dianemobile had
a wonderful time, though, laughing and playing Song
Burst. Wymzee definitely takes the prize for
knowing the most words for the old songs.
Unfortunately, we missed that train. Not because we
were late, but because there was not ONE long term
parking place to be had anywhere in town! We ended
up taking the cars to Lisa’s friend (and matron of
honor) and leaving them there. Good thing she was
home! The train ride was filled with laughs and
fun, of course. But it was odd how the cookie bag
ended up in Lisa’s purse, never to be seen again!
LOL We finally ended up in Chicago, and started on
our journey. First stop: the downtown Marshall
Field’s store. We explored all 8 stories of it,
making sure we made a stop at the Frango counter.
The clerk knew us well. She had a sample box out
for us as soon as we walked into the department.
Those Frango mints are addictive! More shopping,
then a decision about LUNCH. Tracey HAD to have
Chicago style pizza, so off we were to Michigan
Avenue and the Golden Mile. Unfortunately, only
Lisa realized it was a walk of about a million
miles! LOL We walked and walked and looked and
played with all the cows along the way and then we
walked some more. FINALLY we got to Ontario St. and
actually saw the Gino’s pizza sign. Thank God! They
seated us right away in 2 tables, and the food
feast began. I’d been to Gino’s before, so I knew
that one Chicago style pizza would do for 5 people,
especially with salads, but the other table
proceeded to order one Chicago style, and then a
thin crust (which turned out to be 2 thin crusts
due to waiter error) and salad. Talk about stuffed
people! LOL We rolled out of the restaurant and
wallowed our way to Water Tower Place, which is
more shopping, and I disappeared into Lord &
Taylor, never to be seen again! At least not until
meeting time. By the time we met, we were
exhausted, and decided to take the bus back to the
Metra station. I was elected to talk to the bus
driver to see which bus to take, and he assured me
his was the right one. OF course, once he took off
I was sure we were going to end up in the Lake! But
he was right, he dropped us right by the station,
we got our tickets and finally got on the train. By
this time, PC wasn’t feeling so great, and the trip
back was a little more low key. We got back to
Crystal Lake, picked up the cars, and headed back
to Belvidere. By the time we got back, PC and JJ
went off to their room, Keith said a long good bye
to Lisa, and the rest of the broads decided they
needed a little more nourishment to make it through
the night. (You never know when your next meal
might be, after all!) Tracey wanted to go to
Perkins, so off we went in the Dianemobile again,
to eat at Perkins at midnight.
FRIDAY morning. Lisa called and wanted to know
what was up. We told her we were going to
breakfast. (JJ and PC were still sleeping with a DO
NOT DISTURB sign on the door. We didn’t! LOL) She
decided to come with us, so we decided to give her
an impromptu shower. Where did we go? Why, Tracey
wanted to go to Cracker Barrel, so that is where we
ended up. (Do you see a pattern forming here?
<G>) We ate, we laughed, Lisa opened
presents, and while she was feeling kindly towards
us, we begged for a key so we could use her house
(and Internet connection <G>) while she was
at rehearsal dinner that night. Pretty slick, huh?
After breakfast, I decided I needed to do a little
more shopping, so went off to a local mall with
Nina, Nancy and Semper Di. Afterwards, we went
swimming in the hotel pool and practiced our
synchronized swim routine. Too bad no one will be
able to see it at TTP3! We cleaned up from swimming
to do dinner. Tracey told us we were eating at
Outback <G> to which we all agreed. She went
off to the wedding rehearsal, leading the way with
PC and JJ. Unfortunately, they got separated, and
PC and JJ came back to the hotel for help. I, being
the ever helpful one, went with them to the church,
stayed for rehearsal, and drove back with Tracey to
Outback, where the rest of the broads were already
getting snockered! I quickly caught up, and we had
another good time. Unfortunately, we had such a
good time that we didn’t have much time at Lisa’s
house for the computer! We all had a chance to
check email and post the one infamous post, and off
we were, back to the hotel, where we proceeded to
have a fashion show and paint nails. What fun!
SATURDAY, the day of the wedding arrived, and it
was the 3 H’s in the Midwest. Hazy, hot and humid!
Our job was to be at the reception hall at noon to
set up, after picking up the stuff at Lisa’s house.
Our job was simple. Put out place cards, set up the
music, make coffee ready to plug in…. little things
like that. The caterer was supposed to get the
tables set up the way he had arranged it with Lisa.
Unfortunately, the caterer decided to do his own
thing, and totally disregarded what Lisa had
requested, and we had to do a quick rearrangement,
which means we got all hot and sweaty in our
wedding hairdos and make up. We did not have kind
words to say about the caterer, let me tell you! We
zoomed back to the hotel, changed into our wedding
finery, and zoomed off to the wedding to do our
wedding jobs. I was in charge of the guest book,
Nina in charge of passing out programs, and Nancy
O in charge of bubbles. We lived up to the
challenge admirably! In a zip, it seemed, Lisa was
ready to walk down the aisle, and the wedding was
on! It all went by in a blur. Lisa was gorgeous,
Keith handsome, and everyone suitably nervous,
including us, I think. It was another great broad
moment when Nina’s camera started to rewind during
a solemn moment of the ceremony and she said an
expletive. JJ did turn around and glare at us at
that moment. LOL I cried, visibly, and the other
broads laughed at me, but I think they were a
little misty, too! Then the wedding was over, and
we were outside, blowing bubbles at the bride and
groom. Lisa’s grandpa enjoyed that part, I think.
Tracey stayed back to play chauffeur for the happy
couple, Nina stayed back to ride with PC and JJ to
show them the way to the reception. (We weren’t
going to take chances with losing them again! LOL)
And Nancy O, Semper Di, Diane and I all loaded into
the Dianemobile to head to the reception to do the
last minute stuff.
THE RECEPTION was fun, easy going, and pretty
low-key. We were in charge of the punch, and since
it was a frozen thing, we did a lot of stirring to
get it to drinking consistency. Ergo, the picture
of Tracey and the punch. We took pictures, we got
rowdy, we got nostalgic, and we were dying for some
alcohol! So, when the wedding ended up, we all
piled into cars and found a bar! We decided we
needed more than a bar, we needed the pool, so we
loaded back up again, sent Tracey off to get
alcohol, and went back to the hotel to get out of
the wedding finery and into the suits. Just as we
were about to get into the pool, who shows up but
the bride and groom. Well, then we really let our
hair down! We laughed and drank and frolicked and
played and laughed some more. I found some pool
jets with which I became intimately acquainted.
<weg> They do feel good on the back, you
know! Oh, we had a little champagne and wine, too.
It was here that Diane from Wisconsin said she
would share some special Fess Parker (aka, Davey
Crockett, Daniel Boone) wine. (You know that ba’ar
that Davey killed when he was only 3? Well, I think
he used it in this wine! LOL) It was awful! But
Diane liked it. A lot! She drank the whole bottle
and was preeetttyyy funny! The pool was getting
pretty crowded by then, with other partyers, so the
bride and groom took off (we know where you were
going!) and the rest of us, except PC, went back to
the Nancy room and proceeded to finish off the
booze. We laughed, we laughed some more. We played
Tracey’s question game. We ordered a gigantic
pizza. We laughed even more. And then we decided it
was time to play "Pin the Macho on the Man" game,
similar to Pin the Tail on the Donkey. You can use
your imagination as to what we were actually
pinning on! LOL. Well, it was fun and we were
laughing, but the most ROTFPIMP moment happened
when we blindfolded Diane (the Fess Parker wine
junkie). She was roaring loaded, and didn’t want to
be twirled around, but hey, Nina did it anyway! LOL
... and as she was twirling her around, Tracey
jumped up and opened the room door (which was where
we had pinned the game) so that when Diane headed
forward, she would go right outside. We were all
laughing so hard we couldn’t breathe! It was a
genuine broad moment. <G> But I have to give
Diane credit. Even drunk, she has her wits about
her. She felt the heat from the outside, and
didn’t move from the air conditioned room. She did,
however, lay down on Nancy O’s bed immediately
afterwards and start snoring! What a hoot! We all
went to our respective rooms soon afterwards and
dreamed the night away.
On SUNDAY morning, we all went to breakfast
(well, except for Lisa and Keith) and ate some
more. We really needed to keep up our energy level,
you know. Then we were off to Lisa’s grandparent’s
farm for the present opening, and more food. We
were just a little more somber this time, because
we knew that 3 of the broads would be leaving right
after that. That time went by in a blur, and soon
we were saying goodbye to our friends. First Diane
and Tracey took off in the Dianemobile. Then we
(Nancy O, Semper DI, and I) dropped off Nina to
catch her bus to O’Hare. I don’t like these
goodbyes. They hurt more every time. Nancy, Semper
DI and I went back to the hotel where we napped and
read and napped some more. Then we took off to eat
at a farm boy place, then drove around town again
and stopped for ice cream. WE chatted some more in
the Nancy room, and then we went to bed.
MONDAY morning I woke early and left by 7AM. Of
course, everyone knows about Diane’s adventure
after that, but that’s someone else’s story.
Nina and I discussed taking one of Nora’s books
with us so that her words, and therefore her
presence, as well as all of yours, could be there
with us. I’m not sure if Nina remembered to bring
one, I know I didn’t, but you were all in our
hearts and in our thoughts during the whole
weekend. I don’t know what destined this whole
group to get together, but I treasure each moment
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