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My participation in the wedding weekend (which
really wasn't a weekend, but not quite a week)
began on Wednesday morning. The last thing I packed
up and loaded into the car was my laptop. Little
did I know the futility of that act, LOL.
While driving north, I kept thinking about the
group gathering in Belvidere. I was on the road,
Nancy was on the road, Wym, Diane and Tracey were
in the air, and Di was putting in a day at work,
and then joining us at the hotel. All of us were
converging in one spot to join in the celebration
of a wedding. A wedding whose roots are in a place
we call "Sanctuary." Pretty neat, huh?
I arrived at the Rockford airport at about noon.
I had just a few chapters of Pat Gaffney's, The
Saving Graces, to finish, so I settled in to
read while I waited. Somehow, I managed to keep the
tears under control while reading. Pat has written
a wonderful, warm, touching story about
friendships. I laughed and I cried throughout the
book. In the end, Pat resolves all the issues quite
nicely, so there is not a sad ending. I couldn't
help but make the connection between the
friendships found in Pat's book and the friends
gathering for this wedding weekend. What we have,
we BB/Ns, is very special.
Tracey's plane arrived early, and I got my first
look at her new shorter hair cut. It looks really
cute! This was a surprise to me, too. Thankfully,
there weren't very many people on the plane, and I
found her easily. We gathered up Tracey's stuff and
headed for Belvidere and the Cambridge Inn.
We found the hotel easily and checked in. We had
asked for all of our rooms to be together, but once
again, that didn't quite work out. While Tracey and
I were checking out the possibility of a different
room for her and Wym, Nancy arrived! In the end, we
stayed with what we had, and it all worked out
fine. Since no one had eaten lunch yet, we called
Lisa and made arrangements to get FOOD. We made our
first of 2,456,700 trips down State Street for the
weekend. Lisa had told me earlier that everything
was on State Street. Now I could see what she
meant. We ate at Applebees, on State Street and
were heading back towards Belvidere when Lisa's
phone rang. It was Diane! We picked her up at the
bus stop, on State Street, and Lisa's house, yes,
on State Street. You get the idea, <G>.
Once we were back at the hotel, Di quickly
arrived. Now we had real transportation! All
weekend, Di's van was put to good use. It was so
nice to be able to travel together most of the
time. Thanks, Di! Eventually it was time to pick
up Nina at her bus stop. Which ALL of us did! We
tended to travel as a pack the entire weekend.
It was time for food once again, a familiar
pattern for the weekend. Steak 'N' Shake was
Nancy's choice this time. We all had lots of fun
catching up with each other. On the way back to the
hotel, we stopped at Lisa's house. While others
were way too concerned about such things as email,
I made it my goal for the weekend to gain Copper's
trust. Copper is Lisa's slightly neurotic cat. I
found her in the form of a lump under the covers of
Lisa's spare bed. We had a brief chat. I tried to
calm her fears of her home being invaded by a bunch
of loud, crazy women. I don't think she bought it.
We all got to oooohh and aaaaahh over some of
Lisa's wedding gifts. She gave us a quick preview
of what our duties would be for the wedding and
wedding reception. More details would come later.
Next stop, back to the hotel. The room I was
sharing with Nancy, aka the Nancys room, soon
became party central. While waiting for Keith, PC
and JJ to arrive, we broke into Nancy's cookies.
LOL, like we hadn't just eaten?! They're just too
good to resist.
Finally, the rest of the party arrived. Keith
and Lisa were all smiles, they were so cute
together. For some reason, we didn't see much of
them after that. <ewg> Introductions were
made and PC (aka Doug) had his first experience
with Nancy's cookies. He would repeat this
experience many times over during the weekend.
Plans were made for our trip into Chicago the next
day. Everyone was pretty tired after traveling, so
we went to bed early.
While driving to Crystal Lake to catch the
Metra into Chicago on Thursday, we started playing
the game Song Burst. Wym was amazing, and Nancy
gave it a really good try, but Wym was unbeatable.
We finally made it to the train station, but
couldn't find a place to park the cars. In the end,
Lisa called upon the services of her friend,
Janette, and the cars were left at her house.
The train ride into Chicago was fun, lots of
joking around. This is where I first became aware
of Diane's "magic bag." We were to need the
services of this "magic bag" several times over the
weekend. What ever someone needed, Diane had it in
her bag! From wet wipes, to ziplock bags to AAA
batteries, etc., etc........... Diane had it all.
We got to Chicago at about noon and promptly
headed off to Marshall Fields on State Street.
Okay, so it's a different State Street, but it's
still State Street! The only things I bought at
Marshall Fields were two boxes of Frango
chocolates. I've been to Marshall Fields before,
but had never been introduced to the Frango
chocolate mints. Ahhhhh, I now have a new best
friend. Definitely going to put that mail order
number to use for those little gems.
Soon, it was time to think about food once
again. Tracey had her heart set on Chicago style
pizza, and it had to be Gino's. So, the ten of us
set off to find it. We walked. We walked. We
walked. We kept finding decorated cows all over the
place. Diane was in cow heaven! I'm not sure of the
reason behind it, but Chicago is having a thing
called "Cows on Parade" and large cows can be found
all over the Loop. Along the way, I saw the
Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers, where the RWA
conference will be held this year. So, for anyone
planning to attend, be sure to check out the cows
in the Loop.
We finally got to Gino's, and yes, there was a
pizza cow in front of their building. I've been to
this Gino's before, like Nancy, and knew that one
large pizza would be enough to fill the five of us
at our table, at least for a while. We had fun with
the waiters. There was one waiter with amazing bits
of information about Nancy, even though he had
never met her before. He knew that she was a
teacher, that she lived in Michigan, and several
other "facts" that had Nancy looking a little
worried. At the time, Nancy didn't know that he was
being coached from the table behind her. By Wym,
JJ, Lisa, etc. Everyone else knew, but Nancy
didn't, LOL.
Our trip to find Gino's pizza led us very close
to Water Tower Place. Nancy had stars in her eyes,
dumped the rest of us, and said she needed to do
some serious shopping. I think we were cramping her
style!
When we eventually made our way back to
Belvidere, the decision was made to get some FOOD.
All of the broads piled into Di's van, leaving the
front seat available for Keith. Just as Keith was
climbing into the seat, Wym announces: "Keith
Alhstrom, welcome to your bachelor party." I don't
think I've ever seen someone run back to their room
quiet that fast. He locked the door, turned out the
lights and refused to come with us!
On Friday morning, we received a call from a
very nervous bride to be. The board broads joined
forces and descended upon Lisa's house. We were her
comic relief! While there she gave us more details
about our duties at the reception and wedding. Once
again, I tried to make nice with Copper. I found
her in her usual place, a lump under the blankets.
I told her, quite gently, that very soon she would
be flying in a plane. That she would have a whole
new home, but it was going to be all right, 'cause
Lisa was going to be there. I told her there was
going to be lots of confusion for the next few
days, lots of strangers, but that she could handle
it all. I don't think she bought it.
Our breakfast turned into an impromptu wedding
shower for Lisa. We went to Cracker Barrel, another
favorite of Nancy's. A collective gift from the
BB/Ns came in the form of a Wonder Woman night
shirt, and a pair of Batman and Wonder Woman
figures. Oh, FYI, the figures were placed in a very
interesting position before putting them in the
box. Not that we're evil or anything, LOL.
On Friday night, we had a fashion show in the
Nancys room. Since we couldn't make up our minds
about what to wear to the wedding before we arrived
in Belvidere, most of us brought multiple choices.
We had lots of fun, and most likely even flashed a
few people in the parking lot, since the door kept
being opened and closed when we were in various
stages of undress.
Oh, I learned something else over the weekend. I
just assumed that lightening bugs could be found
anywhere. But that's not so! Wym, Diane and Nancy
were fascinated by the nightly display. It seems
that they don't have them in their respective
locals.
Finally, the wedding day arrived. Can you say
Board Broads in Action? That's what we were.
Setting up tables, arranging the place cards,
getting the coffee all ready to go, setting up the
music, setting out the mints and nuts, etc., etc.
In a flash, we were finished and heading back to
the hotel, back down State Street.
All dressed up and looking our finest, five of
us arrived at the church. Tracey was taking my car
and arriving a little later. Wym had her job to do,
Nancy had her job to do, and Di, Diane and I staked
out our pew right up in front. We didn't want to
miss anything! The wedding was very traditional.
Tracey participated in the ceremony by doing one of
the readings. As soon as the ceremony was over, I
headed to the back of the church to do my job,
handing out the little bottles of bubbles.
All too quickly it was time to head to the
reception. The BB/Ns finished setting up for the
reception and made sure everything was kept filled
as the guests started to arrive. After pictures at
the church, the new Mr. and Mrs. Alhstrom arrived
at the reception. Once the photographer was
finished with the official pictures, we asked for
our turn with the bride and groom. The end results
are some very silly pictures. I think we kept the
rest of the guests entertained with our antics. We
were known as "the computer ladies" to Lisa's
friends and family. Several of the guests were very
impressed that we were representing the states of
California, Colorado, Wisconsin, Michigan, Virginia
and Illinois!
At one point, Wym called "The Banker" to wish
him a happy birthday. All of the BB/Ns sang to him
over the phone. I don't know if he was impressed
with our singing skills or not, LOL. We also, at
about this time, drafted the services of a very
willing, young police officer. He let us pose with
him and his squad car. I'm sure he didn't have a
clue about what he was getting himself involved in.
After leaving the reception, we stopped for a
drink. It was good to just relax, laugh, and have
fun. All of the pressure was off for now. We ended
up at the pool once again. Lisa and Keith joined us
at pool side. They both looked very happy and glad
to have the ceremony behind them. Everyone was
ready to relax a little. Di was really, really
ready to relax, LOL. I'm afraid that Di has forever
lost her title of "Shy Di," 'cause she was not shy
at all after drinking a bottle of wine. I'll leave
the story of the "poster guy" for other's to tell.
It lead up to one very hilarious and memorable
moment for the BB/Ns.
Sunday arrived, and we all went to Lisa's
grandparents farm for lunch and the opening of the
gifts. My gift for the new couple was a pencil
sketch of their new home in San Diego. The drawing
was from pictures taken and supplied by JJ and PC.
I was touched when I saw tears in Lisa's eyes when
she opened my gift. But that wasn't the only
special gift from the BB/Ns. Wym gave them a
traditional Swedish horse with their name painted
on it and the date of their wedding. The last gift
to be opened, and we made sure that it was, was
from Diane. Once again, Lisa's eyes filled with
tears when she saw the beautiful quilt that Diane
had created. Words can't describe what a generous
and beautiful gift Diane gave to the new couple. It
was truly amazing.
After taking a few pictures of the quilt
outside, it was time to begin saying good bye.
Tracey and Di took off for the airport. Nancy,
Diane, Wym and I headed to the bus station. We
waited with Wym until her bus arrived and reminded
each other that in less than two weeks, we would
all be together again.
Now there were three. Nancy, Diane and I had
dinner at an interesting restaurant with a farm
theme. Diane had a hankerin' for some mashed
potatoes, and this place was able to fulfill her
wishes. We returned to our room once again. We
fired up the laptops and tried to put some of our
thoughts into words, even if we couldn't share them
with anyone else yet.
The next morning, Nancy headed off at about 7
am. Now there were two. But, the "fun" wasn't over
yet! No, Diane just had to add a little more
excitement to the trip. To recap a story already
posted on Sanctuary, Diane had a "little" accident
that morning. Okay, I'll admit it, it was my phone
call that made her get out of the tub. (Feeling a
little guilt about that, too.) In her haste to get
to the phone, she fell and hit her head on the
corner of the wall. She tells me that she hit her
head, that it really hurts, oh, and there's some
blood! I hurry over to her room only to find LOTS
of blood. Blood on the bed. Blood on the towels.
Blood running down the back of her neck. YUCK! I
tried to see how bad the cut was, but first I had
to find the cut. Once that was accomplished, I
still didn't know how bad it was. I just knew that
there was a lot of blood! It didn't look all that
deep, but it was about 2 inches long. I called in
help from next door and JJ and PC came over. They
made the decision that a trip to the emergency room
was needed. I called Lisa to get her recommendation
for a hospital. She said to take her to St.
Anthonys and guess what, it's on State Street!
So, JJ, Diane and I headed back down State
Street. I think this was the first time I've ever
really had to use those big blue and white signs
with a big H on them that designate a hospital. I
was glad they were there.
An hour and a half later, Diane was ready to go,
with the addition of 13 staples in her head. The
doctors had given her the okay to fly back to
Denver, so we headed back down State Street once
more. We dropped JJ off at Lisa's house, said good
bye once again and then headed back to the hotel.
After Diane took a shower, we took some pictures of
the dent in the wall as well as of the staples in
her head. She checked out of the hotel, we picked
up a prescription for pain meds, got an ice bag and
a towel. One more trip back down State Street
where we grabbed something to eat, and made it to
the bus stop with ten minutes to spare. I made sure
Di's bus was there before I left and headed for
home myself.
Whew, that's a lot to account for! I just love
the times we can spend together. Even though we
have contact with each other via the boards on a
daily basis, it's meetings like this that really
show what a special thing we BB/Ns have. In just a
few more hours, I'll be joining Di once again.
We're hitting the road in the Broadmobile and
heading towards Harpers Ferry. Can't wait to see
even more of the gang.
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