When I left off we were about to fly to LA.....
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| L to R: Lee, Scott, Susan, me, Amy, Mark, Barbie, Jim, Michael |
Saturday
Our flight to LA was quick and easy, about 40 minutes. We retrieved our bag without a problem (after almost leaving our garment bag with Lee’s tux and my dress on the plane!!!).Then we tried to find the Lyft pickup area. What a nightmare! There are signs that point the way to the Ride Share area, supposedly, but no driver is allowed to stop at those areas. We finally asked someone but their explanation didn’t help much. “Walk that way 5 minutes”. Walk where and why? Finally a bus that said “to Ride Share Area” stopped at one of the signs. We started to get on the bus but the driver told us that if we got on the bus it was a 30 minute drive to the Ride Share parking lot, but if we walked FIVE MINUTES THAT WAY we would be there. Oh! Once we figured out their system we were fine but a little clear signage would have been very helpful. That was the worst Ride Share system I’ve seen yet. Hand it to LAX to screw up something that should be pretty straightforward.
Fortunately our driver was very patient. He said it happens every day. I bet it does.
The drive from the airport to the hotel took about 50 minutes. Rush hour on a Friday in LA. Fortunately our driver could use the express lane so it wasn’t too bad. Our hotel is in Koreatown. It’s kind of a rundown area of LA, that is slowly gentrifying.
The hotel is fine, just kind of odd. The walls in the halls and the rooms are covered with distressed concrete. I’m sure it’s supposed to look cool but it mainly looks like it’s under construction. The room was designed to be arty, but only barely functional. Absolutely no place to hang a towel. No drawers to use to unpack. No place to put a suitcase (so we put ours on top of the desk, lol). And instead of a coffee table in the small sitting area there was a somewhat dangerous piece of art that looked like a bunch of blocks. I told Lee to be sure to steer clear of it if he got up in the middle of the night!
We had time to change clothes before it was time to head to dinner at a Korean bbq place. Supposedly the “good” ones don’t take reservations and you have to get in line for them at 5, but we made reservations at one for 7, and it turned out to be great. We ordered a combo meal which was way way way too much food, but we got 3 different kinds of meat, veggies, lots of sides, and salad. I can’t possibly list all the sides, but my favorites were the kimchi (of course), the kimchi rice, the corn with cheese, the pickled daikon. There were sweet potato noodles, rice paper, oxtail soup (dislike) and bolgogy (which I never even tried). I’m sure there were other things too but I forget. Hanu K BBQ.
It was fun and delicious. We had so much left over but oh well.
From there we went straight to the welcome party at All Seasons Brewery. It was in a nicer part of town. They had a section of the brewery cordoned off for us and we got pink wristbands for the open bar. Nice! There was food too but we were not hungry!
It was great to see my cousins. Amy, Mark, their kids, Barbie (the MOG), Susan and Scott Holt, Michael and Jim. We sat at a high top and screamed at each other for a while because it was INSANELY loud in there!
Lee and I left a little after nine and when we got outside I told Lee I felt like I had just been to a rock concert!
I woke up early, unfortunately, especially since there wasn’t any coffee available until 6:30! I got a coffee and a blueberry scone and a coffee and a croissant for Lee at the coffee shop in the lobby, although he slept until after 8!
I used Strava to figure out a running route. I ran along Wilshire toward the nicer area and then back along a residential street. I think tomorrow I’ll just run on the residential streets, out and back. It felt good to run, but the first mile was a little sketchy.
We ate brunch at a restaurant across the street from the hotel. Now we’re just sitting in the hotel lobby, mostly waiting for our room to be cleaned and for it to warm up a little. then we’ll go sit by the pool instead.
Sunday.
The pool was very nice, hot in the sun, very comfortable in the shade. My cousin Susan and her husband Scott were there and after a while other cousins showed up as well. We had a nice time sitting around chatting. I put my feet in the water to cool off but didn’t bother to swim. I didn’t want to take another shower!
Around 3:30 it was time to head up to the room to get ready for the wedding. Amy and I were both complaining about the terrible lighting in the bathrooms making it hard for us makeup challenged ladies to apply our faces. She took her makeup mirror over to the window. I don’t carry a makeup mirror since MOST nice hotels supply one (but not this one!). I took the book lamp into the bathroom and that helped.
I really liked the dress I rented from Nuuly this time. It was a lovely bright pink in satiny material with a subtle flower design. It fit me perfectly! When we went down to the lobby Susan and Scott were already there. Guess what? Susan’s dress was pink as well! And when Mark and Amy came down Amy’s dress was, guess what? Pink! We got a picture of all three of us together. What are the odds!
Off to the venue, The Ebell of Los Angeles. They let us inside around 5:15. The ceremony was outside in a garden. Some of the chairs were on a grassy slope, some on a balcony, some on a patio. It was a little unusual. Fortunately the weather was still perfect, low 70’s with a little breeze.
We all waited patiently. They were a little late getting started but before too long it began. First came their dog, haha. Then Tarek with his mom and dad, Barbie my cousin and her ex, Wahel. Then the bridesmaids and groomsmen. There was no room for them to stand around the alter so they all sat down. The flower girls were adorable in their little pink dresses. Their dad had to help them walk down the aisle (their mom was one of the bridesmaids, Alex’s big sister). The little girls were twins and they did a great job scattering their flowers.
Then we turned around and Alex appeared at the top of a staircase with her mother and father. She was absolutely a vision in loveliness. I think the entire wedding party gasped and sighed in admiration. We soon had tears in our eyes. I basically cried throughout the ceremony, and so did Lee. Their vows were incredibly moving and their officiant was very good. He even had us all close our eyes and breathe for a bit after the vows because we were all feeling so emotional.
After the ceremony there was a cocktail hour, both inside and out. Good drinks, great snacks and hor deoveres. They had this very interesting thing that was a part of Vietnamese culture where you could pick some spices, put them in a large jug of water, and write on a card why you chose the ones you did. I chose a star anise because it’s pretty and versatile. Supposedly they will drink this concoction on their first anniversary! Sounds kind of gross to me! Then they herded us into the area where we had dinner.
We sat at a table with all my cousins. I sat next to Scott. He's been married to my cousin Susan for years and years but I had never really talked to him much before. He asked me lots of questions about all sorts of things. It was an interesting conversation.
The dinner was pretty meh, but I’d had lots of snacks beforehand so I didn’t care. The toasts were fun. I loved Alex’s parent’s toasts, once again very moving. And I loved her sister’s toast! Her sister is 8 years older and the toast was all about her relationship with her baby sister and how they became the best of friends. All the toasts were great.
I hardly knew Tarek at all. He is over 10 years younger than my kids, and we’ve never lived anywhere close to Barbie and her family since they left St. Louis. I first met Alex earlier this year when my Aunt Ray passed away. But after this wedding I feel like I know both of them much better.
After dinner there were desserts, coffee and dancing. I snagged some desserts (okay a LOT of desserts, they were great) and we snuck out soon after. It was after 10 and we were tired.
I slept until 6:45 this morning, yay! I went to the gym and rode a bike for a little while then came back to the room and packed. We’ll go to the farewell brunch in a little bit, check out, and head to the airport.
We had a great time at this wedding. I have lots and lots of cousins, and I'm the oldest one, so all their kids are gradually getting old enough to get married. We're going to another wedding in October! I love weddings!
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