You can read part 1 from my trip here. Which basically covered… Friday. :-)

Saturday morning came way too fast, considering that we went to bed at 3am! We forced ourselves up at 8am, and said hello to Paul’s parents. They were happy to see us (it had been almost two years since we had seen them). We got dressed and ready for the 10am wedding. It was held at a church Paul used to attend when he was growing up, which he was excited about. Crazy thing: the church was located off a two-lane road. The city would not let people turn left from the road into the church parkinglot. So, you have to pass the church and turn around in a gas station or driveway down the road. Or, if you have extra time, you can go all the way down to the next light and turn around there. Go figure. Some people have the weirdest solutions to a (potential) problem.

The wedding was beautiful, and different. It wasn’t a traditional service, but it was lovely and fit them! I’ve never seen a groom so nervous! I thought it was kind of cute, and was glad that he relaxed once the ceremony was over. :-) Sarah looked beautiful, and we were all so happy for her. Paul and I got to meet Isaac’s girlfriend, Katie, for the first time! She sat with us as Isaac was a groomsman.

Sarah and Nathan did something really cool at the reception: As we entered the restaurant, we signed our names next to a photo album with empty pockets waiting for pictures. Then we took a picture with the bride and groom, to be placed in the photo album later. I thought that was a really great idea! Another cool thing they did was record a song (him playing the piano and her singing), to which Sarah walked the aisle. Then they gave out copies of the song on CD to all the guests at the reception, which I thought was a wonderful touch! :-) (We should have done that with Isaac’s song!) (Too bad we don’t have it recorded…)

The reception was at a converted barn with really nice ambiance. I sat with Paul’s family and with Isaac and his brother. It was fun to relax and talk to everyone. Paul’s family and Isaac’s family know each other so well – I wish I had close friends like that! Perhaps someday we will meet another family that will become like a second family to us.

After the wedding, Paul and I went home and rested. That evening, we joined Isaac and co. and went to Horseneck Beach. We got to watch the sun set and had a wonderful time. I teased Isaac again about not yet recording his song for us, and even got Katie on our side to remind him! :-)

Once it got dark and we were kicked off the beach, we found a nice Chinese restaurant and had dinner. It was fun to relax and laugh with friends. We got home late and enjoyed getting 9 1/2 hours of sleep that night! Yeah I know, crazy! Sunday morning was church at Paul’s parents church, then lunch at a local Mexican restaurant (where else?!). Paul and I then drove around the Fall River/Westport/New Bedford area taking pictures before visiting his grandmother. We didn’t get yelled at too badly! :-) (We don’t call her enough, or so we’ve been told.) The evening was spent at Paul’s parents house with them, relaxing before we packed and got ready to leave.

Our flight out Monday morning left at 6am. We realized that we’d have to leave the house at 3am in order to get to the airport on time. We also realized that we would be driving an hour on a fairly desolate road after only a few hours of sleep, so we figured the wisest decision would be to leave when we’d normally go to bed and sleep at the airport. My brother in law, Jeremiah, hitched a ride with us as he was headed to Portland the next morning as well.

We got to the airport around 1am, after a rather fun detour through Boston. We were too late to be able to check in, so we attempted to get comfortable on the chairs provided and wait until 4:30am when the airport basically would come alive again. Paul and Jeremiah watched a movie on the laptop while I dozed. I think around 3 or 3:30am I asked if we could walk around because I was so cold. We explored all the terminals at the Boston airport, and even found a few places that might have been more comfortable to wait. (Oh well!) It was really interesting how between 4am and 4:30, people and staff started arriving and the airport basically “woke up”! We avoided the long lines for Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks, and opted to just go to our gate and wait in a warmer area (i.e. had carpets). Our flight was uneventful; we were so tired we basically slept the entire flight. I actually had no motion sickness on the way back, so I think next time we fly I might even consider a layover! Maybe this age of extreme motion sickness was just a passing phase? Let’s hope so!

We got back to Atlanta and got home by 10:30am. We sprawled on the floor of the living room, petting the cats and we almost fell asleep right there. I finally convinced Paul to get up and we went to bed, and woke up at 4:30pm. Yep, that was a 6 hour nap. :-) I’m still recovering sleep-wise from our trip!

It was a wonderful trip, and I have a lot of fun pictures that I’m uploading to Flickr right now! I’ll try to post the highlights, but in the meantime you can check my Flickr page to see them.

I really like New England. Paul says I like it because we never go in the winter. :-) It’s a fascinating place I think, and I love the accent. I’d love to be the type of person who can mimic accents pretty convincingly, but I’m still working on the New England one. I keep repeating words my mother-in-law says, which probably annoys her a great deal. :-) (She gets teased about her accent by her California-born husband and kids.) I am also fascinated by the history and architecture of the area. New England is like no place I’ve ever seen, and I really enjoy my visits up there! My mom and I have plans to return in October when the leaves are at their peak, and I’m excited about that!

On Monday, Paul and I got back from visiting New England.

Pictures will be forthcoming. I have to figure out which ones to upload, and I’m afraid if I wait till they are ready then I will never write this post! So you’ll get a prose overview.

We left very, very early on Friday morning – we got up at 4am after going to bed at 1:30am. (We are such night owls that it is hard to go to bed early, especially when we’re both excited about a trip!) We took MARTA to the airport and flew to Boston. Note: I have decided flying is EXTREMELY annoying. It used to be fun, but not anymore. All the security stuff and no-liquids-or-gels are SUCH a hassle. For one, I had to leave my face soap and moisturizer here because I couldn’t find them in small travel sizes. Perhaps in the future I will buy refillable 3oz bottles but it’s just SUCH a pain. I’d almost rather buy more for my stay in New England. I think from now on, I will opt to drive if it’s an option.

Anyways, our trip was uneventful and we got in and got our rental car. We realized that the guy upgraded us to a bigger car even though we told him “no”. That annoyed us, but we didn’t feel like dealing with it (probably his plan all along). Paul dropped me off at Becky’s, and he went to see some old friends from when he lived and worked in Rhode Island. I meanwhile visited with Becky, daughter Katherine, and sister-in-law Amy. I also had the opportunity to visit Rhode Island Right to Life, an organization I’ve had the privilege of doing freelance design. It was fun to meet my biggest client!

In the afternoon, I had the distinct pleasure of a visit from Susan and little Hans! :-) Now I KNOW y’all are jealous! It was WONDERFUL to see them, and I miss Susan so much! We spent a lovely afternoon together, until Susan had to leave and go home. :-( (It was lovely being with you, too, Becky! :-))

In the evening, a third blogging friend Nichole came over with her husband Micah. Nichole is 8 months pregnant with their first child, and it was so much fun to see her with her cute baby belly! (You looked GREAT, Nichole!) We had a delicious meal that Nichole and Becky cooked, and then we proceeded to watch the pilot episode of Firefly in an attempt to convert Matthew to a browncoat. (I think it worked. Maybe.) The Millers have a pretty sweet home theater setup – a projector and a blank wall, with Manchew as company. And I haven’t even begun to talk about Bugaboo and Bungalow, the most adorable and sweetest Bengal cats (after my own kitties of course)! I fell in love instantly and tried to sneak Bungalow home but Matthew caught me.

Paul and I ended up leaving late and getting to bed around 3am. Yes, if you’re keeping track, that means we were up 23 hours after only 2 1/2 hours of sleep. :-) (We think we’re still in college.)

I decided to finish writing about the rest of my trip later, as I am tired and need to go to bed. I’ve been working on this post all evening and keep getting interrupted. Maybe tomorrow I’ll have pictures! :-)

Oh and I highly recommend the Chuck Diesel.