Monsoon weekend

Our trip to Massachusetts was... rainy! There's no better way to describe it. According to Accuweather.com, Massachusetts is in a state of emergency and all of New England is experiencing the worst flooding in 70 years! We were there from Friday night to Sunday night and it literally did not stop raining the entire time! And it wasn't just drizzling... it was a constant downpour, along with strong winds. The kind of stuff that makes your umbrella turn inside out... which happened to me at least 3 times! And our friends Bill and Kathleen just happened to have their wedding planned right in the middle of it all. The ceremony was held in Beverly and the reception was in small fishing village called Gloucester. Both are just north of Boston on the Cape Ann coast. We stayed at the Atlantis Oceanfront Motor Inn in Gloucester, which was right on the water. The view was amazing and I'm sure it would have been even more spectacular if it were sunny! Poor Kathleen! I'm sure she had really pictured everything being so different... her reception site was gorgeous, with large windows that looked out to ocean waves crashing on the rocks. But of course, they still got married and we all still had a great time! Here's a top 10 list (although in no particular order) of my favorite memories from this weekend:
1. Eating roast beef sandwiches at 10pm on Friday night in a little diner-type restaurant called "Chick's Roast Beef".
2. Driving around all of the "rotaries" (traffic circles)... sometimes we made quite a bit more laps than were necessary!
3. Running from the car to the church, the hotel to the car, and the car to the reception, etc. in our dresses and high heels in the pouring rain! I kept wondering why in the world I even bothered to dry, or even brush my hair on Saturday!
4. Driving with Eric to see the Annisquam lighthouse, which we never really saw, but the journey was fun... and that's all that matters!
5. Stopping for clam "chowda" in a small restaurant in Gloucester between the ceremony and reception. Yum!
6. Laughing so hard that my stomach hurt after Eric caused a ruckus during Bill and Kathleen's first dance. Everyone was so quiet and serious when he decided to yelp in pain as our friend Gina accidently kicked him (or stepped on him? I'm not quite sure) when she was trying to take a picture of the happy couple! Oh and then I was laughing pretty hard later too when Eric was singing so loud at dinner that the DJ handed him the microphone! Anyone want some entertainment at their wedding? Just invite my husband!
7. Enjoying the view from our motel room and listening to the rain and wind all night.
8. Eating lunch at the Ye Olde Union Oyster House in downtown Boston yesterday with Jeremy and Bec. We just happened to stumble into this place and it turns out that we picked the "America's oldest restaurant!" It was awesome.
9. Just spending time with friends and getting to know them better... you can't beat that.
10. Looking out the window of the airplane last night as we rose above the rain clouds and finally saw the sun again!

The view from our room... check out those waves!


Me, "sightseeing" in Gloucester. This was a memorial to all the fishermen who have lost their lives at sea. The movie "The Perfect Storm" was based on a true story about men from this town.The happy couple: Bill and Kathleen!

Another happy couple: Me and Eric!

The girls: Gina, me, Kathleen, Bec, and Lauren

The guys: Eric, Gibbs, Jeremy, Mark, Brian, and Tim


The whole group at our table at the reception... look at the view of the ocean!