Jill's Wedding

Last weekend I went down to South Carolina for my cousin Jill's wedding.  My mom had planned to go with me but then wasn't feeling well enough to go.  So I went alone and it was such a great little "break" for me...something I didn't realize I needed so much.

I had to arrange for someone to teach my Friday discussion section and for Dave to take Monday off to stay home with Eddie.  And after finagling the finances a little, I came out with an excellent little trip.

My flight on Friday was great; I got lots of grading and reading done.  I arrived at the hotel where everyone was staying around 11pm.  My aunt and I shared a hotel room, which was fun.  Saturday morning she and I had intended to walk around the zoo and botanical garden in Columbia, but we got up late and then decided to have a long, leisurely, and scrumptious lunch at a place my cousin Kathy had seen on Diners, Drive-in's and Dives.  We were a loud bunch, I'll tell ya!

Kathy, Chip, and Trey

Aunt V taking a picture of me taking a picture.

This is my "fried green tomato pimento cheese BLT" with cinnamon sweet potato fries. And of course, a glass of sweet tea.  Trust me, this is the only way to eat a BLT.

Fried dill pickles with ranch dip!  This is what greasy, salty heaven looks like.

Then we had to scoot back to the hotel to get ready for the wedding.

This is what I wore to the wedding.  Who's the lady without the glasses?!

And it was a lovely wedding! Jill and Jason were married in his church and it had the most beautiful, bold-colored stained glass windows I've ever seen outside of Paris.  No one else was taking pictures during the wedding, so I didn't either.  I did snap a picture of the wedding party while they were outside at the reception venue taking professional photos so you can see how nice everyone looked.

No, that's not a shotgun on the ground.

The reception was nice and low-key (at least for me). I just sat around talking to lots of people.  It's funny, I always hang out with the "older" folks at these family events, people of my dad's generation.  It seems that I have a lot more in common with them, than with their kids who are closer to me age-wise.  I always knew I was an "old soul" but I think this trip really solidified that fact for me.  =)  In fact, I was talking to much to various people that I missed getting a glass of champagne and a piece of cake!  Oh well, I probably didn't need the treat calories anyway.

Susanna gives the best toasts at weddings!

Sunday morning all of us Levie folks met up for a late breakfast at Cracker Barrel.

No trip to the south is complete without eating country ham.

And then I had to say goodbye so I could drive off toward Georgia to visit some friends.

It was a 3 hour drive.

And I was getting a little bored.

I don't know about anyone else, but I often find that my mood/excitement about a trip changes between the time I plan a trip and the time I actually go on the trip.  During the planning stages I'm rearing to go and full of excitement.  But often, by the time the trip arrives, I'm so busy getting things ready for my departure and absence that I sort of re-think the whole thing.  Especially the cost...  But this trip wasn't like that at all.  I was excited the whole time, soaking up the family togetherness.  And after this short, but wonderful visit with everyone, it made me realize that while expensive, these trips really are worth every penny.  You never know when you'll get to go back and it's so important to maintain these relationships.  That being said, I know we'll go back as a whole Bower-Levie family sometime soon...and I can't wait!