Traveling to Florida to witness the marriage of my niece...

It's not often that one of your relatives get married (well, at least not in my family) so I thought it would be pretty important to fly down to the Tampa Bay/St Petersburg area of Florida and be there for my niece's wedding. The stage had been set for an outdoor wedding on the white sandy beaches of the Gulf Coast. Let's just say that the family may think twice before inviting their Seattle relative to another outdoor event.

April 4 - 8th, 2008
Total Miles: flying doesn't count
Seattle, WA to Clearwater Beach, FL

I spent most of Friday in a metal tube, flying from Seattle to Denver to Tampa. I managed to sleep most of the way to Denver, not missing much because of the thick cloud cover. But as we neared the Rockies then skies opened up and there was something worth looking at. Naturally, I wondered what it would be like to ride the roads that I could see from my vantage point.

The Rocky Mountains in Colorado	"Some town" east of the Rockies

My parents picked me up from the Tampa airport that night and we hung out at a local Howard Johnsons until the preferred motel in Clearwater Beach had a room available for us on Sunday. This meant that we had not a lot to do and all day to do it. Mom and Dad both got their hair tended to and I tried on bathing suits. Yuck. After lunch I figured what better use of my time than to sit by the pool and get a sunburn? And no, there are no pictures. However the next morning we called over to our "next" motel and found that we could get an early checkin there. It was the Sea Captain Motel, one of the first motels built in Clearwater Beach. I really appreciated its classic look and feel. It was much more intimate than the Howard Johnson, that's for sure, and would have been my own choice had it been my, um, my choice.

The view from the common balcony area on our first day there	A local pelican
The heron's daily visit to the seawall	A pirate party ship makes many journeys a day

Sunday was The Big Day. My niece (Michelle) was to be married on the beach and then we'd all retire to the Starlight Majestic for an evening dinner cruise. The problem was, the weather didn't seem to want to cooperate. The morning dawned gray and just got grayer. Then the skies opened and the wind blew the rain down in sheets. The puddles formed quickly and the wind kept blowing. We packed up our Howard Johnson motel and moved to the Sea Captain and the rain was still falling in various quantities throughout. For a while we thought that it might just blow through, as Florida storms typically do, but when I went out to the car to get something, I ended up trapped inside for 10 minutes at the windows were lashed with the pounding drops. By the time I got back to the room the news had circulated that the wedding would be delayed and moved to the reception boat. Our group gathered together with our umbrellas and waited for a taxi, which took much too long so we ended up driving the three blocks to the ship.

Whomever was in charge of moving the event from the beach to the boat did a fantastic job. If I hadn't known any better I would have thought that this was the original plan. The seats were set up, the wedding party was on board and sequestered in the back and the music was playing softly from the stage below. The men were handsome in their tuxes and the bridal party was beautiful in their gowns. There was a reading performed before the formal ceremony took place and then vows were exchanged. At one point, as the wind lashed the rain against the windows of the ship, the officiate started a prayer and just after he uttered the words "Dear God...." a tremendous BOOM echoed throughout the boat as a clap of thunder broke overhead. The audience clapped and cheered at the timing of it and it was a while before the ceremony resumed. Michelle and Mark said their vows and then marched back down the "aisle", while the onlookers watched with happiness for the young couple.

The reception was on the lower deck, lavishly decorated and complete with an extensive menu. Toasts were made and photos were taken and eventually the music started. The hours passed by quickly, filled with conversations with Pat and Bob Hayes (long-time friends of the family) and Josie and Bob Aron (long-time friends of the family and also my God parents). Occasional vistors to our table gave us fresh conversations but we were never at a loss for something to say. The wind calmed down outside as the boat toured the sheltered coves behind Clearwater Beach and soon we were left with dimishing lightning bolts in the clouds as we returned to the dock well after nightfall.

Here comes the calvary!	The flower girl
Dave (my brother) giving away Michelle	Michelle and Mark exchanging vows
Dave and Karen watch their daughter	The reception area
A pigeon looks in from the soaking wharf	Long-time friends of the family, the Hayes
Using the nearby mirror to get the entire table in	The winds kept on blowing for most of the afternoon
Not much for "Florida views"	Hey! I've seen that ship before!
Karen and Michael (my nephew)	Dave and Michelle performing the Father/Daughter dance

The next day, Monday, was to be my last day in Florida. The sun rose bright and cheerful, almost mocking the weather of the day before. The headlines annouced that the area had received a record-breaking 5" of rain the previous day, with it falling at a rate of 2"/hour at one point. But now the clouds had blown away and the winds had calmed down. The Malms and I walked down to a local restaurant where the wedding party was gathering for breakfast. Michelle and Mark were looking forward to their honeymoon in the Bahamas and I wished them well. I left the meal early to meet up with my God parents back at the motel and after they left the Hayes' came by for a visit as well. Then my brother and his wife stopped by. I felt very fortunate to be able to visit with such close family friends for as much as I did. It had been years since I'd spent a decent amount of time with any of them.

Sand piper	Pelicans drying off in the morning sunshine
Warm sandy beachs; a day late	My Aunt Sally and Uncle Duane
Standing among the trees	Even palm trees eat kites!

Tuesday morning came much too early and my parents took me back to the airport where I again spent the day in a metal tube, this time hopping from Tampa to Kansas City to Denver before finally getting home to Seattle. It was nice to be home, even if it wasn't raining.

Dave back to normal now that the wedding is over	The happy couple, Mark and Michelle
A sparrow camoflaged in a palm tree	A seagull waits for a treat
A green parrot looks out from it's nest	Fixing up the homestead
One of many condemmed motels in Clearwater Beach	Not sure of the bird type, but I made sure that it didn't dive
The sun lights up the motel's pool	Everyone must be out enjoying the sunshine