wedding road trip

Dinner in Seattle (aka Jaime Learns a Lesson)

Day 2 was a busy day, probably our most scheduled of the entire trip. Our final “appointment” was with my cousin Lara and her husband Chris in Seattle. On our way, we took advantage of no-sales-tax Oregon (hear that, California?) to get a digital SLR camera and an SD card adapter, which was encased in a bomb-proof hard plastic shell. As we drove on I-5, Jaime attempted to open the package with a knife, but instead opened her finger. She yowled in pain, but actually seemed more concerned about not getting blood on the Fusion.

I stopped the car, patched up Jaime with the first aid kit our friend Colleen gave us. Then I easily opened the package, feeling confident that my hunter-gatherer skills were intact. Obviously if I can open two layers of plastic, I can, in the future, fight off a bear to save my family. Jaime stopped bleeding after ten minutes and, against my protests, took off the band-aid.

Insert foreshadowing here.

Lara and Chris live near Beacon Hill in a 1930s house that they have lovingly transformed into their family HQ, including their two-year old son, a dog, and one rather plump cat. Over appetizers, wine and then dinner, we had a wide ranging four-hour discussion about marriage and weddings. They’ve been together for fourteen years and married for seven, so they had a lot of information to share. They’ve made it through rough spots like a parents’ divorce, grad school and tag team raising a two-year-old son. In my opinion, their relationship seems incredibly durable, especially because at least one of them has openly contemplated divorce and instead has chosen to move forward. Plus, I thought they were pretty damn cool for biking across Europe when their son was just an infant.

As with all of our stops, we donned our Wedding Road Trip outfits for a picture with our hosts. I was suavely attired already when I heard a wail from the back room. Jaime’s unbandaged finger had bled on her white dress. We soaked the dress in water, rubbed stain remover on it, etc., but a dark smudge remained. After a few glasses of wine, Jaime calmed down, but I knew everything was truly OK when she looked deep into my eyes and said “I should have listened to you.”

That made the whole trip worthwhile.

Here we are in the garden of Chris and Lara’s house. Jaime wanted me to note that she had to set the self-timer and then catapult herself over the bushes to get this shot. It was pretty impressive- my money was on her face-planting.

Tags: day 2 seattle road trip, seattle road trip