You are currently browsing the on the road category.
We’re just a few weeks away from our actual wedding ceremony and all the details are finally being officially decided. Pre-wedding dinner, check. Parental meeting, check. Afternoon rodeo, check.
At this point, if you are not a regular reader, you may be saying, “Wait, I thought they did a road trip instead of a wedding.” Actually we did a road trip in lieu of a huge event, visiting many of our out of state family and friends, but are still having a ceremony and dinner for some local family and friends.
Speaking of guests, we are also getting RSVPs from the invitees. Understandably, there are some regrets. But we have had at least one pleasant surprise – Roxy will be at our wedding!
Monday was the original date of her return to the media fleet, but Ford Motor Company has graciously allowed us to keep her for a few more weeks so we can keep Wedding Road Trip going. We’ve continued interviewing friends and family in California, and Roxy Fusion will be helping us visit places like Fresno, Los Angeles, Marin, and San Luis Obispo. If you’re coming to the wedding, be sure to say hello to her- she’ll be driving us up the aisle.
Just kidding. We’re not corporate shills. 
With 25 days left until we officially become Mr. and Mrs. We-Haven’t-Figured-It-Out-Yet, the only word to describe how I am feeling is:
Over-scheduled.
Within the next month:
We will say goodbye to Roxy. (Right now it’s scheduled for next week, but we’re hoping to keep her through the end of the trip.)
We will get married.
We will find an apartment.
We will attend a wedding.
We will interview at least fifty more people.
Chris will work.
I will attempt to work.
I will attend a bachelorette party and a wedding shower.
We will both try not to kill each other.
With uncertain jobs, transitioning apartments, and a future that’s full of overcast San Francisco weather… it’s hard not to dream of being back in Louisville, worrying about duck attacks. I can’t wait to get back on the road Friday, when we head down to Ventura to interview some of our Southern California peeps.
Dear San Francisco,
While I was gone, I must admit that I didn’t miss you too much. But that was understandable, because we were pretty busy – visiting friends and family, driving through incredible nature, and whale watching.
Now that I’m back, I want to give a shout out to the things that I missed – my friends of course, many of whom came out for a raucous kickoff party, and the combination of mountains and water so rare in an urban environment. But I also missed…
- Good food at our favorite local restaurants Patxi’s, Velvet Cantina, and Alamo Square Grill
- Amazing coffee – really, the best in the world – from Martha & Bros and Blue Bottle
- Local cafes like Central Coffee (where I am now), Café Abir, and The Grove
- The Kabuki movie theater, where you can get assigned seats and buy beer and wine, all in a beautiful facility not geared toward 14-year old boys hepped up on giant, refillable Cokes
- Live music at some of the best venues anywhere, such as The Fillmore, The Independent, Café du Nord, the Great American Music Hall, and the Greek Theatre
- Incredible fresh fruit and avocados – and thank you to all our friends that allowed us to order guacamole whenever possible.
Crazy Homeless Guy, probably somewhere in SF right now
That said, I did not miss batshit crazy homeless people everywhere, fog, very smelly buses, $26 billion budget deficits, and super expensive rent. In fact, San Francisco, while I love you, there are a lot of other cities in the US that are eating your lunch. So though it pains me, I’ve got to tell you who does it better.
- NYC has way better parks and street trees. Every neighborhood seems to have a beautiful square filled with lawns, benches, and ball fields, and almost every street is lined with huge trees. Really, San Francisco, get with the tree program.
- Chicago has a city government that is actually progressive and gets things done (green roof program, Millennium Park) rather than occupying itself with posturing and giving into navel-gazing special interests.
- Louisville’s art scene was the best I’ve seen in a long time, between the waterfront park and the 21C Hotel gallery.
- Salt Lake City and Denver have better weather and more awesomer mountains.
- Downtown Seattle has more buzz going on than SF, with its museums, sports stadiums, central business district, main shopping area, and waterfront all within one compact area – which is loaded with turn-of-the century brick buildings.
- Portland is better for biking, with bike lanes and boulevards clearly marked everywhere. And if even if you don’t bike, that takes cars off the road and people out of buses and trains, so transportation is easier for everyone.
- Last but not least, Detroit has cooler buildings. Yes, many of them are in ruins, but even the intact mansions and skyscrapers are world-class.
So, San Francisco, you’re wonderful and there’s a lot to like about you. But don’t believe your own hype too much, and don’t go raising rents like crazy, because there’s some real competition out there.
Love, Chris
Just like some people win the adoption lottery, other people wind up with kickass last names. Case in point, my friend Carolyn, who already has an awesome surname and is gaining an equally-fantastic last name this September. She’s decided to go the path of least resistance and take her husband’s last name, keeping her maiden name in the middle, where it will share space with her actual middle name. I would tell you all of the names, but then I might as well give you her social security number and home address. Kids, the Internets is a scary place to give out personal information. And, remember, don’t use drugs.
Carolyn is the reason for the season, namely, why half of Wedding Road Trip is traipsing through the land of ten thousand lakes: Minnesota. Last night we wined and dined at Northcoast, with Carolyn’s mother and her sister Margaret, who got married this past May in Carmel.
Words that don’t describe Margaret: quiet, reserved, boring, and expressionless.
Words that might describe Margaret: off-the-wall, animated, and endlessly entertaining.
When dealing with the whole name change thing, Margaret got creative and added her middle name (Mary) to her first name. She then moved her super-cool surname to the middle slot and took her husband’s name to finish the whole thing off. I really respect her attachment to all four names and the logical way she put it all together. When Carolyn and Margaret have kids, they are planning on using their maiden name as their sons’ first names. While our friend Colleen thinks this might confuse some people, I think it’s kinda cool for these future cousins to share something so important to both Carolyn and Margaret.
Totally not related, but worth noting: Northcoast offers blankets to guests, which they can use throughout the duration of their dining experience. If only a certain foggy city (cough, cough San Francisco) would do the same, dining in the great outdoors might be possible during the summer months.
Roxy is solely responsible for eliminating my Fat Car Ass. She drives me to the gym when I don’t feel like getting up in the morning and encourages me to go to the mountains for long afternoon hikes. While we have several days left of interviews and meet-ups, Roxy has promised me that she’ll take me to exercise every day, no matter where we are.
This morning, as she drove Chris and me to Crunch, she even complimented me on my slightly-more-toned physique. We then shared a b0nding moment as Lady Gaga played over the radio. When the song finished, Chris uttered a sentence that stopped me cold:
“I could live outside of the City now, I mean, if you want to. I don’t think I mind driving anymore.”
I’m sorry, what? This from the guy who swore he’d never live outside of the City, would never drive a car more than once a month, and would never consider living somewhere like Napa or Sonoma and commute in a few days a week.
If he tells me that he’ll also live in a gated community (the equivalent of death to all urban planners), I will fully believe that Ford has been serving him the good punch behind my back.
Twitter
Facebook
YouTube
