I spent the past weekend in West Virginia for Todd’s friend Russell’s wedding. It was cool because I’d never been to a Jewish wedding before; it was very different from the various Christian weddings I’ve attended. We got in town Friday night and went to a baseball game with all the wedding guests. Russell gave us tickets to get free beer and food from a buffet. While I didn’t partake in the liquor, I hit up the buffet line and water bottles pretty hard; it had been a long drive. We all hung out, and I met a few new people whose company I enjoyed. As it got later, we decided to ambush Russell and give him a quasi-bachelor’s party. We got back to our hotel and the group had split up to buy liquor. The hotel had set up the hospitality suite for our group, I guess since so many people were staying there because of the wedding. Who knows, maybe the family paid for that, too; they certainly didn’t scrimp anywhere else throughout the weekend. Anyway, from the hospitality suite, we procured a gigantic bottle of Absolut, a bottle of Jack Daniel’s (which I have here with me now, long story, so I can tell you it’s 1.75 liters), and various beers and colas. Everyone congregated together in our hotel room, one guy bringing a case of beer, Matt and Alyssa bringing various wines back. We all hung around drinking and talking, Russell progressively getting more red in the eyes and slurred in speech. We ended up going to a local bar after a while, which was a surprise for me because I didn’t get carded; Matt and Alyssa paid our cover charge and I just got to stroll right in. I didn’t try to order anything, though, so that may have made a difference. Russell spent the whole bar visit propped against me, telling me crazy things and laughing a lot. We eventually went back to the hotel where Russell spent a rough, vomit-y night on the floor between the beds. Er, that’s not to say he vomited on our room’s floor; he got most of it in the toilet, an empty ice bucket, and the bathtub. I think he had a good time, despite getting drunk.

Saturday morning, bright and early, we went to synagogue for regular service and to hear Russell read the Torah. I know jack about Jewish beliefs, other than the lack of Jesus bit, so it was interesting attending a service. The entire thing, pretty much, was sang to us in what I assume was Yiddish. Trying to read from the prayer book was tricky, too, since it was also in another language, one which read right-to-left, though it did have English translations on the opposite page. After that was lunch in the hospitality room, followed by a nap by Todd, me, Alyssa, and Matt in our hotel room—the night before wiped us out, and we’d only gotten a few hours sleep in the night. After the nap, we hit up the mall and did some light shopping. We killed time there and at a farmer’s market afterward, waiting for the rehearsal dinner. The farmer’s market was really neat; lots of outdoor plants, and the indoor area was filled with produce shopping as well as quaint cooking supplies. I ended up buying a jar of honey with honeycomb in it and some dried papaya chunks, which turned out to be obscenely sweet. I think I’m going to fix them with pork chops and sauteed peppers, thanks to Alyssa’s suggestion, since they’re a bit much to eat by themselves.

The rehearsal dinner was fantastic. It was held at the most swank law office I’ve ever been to; I don’t understand how those lawyers get any work done with a hot tub and gym in a building nestled back in beautiful woods. The food was great, as it had been the rest of the times they fed us, which was often. Every table you saw, inside and out on the patio, was covered in food; someone like me, who loves to eat, was in heaven. They had the kind of pretty dessert cakes that make you almost sad to eat, too, because they’re so lovely. Eat them we did, though, haha. After dinner and several hours of talking with guests, the crowd dispersed and our group headed back to the hotel. Alyssa went out to hang with a local friend of hers, but Matt, Todd, and I fell asleep watching Men in Black in our hotel room.

This morning was the wedding at another gorgeous location: a country club. More singing by the rabbi, pretty music by a string quartet, and the interesting tradition of waving the newlyweds on chairs held aloft by other guests. Another giant, delicious meal, then it was time to change into comfy clothes and begin the trip home; poor Matt had to ride several hours with us, then another 7-8 worth of driving back to Chicago. I did some dishes, unpacked, fixed spaghetti and French bread for mine and Todd’s dinner, and hit up the grocery store with Todd. Now I aim to relax a bit and watch TV. Hope everyone else had as good a weekend as I did.

Ooh, before I finish this off, I just wanted to note a couple observations I made about West Virginia: the weather was extremely mild and pleasant while we were there. We left the window in our hotel room open the entire time because of the nice breezes, and it wasn’t roasting outside. Also, despite being in a fairly large city, the traffic was minute; we had very relaxed driving conditions getting around to the various wedding-related events because there was hardly anyone else on the road. That was a great change from Lexington’s hectic drivers. It was definitely a place I’d enjoy traveling to again. I also thought the bride’s family was incredibly generous; they provided entertainment and great food for us at every turn, and every time I had the opportunity to talk with one of them, they were pleasant and funny. It was just a really nice weekend for me and the rest of us.