2019 Ft. Lauderdale Wedding

After I got back from Europe on July 7th, I started back with pool therapy, but then I came down with a cough.

26 July

We went out to eat at Courtney's. It doesn't look like much from the outside

Courtney's

Inside Courtney's

or the inside either, but Julie is a wonderful cook. He goes out and catches the fish ad she cooks them. I did notice that they were both moving slowly and it took some time to get our food. We both had the

Soup of the day from the buffet

Rolls

Bob's fried fish

hush puppies

Rockfish stuffed with crab and topped with a creamy cheese sauce

1 August

I had some doctor's appointments for surgery scheduled the end of August, and another one to see about getting rid of the cough. We had lunch after one of the appointments at

Jerry's Place.

Bob had their Maryland Crab soup, which was a spicy vegetable soup - they put the crab on top last. It was $8.00 which he thought was expensive.

Hot rolls

Soft crab

I had the soft crab appetizer, which was very good, but was $20.00

I looked at the venue where the wedding was to be held and realized it was outside overlooking the beach. I thought I should be wearing a hat to protect me from the sun in August in Florida. But I didn't have any hats that I could wear with a cocktail dress. So when Bob was getting a prescription filled for my cough, I went into the exchange and found a big hat which was straw with black trim. Then I had to figure out what to wear with it as I don't have many clothes in that color (brown or tan)

7 August

Lynde came and got me packed, I stopped the mail and the papers, and we left the house about 9:00 on August 7th

From the car in our driveway

We were at the Governor Nice Bridge to cross into Virginia by 10:15. They were doing something at the toll booths and had one lane shut down.

Man on a lift

Looking at Virginia

We were driving straight down I-95 to Selma where we were going to take some cemetery photos. But Bob seemed sleepy, so we stopped near Richmond at Wendy's. He got a Frosty and a hamburger and I got lemonade and

double cheeseburger

Total $9.97

We got to Selma about 2:45 which was too early to check in to the hotel, so we went to the cemetery first. But it was too hot for me in the cemetery. I thought I had taken the second set of car keys, but I picked up the truck keys by mistake so I couldn't get back into the car. We checked into the hotel but they gave us a room with a tub and not place to sit and get a shower. I thought about swimming in the pool, but I had forgotten to bring a plastic bag to put a wet swimsuit into.

We went out to eat and I said to stop at KFC, but Bob drove right past it because he thought he knew where it was (he didn't) and so we stopped for gas. He accidentally put hi-test into the car which cost 30 cents more. And then we went back to KFC. I liked my chicken, but he couldn't eat his.

August 8th

We are heading for me son's house today. Bob brought me some breakfast and I stopping entering photos in the cemetery database. We checked out (we used points so it cost $17.00) and we went back to the cemetery - it was cooler - and took some more photos. Altogether we took about 500 photos


There was a children's section

This time we stopped at Arby's about 12:15 and I got a

chicken slider

and a small Jamocia shake. Bob had a regular roast beef and a chocolate shake.

We got down to the place on I-95 where we had to turn east on I-24 and I put our son's address into the phone and attempted to tell Bob the directions. But he did not like the directions. He wanted to go the way he remembered, except that he didn't remember what it was exactly - he just knew it was not the way I was telling him. He saw a gas station and thought it was a good price so we got gas. Then when he found the place that he remembered, there was another gas station which was 10 cents cheaper. He was very unhappy that he paid 60 more cents (for 6 gallons) than he needed to pay

Our son had taken off this afternoon so he would be there when we got to his place and he let us into the apartment which he rents as an Airbnb. He had a ramp for the scooter, but it hung up a little on the top. We had a nice time talking to him, and he and Bob got chicken from the local gas station for dinner. Our daughter-in-law was working 2 pm to midnight.

All the festivities (rehearsal, wedding, and reception) were taking place at the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort. Our son Rob had offered to drive us the rest of the way to Ft. Lauderdale. It was 561 miles from his house to the hotel. According to Google maps, this was an 8.5 hour drive. If we did it ourselves, it would take us at least an additional two days. But Rob is a driver and it would be easier for him than it would for Bob so I happily accepted his offer.

My daughter had asked me to be at the rehearsal which was at 3:30. We would have had to leave about 7 am. I decided that I didn't really need to be at the rehearsal because I was not going to scooter down the aisle with the parents. But we were to be at the rehearsal dinner at 4:30 or 5:00 at a Good spirits Restaurant in Ft. Lauderdale. So we were planning to leave at 7:30 or 8.

We had breakfast (Bob fixed a grapefruit) and loaded the luggage and the scooter into Rob's Expedition, and I climbed into the back with Bob. We actually left about 8:15.

Rob getting ready to pull out of his driveway

The drive down was both relaxing and mind-numbing. We stopped a little before 12 for lunch at Burger King

Bob at the counter

I asked Bob for chicken nuggets and a taco, and Bob didn't really hear me and I got a taco and a Crispy Chicken Sandwich, and they charged us for nuggets but I didn't get any. I ate some of the topping off of the sandwich. He had a Whopper Jr and a chocolate shake. Total $12.74.

We stopped later to get gas and use the bathroom. I read a couple of books on my Kindle. The GPS was saying that we would get there at 4:30. We decided that Rob would let us off at Good Spirit's

We were doing pretty well but 33 miles before we got to the hotel the traffic came to a standstill and the GPS in Rob's vehicle (not sure whether to call it a car or a truck) sent us off the interstate onto regular streets. The traffic there was bad too (after all it was 4:30 on Friday). We finally got to the restaurant about 5:15, and our daughter said she had a table for us. She said Rob could stay too, but he said he would go on and check in at the hotel. I thought my sister would come to the dinner, but for some reason, she thought the dinner was in the hotel.

Good Spirits

So far they had only gotten to the First Course, which was Braised Short Ribs, Thai Chicken Wings and Vegetable Spring Roll.

First Course

The second course was Pasta Bolognese, Wild Salmon or Caesar Salad, and Bob had the salmon and I had the salad. Our granddaughter (sister of the groom) got up and made a speech and we toasted with champagne.

Red Velvet Cake

Tiramisu

Our daughter got us an Uber to the hotel. Bob had never done Uber before. He asked how much it was and she said $9.00 so he got out his money to pay, not realizing that our daughter had paid (and tipped) already. The Uber driver did not speak much English, so there was a small communications problem, and Bob tipped the guy an extra $1.

We checked in. The lady checking us in was most obsequious. We were on the 20th floor and the room had both a shower and a tub. There was a small balcony on the north side of the hotel. We had a special rate for the wedding of $189.00 a night plus $13.23 tax and $11.34 occupancy fee. They did not charge me the $34/day resort fee - perhaps because I was using a scooter and would probably not use the bikes and other extras. They gave me a little stool to use in the shower which was a rain shower and did not have a hand-held shower head, so it was not a very good or effective shower IMHO. We had a little fridge and a microwave. But no utensils or pots or plates - just a couple of mugs and some glasses.

My son booked so late that he was in a condo that was part of the hotel. He got a pizza at the grocery store on the way in, but found he had no oven in his room, so he went down to his sister's room and they cooked the pizza for dinner.

They did not have us close to any of the other wedding guests. Our daughter was on the 8th floor, our son was on the 24th floor, my sister was on the 11th floor, my sister's friend and the officiant was on the 13th floor etc.

Bob and I are very frugal. So we did not want to eat breakfast at any of the expensive hotel restaurants, and we didn't want to go out either. Bob tried to make oatmeal from a mix that he had with him, but it had apparently gone bad and all he was able to make was cocoa. I had the banana that I had picked up yesterday at Robs.

Our daughter, her daughter (our granddaughter) and all the women in the wedding party were doing hair and make-up in the morning. Our daughter from Texas got in late last night. Our daughter from MD had flown in earlier and had gone for a run and a swim yesterday. Her daughter (our granddaughter) and my sister had gone down to do yoga on the beach. My sister got sand in her hair and ruined (for further wear today) her white slacks. Her son (our grandson) and his significant other were sleeping in. Someone in the group had discovered a place called Primanti Brothers which was a sandwich and pizza place from Pittsburgh. Two of our inlaws (one son-in-law and one daughter-in-law) are from Pittsburgh. The places was about a half mile up the street from us, so we decided to walk up there for lunch. Someone expressed a concern that I would not be able to get in with the scooter, but I said - everything is accessible now-a-days.

Walking up the avenue

We decided to walk (I was on the scooter) the half mile - it was warm, but there was a breeze and the sun was behind a cloud.

C.B.D. means Central Business District to me

Storefront

Primanti Brothers

There were ten of us. Bob and me, my daughter and son-in-law from Texas. my sister, Rob and his wife, and my daughter and son-in-law from Maryland and their daughter. The tables were set up for 6 at a table so we split up into two tables.

Counter and menu

Their sandwiches were amazing. I had the Deluxe double egg and cheese sandwich for $6.79,

My Deluxe Double Egg and Cheese ($6.79)

Inside the sandwich, in addition to the filling, was cole slaw and french fries.

Inside of the sandwich

Bob had the PITTS-BURGER (a burger ($6.99)

Bob's Pitts-BURGER ($6.99)

and my sister and my daughter who were at the table with me had chicken. My sister intended to pay for everyone at our table, but Bob took the check from her. They only accept cash - no credit cards, but there is an ATM at the door. Since we don't use ATMs it was good that Bob had sufficient cash.

It was a little hotter on way back but not too bad. The wedding was at 3:30, but the bride's mother was concerned that there might be rain later in the afternoon as there often is at this time of year. So they decided to have the wedding a little earlier and instead of having the reception after the wedding outdoors to put it inside the hotel.

I went in and sat on the groom's side with my son-in-law's family.

Bob's photo of me seated

Bob refused to come down and he stood on the balcony above and took photos.

Bob up in the balcony

They asked us not to take photos during the ceremony, but Bob didn't t hear that so he was taking photos from above.

Texas daughter and son-in-law

Son, granddaughter and daughter-in-law

My sister (left) and oldest daughter

Groomsmen

Bridesmaids - granddaughter on far left

Wedding venue

Groom and his mother (our daughter) and father

Groom and groomsmen (from my seat)

Shoes of the groomsmen

The kiss

Groom about to kiss the bride again

Bride and groom - recessional

Granddaughter and groomsman recessional

Afterward we had the family photos,

Daughter's family

Granddaughter, son-in-law, bride, grandson, daughter

and then we went in to the reception.

Granddaughter, her brother (grandson) and his significant other

Most of my family sat out in the lobby. There was a lot of drinking going on - the Florida people really party hearty.

Photographers were everywhere

There was a table with place cards to tell us what table to sit at, and what our main course would be. I was at table 4 with all our family except one grandson and his significant other. I had beef and Bob had chicken. The salad and bread was on the table.

Dinner table

There was a DJ and they started the dancing and toasts before they served dinner. It was very loud, and it was getting toward 8 and they still hadn't given us our dinner so I went out and lay down on a bench outside the ballroom. Eventually others filtered out, and our daughter came out and she had them turn the music down and we got our dinner.

Bob's chicken dinner

Bob and I didn't stay for dessert or the cutting of the cake. My sister brought me a piece later.

I was absolutely determined that I was going to swim at some point in this trip. I didn't swim at the first hotel because I didn't have anything to put a wet suit in, and yesterday was too full of other activities. So I put my suit on and went down to the pool.

The pool was crowded and it wasn't very good for actual swimming, so I walked around in it and did a few exercises. Then I was hungry so I went to one of the outdoor tables and ordered the cheapest thing on the menu for breakfast. It was a bowl of fruit and it was $15.00.

$15.00 bowl of fruit

I knew my sister was leaving today so I texted her and she came down and shared a breakfast with me. We had a nice visit. Among other things, she said that since she was only there for two days, she didn't qualify for the "wedding rate" and she paid the same for two days as she would have paid for three days, but she had a nicer room.

People were coming down to the pool, but my sister left for the airport, and I went back to the room. I thought our daughter (the grooms mother) had reserved a cabana, so Bob and I went down to the pool together, but the family and friends were just on some of the beds beside the pool. They were ordering snacks, so I ate some of the food. Then it was suggested that we go up to Carol's room (Carol was the officiant who did the wedding ceremony and she is a friend of the family). So I did that. Bob went back to the room as he said he didn't need to be with a lot of drunks.

View from the balcony

Grandson-groom on the left in blue and his dad center

Granddaughter and daughter-in-law

Rob

Carol had a nice room with balconies on two sides. I talked to some of our son-in-law's family and then we played a game called Catch Phrase. It is a timed game with teams and you have to guess the phrase on the game piece. My first one was goldfish and I said "The snack that smiles back" and they guessed it right away. If the timer goes off while the device is in your hand, the other team gets a point.

We decided to go to Benihaha for dinner. We Ubered over - the guy that picked up our group had a neon sign on the dashboard that said Uber. There were a lot of us. Enough for two tables. Bob didn't go - his excuse was as above. I actually think the Benihaha around here is better.

Our daughter, Carol and our son-in-law's sister

Food getting prepared

The guy did not remember what we had to eat - I asked for white rice, and I got chicken fried rice like everyone else did, but it was good.

Start of the flaming onion tower trick

It was just as well that Bob didn't go because we did not eat until quite late. Rob and his wife and I Ubered back to the hotel.

Monday - 12 August

When I left Rob last night, I thought he said they would leave about 10, but Bob thought we would leave at 8. And it turned out he was right, so I packed hastily and we went down to the lobby. The hotel said they would email me the bill, and they did. The Valet parking people had brought Rob's SUV around and backed it into the parking space where the tailgate was against a post so it could not be opened it, but once that was fixed, we loaded in and started off. We stopped pretty quickly because our daughter-in-law wanted breakfast. So I got a breakfast sandwich too.

Fast food breakfast sandwich

One of the things we discussed was my trip when we moved from Key West to Philadelphia in January 1969. Bob had gone out to the Philippines to get on the aircraft carrier which was coming back to the east coast - it couldn't go through the canal so it had to go through the Straits of Magellan.

In the meantime, I had to get myself and three children from Key West to Philadelphia in a VW Bus. My parents came to help. The movers picked up our furniture and he said he had to go to Pensacola to make another pick-up. Which was fortunate. I said that I drove all day the first day and didn't get out of Florida. The second day I got as far as Henderson NC, and I barely made the house in Philadelphia ahead of the movers.

We stopped for lunch at a place called Colt's Pig Stand.

Colt's Pig Stand

BBQ sauce on the table

Bob and I both had a pulled pork sandwich with no side and drank water

Pulled pork sandwich $7.49 plus tax

The sandwich was OK but needed liberal doses of sauce. Actually the top roll with the logo was a little dry, so I took the top off and squirted sauce on the pork and ate the meat with a fork. Then I ate the bottom of the roll which was soaked with juice so it was softer.

Receipt

It cost us $15.95 for the two. . I used the bathroom as we left. The handicapped stall had someone camped in it so I just used the regular toilet, but it took me longer so Rob was coming back to see where I was.

We got back to Rob's and we had leftovers for dinner. The chicken left over from Thursday, spinach, corn, leftover chili, and baked potatoes. I put the chili and the corn on my potato with cheese and made a loaded potato out of it.

Tuesday August 13

We left Rob's house about 8:30

Leaving Rob's

and stopped at the NC visitor's center to use the bathroom at 11.

Visitor's center

Handicapped stall - the automatic toilet flush didn't work

We got back on the road

Bob said we probably would not get back to the Selma cemetery anytime soon and we hadn't taken any of the 64 requests yet. so we stopped a little after 12. I sat in the car

From the car

and Bob went across

The little bridge

Older part of the cemetery

and took photos there for about half an hour. He took another 66 photos. After we got back, i found that this was not part of Selma Memorial Gardens. It was actually an old historic black cemetery.

Altogether on this trip we took 680 photos in this cemetery and we have not touched the four big sections in the center. We added about 60 new entries and added photos to another 60 some entries, plus added the Old Selma Black Cemetery.

We ate lunch a little after one at the Selma at Chik-Fil-A for lunch

Bob in line

and I got

Grilled Chicken Cool Wrap$5.19

which was good. It is a wheat tortilla, chicken strips, cheese, and vegetables. It comes with Avocado Lime Ranch dressing on the side. Bob had a chicken sandwich and a chocolate shake - total $13.16

Hampton Inn through the car windshield

We got gas, and got about 46 mpg. We checked in at the Rocky Mount Hampton Inn where we have stayed before and we got the same room as before $127.00. It is a very nice handicapped room.

TV, microwave and fridge

Lounge chair and edge of one of two suitcase stands

Plug next to the bed to plug in my scooter

Bathroom door with a low hook

Raised seat toilet

Bathroom sink

There is a good shower,

Shower with adjustable shower head and seat

and there is an extra sink in the main room.

Extra sink across the room

This hotel has dinner in the hotel some nights. Bob found out about it but did not tell me and did not ask who could eat there, so we just did not go out for dinner.

Wednesday August 14th

Handicapped space at the hotel back door (which is not an auto door so not handicapped accessible)

It rained last night - it is a little cooler. We checked out about 8:30. On our way home. We stopped in Dahlgren for lunch at Burger King.

Crown on the table

Cob wanted to use the bathroom, but someone was in there, so I used the ladies room and then because there were no other women there, I told him to just use the ladies room, and he did.

Menu at Burger King

This time I just got two hard tacos.

Hard taco

They were good, but it caused some delay because apparently they are not made up in advance. He had a Whopper JR and a chocolate shake (total $7.00). We were home in time for Bob to go to the commissary and get food for the week.

I had two surgeries scheduled for the end of this year. In August I had breast reduction surgery. And in November I had a hip replacement. I was doing well and going to rehab both physical therapy on land and in the pool. And then - Covid-19