Day 8 - Wedding Crashers... "Are We Really Going to Do This?"

The hum of a Chicago el train greeted us Saturday morning when we awoke in our swanky hotel room (the bed had ground-effects lighting).  It was a bittersweet morning, knowing that our adventure was behind us, and ten hours of driving and one more time zone was ahead of us.  Running on Dunkin, we set the GPS for Twinsburg, OH.  Our college roommate and dear friend Caitlin informed us that she and her husband, Thomas, would be in Twinsburg for a wedding (to be held at the hotel at which she was staying).  A quick look at the map showed us that it might be a good halfway stop for dinner and some hugs.  What we didn't account for was the lost hour into Eastern Time.  Well, we did account for it, but only to our final destination, not via points.  Undeterred, we planned to say a quick hello before the wedding ceremony.

Getting out of Chicago and most of our journey east felt like a bit of culture shock.  We spent many hours driving through Wyoming and South Dakota, against epic scenery and few other cars.  Pushing east into construction, congested traffic, quick highway interchanges, and narrower lanes, we certainly felt the proximity to home and spent some of our car time reviewing our favorite moments of the week.

Our best efforts brought us to the Hilton about 20 minutes before the wedding.  We found Caitlin and Thomas, said hello to a confused Mollie and Jeff (other friends we know who were attending the wedding), explained our street clothes and our presence, and somehow got talked into staying.  Caitlin and her mom Kim (also there) are very persuasive.

Granted, we knew the bride (Natalie) through Caitlin (and college) and had spent some time with her and her groom, Chirag, last year at Thomas and Caitlin's wedding in New Orleans... but it was still a little awkward to be the weird, extremely under-dressed lurkers in the back of the courtyard.

After most of the guests were seated, we hung towards the back of the courtyard, trying our best to be inconspicuous.  A few minutes passed, and suddenly Emily realized that we were standing in front of a door.  One quick look into the door's window revealed a line of bridesmaids, ready for their entrance.  We quickly shuffled off to the side behind the musicians.

 

Natalie looked beautiful, and we stayed for the ceremony.  On our way out, we were extended a gracious invitation to their reception, but sadly had to decline.  Five hours and change until home, even still!

 

 

Back on the road, we pressed on for a few more hours until we were more hungry.  We hit up Eat N Park, a chain that we frequented in high school, for smiley face cookies.  We grabbed some sandwiches at Sheetz, another sure sign we were close to home.  The last couple of hours on the turnpike passed with a final, passionate Backstreet Boys sing along and some Tom Petty.  We pulled in to Kristina's house around 10:45 pm.

 

But as we learned from our Route 66 trip, "Road Does Not End."  A few more years and many more life experiences under our belts, and we'll be back at it again... hitting the road, with new towns to explore and many more adventures to be had!