Oct 4 - Oct 10 2021, Portsmouth, NH and the Wedding

 

October 4 - 10, 2021  Ben and Mattie Got Married!

The beautiful bride and our lucky son got married in a ceremony outside at the Portsmouth Country Club

Monday, October 4, 2021

We wanted to get to Portsmouth a few days before the wedding so that we could take care of some errands there and relax ahead of the festivities.  Now that we were landed at the spot where we were going to sell Lillian Gray, the Hunter 39, G Winters in Riverside NJ--the same broker who worked with us buying the new boat, we settled quickly into the task of packing and cleaning her. Even after managing all the belongings we didn't need from our house, we were still surprised at how much stuff we had on board Lillian Gray.  We had originally thought about renting a van or SUV, putting all our things in it, driving to Portsmouth for the wedding, then driving directly to where the new boat is in Rock Hall, Maryland. It quickly became apparent that was not to be the reality. We were going to need a small U-Haul moving truck! Plan B: Store the items from the old Lillian Gray at the boatyard garage at Riverside, Uber to rental the car place, drive to Portsmouth for wedding, drive back after the wedding to return rental car and pickup the U-Haul, pack-up, and drive to Rock Hall. G Winters agreed to trailer our dinghy down to Rock Hall as they travel between the two locations frequently.

Packing and cleaning, and carting, carting and cleaning and packing.  We did not manage to get through it without bloodshed or losing things in the ocean. Our boat was backed into the dock, so we had a foot or two to step over from the boat.  One of the boxes Roger picked up was super heavy because it had our heavy duty power cords, extension and adaptor, and other various goodies.  The bottom of it let go right over that 1-2 foot space and the heavy items sunk immediately to the bottom of who-knows-how-much of pudding/mud. Adios!  We scrambled to get the few things that floated.

Just as we were about to finish for the day, Kim and Levi were waiting for Roger at the SUV as he closed up the boat.  He had been carrying one more load and as he stepped over that fateful gap onto the dock, his foot rolled on a large 50 amp power cord and he went down.  As he tried to save himself, he flung out his legs and got jammed between the stern and dock.  When he finally made it back to the SUV, Kim knew right away that tragedy had struck by the look on his face.  His leg was bleeding heavily so we temporarily staunched it as much as we could and headed to the hotel.  Once we got more settled, the alcohol wipes provided in every hotel room now because of Covid-19 were just what we needed to treat the wound.  With the application of some Neosporin with pain relief (why would anyone ever buy the other kind?), a couple big band-aids and some ice, Roger settled into a chair in the room with his leg up and more alcohol of a different sort to help ease the sting.

Our trusty dinghy has taken us on awesome adventures!  It's coming with us, but will need to be specially delivered from NJ to MD.

She's looking good and getting ready to have new owners. We will stipulate in the sale that the name of the boat has to be changed.

Nope, that ain't fitting in a van or SUV, at least not without lots of Vaseline! 

That's a bit better!

Tuesday, October 5,- Friday October 8, 2021

On Tuesday morning, we headed directly for Portsmouth, dropped Levi off with our friends Esther and Tom in Barrington (Levi loves them dearly and they reciprocate).  We arrived in Portsmouth just in time for dinner and were disappointed that some of our first restaurant picks weren't open, but we found that the trusty old Portsmouth Gaslight was ready to serve.

On Wednesday and Thursday Roger buried himself deeply in work and Kim went shopping - mostly for a couple things to dress up the Hunter 39 for showings.  It was satisfying to find some great options at Goodwill and Walmart.  

We went to Ben and Mattie's house on Thursday and had a barbecue dinner with our awesome immediate family.  We got to meet to Mario, Phyllis' boyfriend too - a big thanks to Phyllis and Mattie for making it happen.  It was yummy and fun.

Dinner with Andre at the Toscana Italian Chophouse in Portsmouth.  We had a great time dredging up memories to help Andre with his Best Man's speech at Ben and Mattie's wedding. So many good ones.

Friday was when the festivities started with the rehearsal dinner at the Portsmouth Country Club, the venue for the wedding.  It was so nice catching up with Ben and Mattie's friends and with our families.

Since Kim's Mom in Canada couldn't make it to the wedding (much to her chagrin) Kim shared a message of their regrets with a congratulatory wish for the very best in life as they begin their awesome journey together.  While Kim had the podium, she shared a message from us too - our happiness for them, a reminder to stop to cherish and appreciate each other, and referring to a favorite author of ours, Kurt Vonnegut - to "be a nation of two."  

At the table of the rehearsal dinner from left to right:  Mattie's cousins and junior bridesmaids Payton and Savannah (they walked Fiona and Hal down the aisle at the wedding!). Then, although the Canadians couldn't drive down to attend the wedding, Ryan, Ben's cousin and a groomsman in the wedding, was able to fly down with his bestie Sarah.  Roger, Mario, and Phyllis (Mattie's Mom and Mario is her boyfriend - they had come up from Florida for the wedding).

Our wonderful daughter-in-law!

Saturday, October 9, 2021

Ben and Mattie's wedding was the most beautiful ever!  It was a happy day and it was overwhelming to have so many beloved people all together at once, plus we truly enjoyed getting to know Mattie's family better.

Kim is trying hard not to gush, so here are just a few pictures:

The parents of the groom and bride, and Mario ready to be whisked away in the limo to the wedding

All dressed up and a great place to go!

Here we are!  The improved family.

Sunday, October 10, 2021

And suddenly, the wedding was over!  Kim thinks it might have been the fastest day of her life.  The next day, we completed some last minute errands in Portsmouth area, picked Levi up from Esther and Tom, and then Sarah and Ryan to take them to the Logan airport on our way south.  

Here is Esther and Tom, saying goodbye to Levi.

See us anywhere?  We're at Tavern on 3 Grill in Rocky Hills, Connecticut.