Belleville Weekend Re-cap

It’s Talk To Us Tuesday, hosted by these lovelies – Impulsive Addict and Shawn…and I’m talking about my weekend roadtrip!

 

• As you all know, on Friday my momma and I packed up the car and hit the road – our destination was Belleville, Ontario, where we were invited to attend Scott & Andrea’s wedding.  Andrea has been a dear family friend for a long, long time.  She became friends with my sister, Kara, in high school, and thus became close with our whole family.  Andrea’s such a sweet person – the type you always have a warm friendly chat with, even if you haven’t seen her in ages.  It made us so very happy to be there for her big day, when she walked down the aisle to marry her best friend!

• This roadie to Belleville was a big one for me – not only was I able to cross “Take a Roadtrip” off my 101 List, but I also drove almost the whole way there and back.  I have always – always – been a passenger.  When my mom announced that she preferred to co-pilot, and that her carpal tunnel made her hand go numb while driving, I offered to take the wheel.  It probably saved my sanity, too, since I tend to get a little…shall we say…impatient…with my mother’s extra-slow, super-cautious turtle-like driving. ;)
• We weren’t even out of Renfrew yet – a town very close to home that we know quite well – when my mom started complaining that she couldn’t hear the GPS talking to us over the (very low) volume of my music.  I was like, “Seriously, Mom.  We’re in RENFREW.  I don’t think we need the GPS just yet!!!”
• Travelling with Mom means I have to be careful choosing the road tunes.  They can’t be too loud, and it has to be something up her alley.  I started out with CCR, in honour of Mr. Petty (the bride’s father, who was a teacher of mine in high school, and I recall him loving CCR).  But my mom?  Not such a fan, apparently…The CCR didn’t last long. 
• She did, however, really enjoy Martina McBride’s Timeless album.  Phewf.
• We stayed at the Travelodge in Belleville – the same hotel we stayed at 15 or 16 years ago for a family wedding, though it was a Ramada Inn at that time.  We thought it was a pretty nice place back then, but quickly discovered this trip that not much had been done to update or improve it over the years.  Talk about a shabby joint.  Swear to God, I remember sitting on the ugly, floral-printed couches in the lobby as a kid…and they’re still there!

• Andrea & Scott had a beautiful, hot sunny day on Saturday – absolutely perfect for a wedding.  The only problem was that it got a little sticky in the church.  Not such a big deal, but due to last-minute delays, the bride and her girls ended up being over half-an-hour late for the ceremony.  Which meant that Scott & his guys were standing at the front of the church waiting all that time… I have never seen a group of guys sweat so much in my life!! Their faces literally got shinier by the second.  The best man joked after five minutes that he didn’t think she was coming…It wasn’t so funny 25 minutes later!!
• The bride did eventually arrive, and it was a beautiful wedding.  One of the nicest touches for me was the pink roses the ushers presented to each of the women as they entered the church.  Andrea’s mom, Betty, passed away after a brief illness just over a year ago, so she dedicated her special day in her mom’s memory.  When Betty married Andrea’s dad, John, many years ago, she carried a single pink rose down the aisle to meet him at the alter.  The pink roses were a way to remember her on her daughter’s special day.  Betty was spoken of often on Saturday; her presence was certainly felt throughout the whole day - and I thought the pink roses were such a nice way to honour her.

• Despite our hotel being a bit of a disappointment, it’s unchanged state did bring back a lot of memories from that family wedding so long ago… Mom and I had fun reminiscing about the great time we had that weekend – especially recalling the rowdy after-party my cousin Troy threw in the 3rd-floor lobby, with his guitar and everyone gathered, singing and dancing.  I remember my dad standing back, staying out of the fray, but leaning against the wall, grinning from ear to ear.  When the cops showed up, you’d think the party was over – wrong!  Instead, everyone had their pictures taken with the coppers.  Epic.  You can take the people out of Quyon, but you’ll never take the Quyon out of the people…
• Speaking of after-parties… Our hotel neighbours sure seemed to be having one on Saturday night.  We had returned back to the hotel after the reception around 1:30 and settled in for the night, only to be wakened an hour later by raucous laughter, shouting, and, eventually… puking.  So.effin.gross.  We could hear everything.  It made me want to puke.  I have never wanted to pack up and leave in the middle of the night so badly in my life.
• The only reason we didn’t call to complain were the memories of that lobby party so long ago…
• But I really wanted to complain.  I mean, that summer I went to Midland with the Flyers, we had tons of noise complaints against us, and we were friggin’ angels compared to this bunch next to us on the weekend.  (At least, I think we were…)
• On the road home, I selected one of Mom’s favourites to keep her happy in the tunes department – Conway Twitty.  And boy, have I fallen hard for ol’ Conway.  Like, he’s kind of replacing Channing Tatum as my boyfriend, almost.  He’s so darned sweet!!  (Except, of course, when he’s lying there with Linda on his mind, then he’s kind of assholey.  And except, of course, when I look at his picture.  The voice does not match the face.) I couldn’t find the CD that has all my favourites on it – like, “Only Make Believe” and “Hello, Darlin’”, so I had to settle for a disc of lesser-known Twitty tunes…and I love them now too.  It was like discovering a whole new Conway that I’d never heard before.
• This one was my favourite:

Oh, Conway Twitty.  I love you so.

Here are some of the pictures from our weekend in Belleville.

Mom & I, ready to head out to the wedding

Our room might have been shabby, and our neighbours might’ve sucked, but the view was beautiful!

The Newlyweds!  Scott & Andrea Manley

Bridesmaids Kara & Virgina

Isabel & Mom at the dinner

My brother-in-law Chris doing the chicken dance!

Wedding party dancing

Andrea surprised her new husband by having Virginia and Isabel play a little hoe-down for him and his guys – they loved it!

The beautiful bride!

So that’s a wrap on Belleville Weekend!  It was great to get away, but felt even better to get home!!

Congratulations Scott & Andrea – wishing you a lifetime of love & happiness!! ~ xo