Thursday

Thursday morning we were to get on the road, and we had planned to do it by 9 am. We had packed up our crap the night before. That morning I needed to load up the car and take care of a few things around the house. We planned to take both vehicles. I needed to bring two bikes and I needed to bring the kiddo's stroller and a 10' roll of paper that was to be the backdrop of our wedding photo booth.

Indeed we got on the road and Carolyn followed me. Dawson rode in the front seat with me and we played the head shake game between naps for him. The ride was smooth. It took us an extra 30 minutes primarily due to potty breaks for Carolyn. Dawson just pees his pants so no need to stop, but when we do stop we change his diaper. I mistakenly left him in a cloth diaper for the first part of the drive when I should have used a disposable, and that thing stunk after we changed him. It would only haunt us through Thursday, when we would eventually place it in a bag.

We got to Durango around 3:30 and checked into our hotel. Carolyn was so excited that we got the suite. Her parents rented the freakin pent house, we would learn shortly. Our room would be used for storage and sleep; we would spend our "hanging out" time upstairs in her parents' room.

We went out to meet with the planners and the venue folks to go over details and schedule. It all seemed good and fine. The planners seemed happy with the venue. The venue seemed happy with our group. I ran into a guy who sold me a used car in 1999, at the venue. He was to play music for another event.

We left for Durango and spent some time with her family. We went to dinner at a great place, where I ordered filet minon. Grandma and Great Grandma both had the turkey soup, which was too spicy to finish. Or even make a dent in. Larry had a salad. Dawson had a slice of lime. My filet was extraordinary and we also had great ribs. The older women feared the spice. I overheard a conversation where they were talking about how the spice wasn't so bad going in, but coming out was another story.

After dinner, I convinced Larry (her dad) and Jim (the officiant and her uncle) to come out for a beer at my bachelor's party. When they arrived, I had been solo for 10 minutes so of course had found myself talking to a wasted slut on the street. That was funny. She thought I was funny. It was funny. We walked over to another bar but it was too noisy and crowded, so we went back to the first bar and went upstairs. We had a beer with the early folks, then the late folks arrived and right behind them, shots of tequila. I had that and whiskey and beer and finally, at another bar, vodka red bull slushee and also had some weed, and that was my night. I enjoyed the conversation, particularly with my wedding dudes. I did not pay for any drinks. I rejoined my family sometime around 2:00 am.