Nate's Wedding in Michigan

Of all my close friends who've gotten married recently and where I attended their wedding, I've known Nate the longest. 15+ years already. Anyway, his bride is from Michigan, so it was in Midland that they had their wedding. I was actually a groomsman for this wedding and I have alternated being a groomsman the last 5 weddings I've attended.

I got into Midland on Thursday night and it was mostly just Mike (the best man), Nate, and Nate's dad hanging out. We got rooms at the H Hotel, which is where they would eventually hold their reception. Thursday night was pretty low-key and as you might expect, there really aren't a lot of things to do in this town of 40,000 or so population. After getting pizza and Loon's Summer Ale while watching the Saints-Vikings game at Pizza Sam's, Mike and I picked up a 12-pack of beer and just drank it at the hotel...watching several episodes of Family Guy in the process. I even snuck in a game of StarCraft when Mike passed in and out, LOL.This was the first time I've been to Michigan where I was old enough to appreciate it. 'Cause I definitely wasn't old enough to remember anything the last time I was here. I really enjoyed the weather there. At first, I was pissed 'cause I lost my jacket and was afraid I'd be freezing my ass off but the temperature ranged from 50's to 70's and was never really that bad. At night, a long sleeve shirt was usually all you needed...especially when you were as hammered as I was. Hah!

Midland has this one attraction that it's quite famous for: The Tridge. I took a walk over to it to try and envision how Nate proposed to his wife Elizabeth, which took place on the tridge. I actually found Midland quite beautiful in it's lush, green surroundings and plenty of water. Definitely a nice change of scenery from the Arizona desert.

Friday was the rehearsal at the church and then rehearsal dinner at Dow Diamond stadium where the Great Lakes Loons play Single-A baseball. Nate's rehearsal dinner invitation read something like: "You are invited to witness two Singles make a Double." Something Nate-corny of course. We were really in for a treat tho', because the Loons had won the previous night, so not only did we have dinner at Lasorda' suite, but we got to catch a playoff game as well!

It was hilarious to see the Loons score, only because they apparently do the "Funky Feather", which is a silly looking dance where you alternate pumping your arms up and down in the air. If you went to games at Bank One Ballpark (now Chase Field) back in the day, you would know what I'm talking about. The thing that made it so freakin' hilarious tho' was watching the ENTIRE stadium doing it.

It was at the rehearsal dinner that we also received our groomsman gifts . Thanks Nate! I stood out because I'm a Kansas City Chiefs fan, but everyone else got Cardinals jerseys. I also got a Guinness beer mug with my name engraved on it. :)

I want to also note how silly this couple is. The wedding was held on the same day as the Michigan-Notre Dame football game, so at the reception they played the fight song of whichever team won that game (Wolverines were the winner). Shown here is a picture of a banner they can put in their house...although in this pic they didn't realize they were holding the wrong side. Steph's finger is clearly pointing this problem out.

After the rehearsal dinner, we decided to go out to the few bars they had in Midland, which might've been a very unwise decision. We ended up at Oscar's, where Mike's parents joined us. Mike's dad, who was not at the rehearsal dinner and therefore couldn't take advantage of the open bar there, felt the urge to buy all the boys rounds of shots...and again, and again. I think we ended up doing 4 in about an hour span, which after all that free drinking earlier put me on the fast track to an incoming hangover.

As a result, I wasn't able to get up early for donuts and ended up sleeping in as long as possible. I eventually woke up to someone trying to spoon with me and another person giving me wet willies. Anyway, I eventually got over my hangover to get ready just in time for the wedding! It was held at St. John's Episcopal Church and was your traditional kind of wedding...this one had the organ for example. Unfortunately, several of us groomsmen where sweating balls in our thick tuxes while up on the altar. We laughed afterwards how each of us were trying so hard to make it through the ceremony, but we did and all went well while Nate and Elizabeth got a officially hitched!

Several photos later, the reception followed, and although I've already used Nate's joke on my blog before, I feel obligated to use it again, so... "Did you hear about the two antennaes that got married? The ceremony was okay but the reception was excellent!" Haha, never gets old.

The reception was at the H Hotel and it was fun watching Mike's hand shaking while trying to give his best man speech, which I thought was pretty good. We then proceeded in getting smashed and taking advantage of being groomsmen by making complete fools of ourselves on the dance floor. :) We came up with some very entertaining dance moves, featuring the "Ground Slap" during Enrique Iglesias's 'I Like It.' :D

The reception ended at around 11:30pm, which is when most people decided to cash in, but Band and I continued to party. The rest of the night included buying drinks for cute girls from Canada, crashing their wedding afterward with their moms, pissing off the tridge, and just your typical Band-Lin debauchery. :P

Nate and Elizabeth's wedding in Michigan was a great time and something I was really happy I could be a part of it. There are a couple more weddings coming up later this year and early next, but for now, my next focus is on the trip to Cabo coming up at the end of the month!

Gainey Ranch Part Deuce

Nate's bachelor party at the end of August was the start of a series of vacations/trips the next several weekends. On my list are:
1) Nate's Bachelor Party in Vegas 8/27-8/29
2) Gainey Ranch & Salt River in Phoenix 9/4-9/6
3) Nate's Wedding in Michigan 9/9-9/12
4) Cabo San Lucas 9/29-10/3
...and that's just September. In October there will be another bachelor party, another wedding, and possibly another Vegas trip...LOL.

Anyway, I'm blogging about #2 right now. I'm also doing this hours before I plan on driving up to Phoenix (AGAIN) to fly out to Michigan for Nate's wedding, so my apologies in advance if this blog entry seems quicker and less elaborate then usual. This Labor Day Weekend I spent in Scottsdale with Chet and Kassie and friends. They really enjoy staying at that Hyatt at Gainey Ranch and I don't blame 'em, it's quite nice. We got there Saturday afternoon and hit up the pool for most of the day. This time I had my iPhone with me so I was able to take some pictures at their pool. Whenever we go to the pool at the Hyatt, there are 3 things we like to do: pool volleyball, pool basketball, and the water slide! That slide is pretty bomb for a hotel resort... I probably mentioned it last time, but below is a picture of the 3-story corkscrew slide.

Saturday night was fairly uneventful, mostly because we were preparing for Sunday's big day that would involve Salt River Tubing. However, we did enjoy a nice classy dinner at Alto.

I didn't bring my camera with me to the river, but I'll say that it was a lot of fun as usual. I have friends who say they "hate the river" since it's overcrowded, or dirty, or some silly excuse, but I don't think so. And who doesn't like floating in a tube for several hours doing nothing but drinking and baking in the sun?

After the river I would've expected to pass out at the hotel, but we actually hung at the pool some more and later tossed some Cornhole (thanks Jeff for kicking my ass). And after that, even though my head was pounding, we still somehow managed to go out to Zipp's at Old Town. The picture below of us playing shufflepuck was before I ended up getting completely trashed the rest of the night.

One of our friends carried around a breathalyzer all weekend long that we kept using...that night I blew a .19, which I think is fairly high. No one could get over a .2 without "cheating" it seemed.

In my drunken stupor I proceeded to drunk text like a mofo - I feel sorry for the victim - and I somehow came up with the following non-pickup line that I used on the waitress at the end of the night...

Me: "If you weren't so hot, I'd totally ask you out."

Her: "What!? That doesn't make any sense."

Me: "Oh, I think it does."

Her: "Well, are you going to be coming back to visit anytime soon?"

Me: "Nope, I'm not from around here. See ya later!"

FYI, I don't recommend using this if you actually want to ask someone out. :) Actually, the opener works, but the rest of it doesn't. HAHA

On Monday, I ended the trip with a fantasy football draft for my league that I conducted at Kyle's house with him and James. A good end to another fun trip and now it's time to get ready for the next one! Although I'll admit that all this traveling is starting to stress me out. I honestly don't know how people who do this regularly for work (*cough* Matt *cough*) can take it. I mean, I'm doing it for fun trips and it's already starting to annoy me! Oh well, the destinations are what help me maintain my sanity and keep me happy. :D Off to Michigan I go!!!

Another Bachelor Party in Vegas!

This last weekend I spent what was my 3rd bachelor party in Vegas over the past year. Each has been a very memorable experience and this time it was for my longtime neighborhood friend from middle school. It seems like just yesterday that we were kids on our block rolling tires and riding go carts in empty lots and playing countless hours of Nintendo 64 after school. 15 years later, Nate is getting married and here is the G-rated recap of the bachelor party. ;)

5 of us left from Phoenix on Friday afternoon and we immediately started the party off by making Nate drink beer out of a sippy cup that read "I'm Getting' Maweed!" This was the best man Mike's idea, Kyle bought the supplies, and I constructed it. The picture below shows Nate trying to sip the beer out of the bottle, but I think he gave up after getting nothing but head and just started drinking it without the top on.
Our hotel destination was the Mirage, where several of us had not stayed yet. There were several factors that went into this decision, mostly the rate we got for our awesome suites (to be shown later) and the things we wanted to do at the Mirage. I tell ya, I'm really starting to get spoiled when I stay in Vegas now. The last 4 trips I have stayed in suites at the Palazzo, MGM, Mandalay Bay, and now the Mirage. I can't remember the last time I stayed in a normal hotel room and I'm starting think I may never again. At the Mirage, we got the Tower Suites, which is 1,600 total square feet including 2 beds and baths, and about 4 big screen TVs. Nate's room even had a TV come out of the foot of the bed! These suites were siiiiiick and definitely rates up there among the suites I've stayed at the various hotels.There were 7 of us there for Nate's bachelor party including the bachelor himself. Patrick, Nate's friend from college, didn't arrive until much later on Friday. Friday night was a good night as we got all of the more crazier stuff out of the way like the strip club. I'll say that Sapphire was a much better experience this time than my last time there, but it really helps to 1) go earlier in the night and beat the rush and 2) reserve a table in advance. You should also expect to pay a pretty penny there, but hey, it's Vegas and it was well worth it!

Friday ended as classy as it can get. That's right baby. Nothing like ordering off the $1 value menu at the McDonald's in Vegas, which was PACKED at like 2am in the morning, gotta love it. I think several of us ordered at least 3 sandwiches a piece. I felt like a true balla bringing back Mickey D's to our fancy suite on the 2nd to highest floor at the Mirage. :)

Saturday involved lots of day drinking and gambling. I had one of my best runs at a Blackjack table while we were at the Palazzo. The cheapest Patrick and I could find was a $15 table, but it was a great idea to sit down as we each walked away with at least $240. I was $25 away from getting to hold my very first $500 chip. *sigh* Someday!

We eventually hit up the pool at the Mirage, which for some reason was much colder than one would expect in 100+ degree weather. It's funny that even with all the drinking going on at the pool, no one ever seemed to have to leave to go to the bathroom. Maybe being in the water helps absorb all that beer you consume and keep it out of the bladder? ;) Going into the jacuzzi at the end might've been a very bad idea tho' as we were all just drained that evening. After Mike and I walked around for about 90 minutes on the strip looking for a case of beer, I passed out for about an hour before dinner.Our formal dinner for the weekend was at Samba in the Mirage, their all-you-can-eat Brazilian Steakhouse (similar to what I experienced for Chet's bachelor party at Mandalay Bay). For those of you who have never had Brazilian all-you-can-eat and love meat, you are seriously missing out! The highlight of the night was probably when Kevin asked, "can I have a few more slices of that steak? Actually, can you just give me the whole thing?" and the server plopped what was probably a 12 oz piece of meat onto his plate. LOL.

The FAIL of the night was when yours truly started to pass out from a combination of all that meat in my stomach and the baking out in the sun by the pool (yeah, even after my nap). I never fell asleep at the table, but I just wasn't myself and couldn't even finish my drink before Nate finished his. AHHHH! Never thought I'd see that day, but oh well, it was Nate's bachelor party and this was his day I suppose. I eventually sacked up and pounded my drink after he showed me up.

I will say that once I went back to the room and polished off a nice, strong Vodka Redbull, I was good for the rest of the night! We actually didn't hit up any clubs or lounges as we had originally thought, but I don't think anyone was feeling that vibe so we ended up just gambling the rest of the night away, something I'm totally okay with. :)

In terms of my gambling results, it's hard to tell how much I actually won or lost. I know that I ended up with more funds than when I got to Vegas, but I also received cash for a flight I purchased ahead for Kevin and another $50 for Mike's fantasy football money. But I did throw down some bills at the strip club and for taxis, so in the end, I think I came out pretty even. Hey, can't complain with that! This trip was a ton of fun and Nate got one helluva a bachelor party, so I would say Mission Accomplished!!! The wedding is just around the corner! See ya then!!!