A Wedding in Spokane

It seems like just when I think everyone I know is married, I get another invitation for a wedding. Not a bad thing... just kind of interesting.

I actually knew this one was coming, so it really wasn't a surprise. Another one of Eric's cousins, Grant, who is also a Naval Academy grad, finally met his someone and asked her to marry him last year. He posted all about the sweet beach proposal on Facebook, so when the inviation arrived, it was just about the details at that point. And the main detail, besides the date... the fact that it was in Spokane, WA.

Eric and I planned on going no matter what, but as a nice surprise, we were able to get Eric's Dad out there, as well! He hadn't seen his brother or his brother's family in years, so it was a bit of a reunion, too! We flew out on Saturday morning, which put us in Spokane around noon... love the time change going out, though it did make for a long day by the time we went to bed. But Saturday was the day with the rehearsal and bachelor/bachelorette parties, so it was going to be a later night, regardless! But it was a great time with everyone and a lot of 'catching up' happened, as well.

During the day on Sunday, the three of us did some site seeing on a scenic tour around Spokane and the Spokane River basin. It was amazing how much the terrain changed in that small of an area! There was a lot of beauty to take in, though. Since we followed the river for a good part of the way, we saw lots of mountains and rock formations along the way. As we left the river, we saw a lot of rolling plains and farmland, potatoes, mostly (we think). It was also interesting to see how many of the locals lived... they used their land for whatever they wanted to - we got some laughs out of some of the properties we saw.

Sunday evening was the wedding. It was held at The Historic Davenport Hotel, which was actually restored at the turn of the century. It is a beautiful hotel! Grant and Carrie were married in one of the smaller ballrooms (it was a relatively small wedding) and then we had dinner in another room after all the pictures were complete. They did the traditional 'Arch of Sabers' the Navy does at weddings, which is really cool to watch. It's actually really romantic to watch. The whole thing was very beautiful, actually, and I was so glad we went. I think it's important to make it to these family events if you can.

This morning, we woke up and had breakfast with some of the family before heading to the aiport and losing 4 hours during our flight back. LONG day again... why does travelling wear you out so much?? regardless, it was a great time in Spokane. Fun with family, a beautiful wedding, and new scenary... always makes a good trip.

P.S. I also uploaded pictures to my Fotki page if you want to check them out.