Leah and I planned a vacation in New England that coincided with a wedding we were invited to in western Massachusetts. These posts cover the different parts of the trip.
Day 8
We fought a bunch of Boston traffic as we continued our drive to Montague. Along the way we stopped at a rest stop on U.S. Highway 2. Much to our dismay, the restrooms were closed. There was a sign saying that they closed at 5. Can’t have anyone pooping after business hours.
We grabbed pizza in Turners Falls to bring to the wedding venue where Jamie, Rohan, and other friends were working on final decorations for the weekend. Jamie and Rohan’s wedding was the event that had brought us all out to western Massachusetts in the first place. We all ate, helped finish some decorations, and hung out.
Once it got late we said goodbye to Jamie and Rohan and headed back to the Airbnb. It was very close to the venue which was the main reason we booked it. It was also able to accommodate (with somewhat odd sleeping arrangements) the 11 or so of us that were staying there.
Part of the upcoming wedding ceremonies included a sangeet. A sangeet is a term used to describe a celebratory event during an Indian wedding. It usually takes place the night before the wedding and includes food, drink, dancing, and special performances for the bride and groom.
I was attending the sangeet on Friday night and then traveling to Madison, Wisconsin on Saturday for another wedding. Leah was in the wedding party for Jamie and Rohan so unfortunately we had to split up on Saturday.
Part of the sangeet included choreographed dances that we learned as gifts to the bride and groom. Those of us present at the Airbnb did a few run-throughs of the dance routines. Each dance was about 1 to 2 minutes long. Due to the geographical distance of participants, it was taught via recorded video. Leah and I had done some practicing back home in our living room but it was nice to practice with a larger group of people.
It was possible that due to my many years of marching band, I might have had the most experience learning choreography out of everyone there. That and my natural dancing ability which never fails to amaze and impress.
After dance practice, people started heading off to bed. Leah and I had one of the bedrooms with a single twin bed in it. We had rolled a trundle bed (also a twin) into the room. After attempting to fit both of us on the twin bed, I determined that it was uncomfortable and I moved down to the trundle.
Day 9
We woke up and hung out a little bit at the house in the morning. Once everyone was up and moving we headed out to get food and wander around the Montague Bookmill. It’s an grist mill that they converted into a cafe, book store, and art gallery—a really cool space. Here’s a photo of the cafe with the Saw Mill River flowing to the left.
After that, a few of us visited the New England Peace Pagoda. It was a beautiful building in a very peaceful forest setting.
Next we headed back to the Airbnb and had a little more dance practice time. A few more people who were also crashing at the same Airbnb showed up. The people in the wedding party took off to go get ready at the venue. The significant others left behind hung out, chatted, and took naps.
The rest of us headed to the venue a little early to help direct traffic. I was given the important role of telling people not to park directly in front of the venue and to drive up a hill to the parking lot. When the sangeet started, we all headed inside to enjoy drinks and play get-to-know-you bingo. There were some children competing to see who could blackout their bingo card first. No need for me to try, really. I couldn’t compete with them.
As members of the wedding party and guests of the bride and groom and their families, we were given the opportunity to wear clothing more traditionally worn at a sangeet. Here is a photo of Leah and me. I’m in a kurta and she’s in a lehenga.
After dinner, the festivities began. We went through all four choreographed dances and another performance very quickly. I was not prepared for how little time there was between performances. Just like any marching band show; it’s over before you know it, you make some mistakes but nobody notices, and you feel a little relieved knowing it’s over.
Here’s Jamie and Rohan enjoying the very impressive dance performances.
After the dances there was a newlywed game with multiple couples participating. I don’t remember who won but I think it was Rohan’s parents. Then the real dancing started. It was very hot and humid in western Massachusetts. I also dance a lot at weddings. So naturally people started to comment on the sweat-soaked pants that I was wearing.
There was also a photo booth set up at the party. I took the opportunity to throw down some new looks I was working on.
Once the music stopped and the dancing ended, we slowly filed out of the venue. We all got back to the Airbnb and I headed right for bed. I had to get up at about 4 o’clock in the morning in order to start my journey to Madison.
Day 10
I got up early, kissed a very drowsy Leah goodbye, and hit the road before sunrise. I had about a two hour drive back to Boston. I dropped off the rental car and got checked in for my flight to Chicago. I watched someone get kicked out of the security line for budging even though the person behind him specifically said that he could budge. Fun times. I bought a candy bar at the airport for breakfast.
I landed at O’Hare International Airport and had roughly a two hour layover. As I sat at the airport, I thought about how it would have been just as fast to rent a car in Chicago and drive to Madison. Oh well.
I grabbed overpriced lunch at the airport and boarded the plane for Madison. It was one of those small planes with 2 seats on one side of the aisle and 1 seat on the other with basically no overhead storage space. The plane was about 1/3 full and I had an entire row to myself. What luxury.
The flight took barely any time and before I knew it we landed in Madison. The Dane County Regional Airport always brings back fond memories of chartered flights with the marching band. I grabbed my bag and got a rental car. It was a Nissan Versa and to be honest, it didn’t even compare to the Kia Soul.
I headed to my friends Ryan and Annie’s house where I was staying the night. They were not home when I got there but gave me the code to get in through their garage. Their cat Cersei greeted me at the door. I took a shower and got ready for the next wedding I was going to.
I realized that my shirt and pants, after having spent the past week stuffed in a bag, were a little wrinkled. I looked for an iron and couldn’t find one. Without any other options, I put on the wrinkled clothes and hoped that the heat and humidity would eventually smooth out the creases.
The wedding that I was going to was for my friends Treeman and Julia. It was a beautiful ceremony. I also got to catch up with a few friends that I hadn’t seen in a while.
There was a cocktail hour and dinner served outside under a tent. I got a little sweaty chasing around my friend’s daughters Natalie and Clara—the cute little girls pictured with their parents (Kevin and Jen) and me below.
I also made sure to get a photo with the bride and groom (and a Natalie photo bomb peeking in).
Next the dancing started. I didn’t hit the dance floor quite as early as I usually do. Instead I was chatting with some friends. I took an opportunity to escape the conversation and made my way over to the dance floor. They had a live band that played a lot of great songs. They had 3 different sets and took a break in between each of them. During the break they played music from an iPod. I continued to dance, mostly by myself, to the iPod music.
Later in the evening they brought out pizza for a late night snack. I didn’t want to leave the dance floor so I never got any food. In hindsight that was a mistake as I got pretty hungry by the end of the night. The band finally stopped playing and we slowly trickled out into the parking lot. I said some goodbyes and apologetically had people hug my sweaty back.
I headed back to Ryan and Annie’s. It was late and they were asleep. I called Leah (who was back in Montague) and we chatted about each other’s weddings. I finally went to bed, exhausted from traveling all day and dancing all night.
Day 11
I woke up and headed downstairs. Annie made me French toast and Ryan, Annie, and I ate breakfast and chatted on their porch. They are expecting a baby in November and I’m really excited for both of them. We watched the Wimbledon final between Federer and Djokovic—an instant classic.
I said goodbye to Ryan and Annie and headed to the University of Wisconsin Memorial Union Terrace to meet up with friends. We grabbed lunch, beer, and of course ice cream. We rotated between inside the union and outside by the lake in order to avoid the heat and humidity.
Eventually I had to say goodbye and I headed out of town in my rental car. I was driving the car back to Minneapolis because it was cheaper than flying. I stopped at Subway for dinner on an uneventful drive home. I dropped the car at the airport and called a Lyft to get home. The plan was that I would then pick up Leah when her flight landed at the airport.
I got home and started putting away our camping gear and luggage. When I went to go get my car (which was parked in front of our garage in the alley) I noticed that my key fob wasn’t working. Upon closer inspection, the glove box and center console in my car were open. “Shit shit shit,” I thought. Okay, so someone broke into my car and now the battery is dead. My mind immediately went to the garage. I kept a garage door opener in my glove box. It was gone.
There had been increasing reports this past summer about garage break-ins. The items most commonly stolen were bicycles, especially expensive ones. As I opened the garage door I was hoping that our bikes would still be there. Since I’m telling this story you can probably guess that they were gone. Leah and I each have 2 bikes; 1 nice one and 1 crappier one. The nice ones were gone, but the crappy ones were left behind. After a quick survey of the garage, I determined the only other missing items of note were a few bike lights (though they totaled close to $100 on their own).
I called 911 and reported the crime. I sent a text to Leah (who hadn’t yet landed) that she’d need to find alternative transportation from the airport considering that my car battery was dead and I was waiting for officers to arrive so that I could file a police report.
We never recovered our stolen bikes. We beefed up our garage security and have become much more aware of the possibility of theft.
All-in-all it was a shitty ending to a great trip.
Brian's Adventures 