A trip down memory lane, a wedding, a jinx and a fire.

Let's pretend it's not Wednesday and do a little weekend recap, shall we? 

I spent the weekend in Rosemary Beach for the wedding of my friends Chris & Theresa.  Because the wedding was on Friday evening and Rosemary Beach is a six and a half hour drive from Orlando, we set out bright & early on Friday morning.  The Mister, The Sister and I piled into the car and joined a small caravan of friends for the trip.

Also making the trip, our friend Flat Stan. 

For those of you who aren't glued to the NBA Finals, "Flat Stan" is Stan Van Gundy, the head coach of the Orlando Magic. My sister made Flat Stan and brought him with her to watch every Eastern Conference Playoff game. Coincidentally...or not...the Magic lost each of the three games my sister brought Flat Stan to.  More on that later.

The route to Rosemary Beach took The Mister and me through our old grad school stomping grounds, so the drive ended up being a bit of a trip down memory lane. 

First up, Gainesville - home of the Florida Gators.  I attended law school at UF and thus spent three years living in Gainesville.  It's a great little college town  filled with all things students love - great bars, cheap food and approximately 9 Starbucks in a 3 mile radius.  Unfortunately, we were tight on time so our adventure in Gator Country was limited to stop at the Exxon to refuel with gas and Diet Coke. 

We continued on our merry way and as luck would have it {or as I had meticulously timed and planned} we found ourselves hungry as we were approaching Tallahassee.

While I was in law school in Gainesville, The Mister was attending graduate school at Florida State University (boo!) and working in the Governor's office in Tallahassee.  The Mister's apartment in Tallahassee might have been 400 square feet, had no real kitchen to speak of and when the legislature was in session, was shared with one of The Mister's friends.  Needless to say, we ate out often.  I think I mentioned my affinity for a certain Tallahassee fast food joint we frequented called 1 Fresh Stir Fry.  Well, if you think I was going to drive within 3 miles of this place and not go, well, you don't know me. 

I organized the caravan to stop for a quick lunch break at 1 Fresh.  It was just as good as I remembered - so delish.

I got a bit excited and forgot to take a picture of my lunch. Then I ate it all.  Oops. 

Flat Stan liked it too! 

After lunch, the trip down memory lane ended and we were headed to our final destination.  We arrived in Rosemary Beach in time to check out our "cottage" - which was fabulous - and get ready for the wedding.  I'm sure most of you have no interest in what our cottage/condo looked like but Mom asked for pictures.  Mom, I'm going to put them at the end of this post, so scroll all the way down to see the details on our accommodations.

Theresa and Chris chose a gorgeous backdrop for their wedding.  Rosemary Beach is such an adorable seaside town and the beach was absolutely perfect for their ceremony.  The sun was shining, the water was blue and there was not a drop of oil in sight. 

Yes, I wore black. To a beach wedding. I know, I know. 

It was a beautiful wedding and we all had a great time.  Theresa and Chris threw one heck of a party!

We spent Saturday poolside, enjoying the sunshine and the company of good friends.  Saturday night we BBQ'd and watched the Magic game.  Things were going well for a while...

...but then the game started.  And it was ugly.  The Magic - not so magical.  Somehow we decided it was Flat Stan's fault.  The Magic had won 14 straight games and had swept their first two play off opponents.  And then Flat Stan came along.  It was decided he was a jinx and had to die.   And  at halftime, die he did.

So sad.

R.I.P. Flat Stan.*

Sunday morning we got up early for the long drive home.  Because we crossed from the Central Standard time zone into the Eastern Standard time zone, we lost an hour - making the drive feel even longer.  Or perhaps it was two days worth of sweet tea vodka and Bud Light catching up with us. I prefer to blame time zones. 

We were about half an hour from home in a neighboring county when we hit a traffic jam.  It turns out that a brush fire on the side of the road had caused a lane closure and rubbernecking, thus the traffic jam. 

This in itself, not an interesting story. However, as we approached the fire, we spotted our friend Lisa on the side of the road, fighting the fire. 

We resisted the urge to roll down the window and holler at her on the job.  Aren't we mature?

It was a fabulous, exhausting weekend which I have almost managed to recover from.  I should be good as new by Friday.  Such is the never ending cycle of my life. 

*Torching Flat Stan at halftime of Game 3 was not enough to help the Magic, who went 0-3.  However, they were victorious in Game 4, which clearly Flat Stan did not attend.  Coincidence?  You decide.

Mom, here are pictures of the cottage/condo we stayed at in Rosemary Beach.  It was beautiful, but you should have seen the enormous homes the bridal party rented.  Holy moly.  It would be a great place for us all to go - if we fly.  That drive is a beast.  Love you.  xoxo