OH THE PLACES YOU'LL GO

MONDAY MONDAY

I started and stopped my car 12 times Monday. It was a busy 11 hours. Here's where I went:

1. Mom's house at 11 a.m. Waited for her to get ready. 

2. Post office. Mom got stamps. Probably the second time I've ever been in a post office. Strange place. 

3. Sally's in Elmwood. She bought some product. Somebody cut us in line to check out. We were waiting for the cashier to come, and when she finally came back, this other last just shoved her products to the cashier and started yapping like she belonged first in line. Wasn't worth it to say anything. But the nerve of some people. 

4. Old Navy. Across the street. Mom couldn't make the walk, so we drove the fifty feet. Old Navy didn't recognize her card, so we didn't get the coupon she was trying to use. Mom was pissed. She stormed out. 

5. The bank. Mom has had the same bank since she was 15. 

6. Oriental Triangle. We were going to have lunch, but mom had this excruciating pain, so I called the doctor's office at 1:08 p.m from the Chinese parking lot. There was an appointment available for 1:30. 

7. Doctor's. He suggests that her new pain is from needing a massage. Well, several messages. 

8. Outback. Actually had lunch. I told Nicole to pick me up some steak Sunday night, but she refused and only brought me catfish that her aunt made. I had a craving, though, and Outback was right there. We split a brownie for dessert. 

9. Mom's house. I gave her a massage and felt a lot of knots. 

10. Grandma's. She made porkchops and baked spaghetti, and I picked some up for dinner. Best baked spaghetti ever. Had a long talk with my dad and received more bad news. 

11. Work. Got three hours of overtime to read some stories for the prep preview. 

12. Home just before 10. 

THE TINA CURSING CORNER

My mom is watching a soap opera she doesn't normally watch. "This bitch. Leaves soaps saying she wants to do more stuff and now she's doing soaps again. Her character on the Young and the Restless is about to come out of a coma."

She continued. 

"Who would let someone stay in a fucking coma for over a year anyway? If I woke up from that, I'd kill my kids."

Even before we got to the doctor Monday, mom was saying she needed a massage. "If a masseuse were to touch my neck right now, they'd wonder how I was fucking still alive."

Mom couldn't figure out why this lady wouldn't return her phone calls. She got an answer Tuesday. "Her kids thought it would be a good idea to throw the fucking phone into the pool. So she didn't have a phone for three days."

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

Wednesday marked a double anniversary for yours truly. We celebrated our eighth anniversary for Yat-Together dinners. Can't believe we've been doing this since August 2006. 

And on August 20, 2001, I had my first day at da paper to train on the computer. That's 13 years if you're bad at math. 

AROUND MIDWAY IN NINE DAYS

EMPTYING THE OLD NOTEBOOK

As Joe and I await boarding for our plane ride back to Nawlins, I thought I'd tell you about all the stuff that was noteworthy on my vacation that didn't make it into a previous post.

Excited? You should be. 

S-O-D-A SODA

Pepsi is everywhere in the Midwest. Normally at home, I just ask for a Coke, but here I trained myself to say Pepsi please. 

My travels were more noteworthy for the places that carried Coke: Jimmy Johns, the Oven Grinder and parties -- the wedding and this extravaganza the Field Museum was setting up for when they kicked us out. 

BEST QUOTES

"Going to Belize for fun is not being boring." -- some rich white girl to her friends as she passed us on the street. 

"Four and three quarters." -- little boy to TSA agent when asked his age. 

"It's life-changing because I don't have to plan a wedding anymore." -- Katie when Joe asked if she felt any different now that she was married. 

"There was this guy named Chris Farley. He made a movie called Beverly Hills Ninja." -- Young college student to his friend at the Willis Tower as they discussed comedy. 

"I want all the credit cards!" -- drunk fan at Tuesday's game. It was his birthday, his friends cut him off, but he wanted more booze. 

LIVING QUARTERS

Joe and I stayed in a hostel, a block away from Wrigley Field. I didn't like sharing a bathroom and shower with a whole floor, but whatever. Look at our digs. 

Joe couldn't believe that no other Cubs fans where staying here. I couldn't believe they only gave us one towel each for four days. Plus, I was ill for the four days, and bathroom visits were frequent. 

I heard four languages spoken in the hostel -- German, French and what I guess was Chinese. It was like living in a United Nations dormitory. 

Also, it seemed like every time I opened my door, there was a different person living in the hallway. The dude would be sitting against the wall chilling next to his suitcase, with his phone plugged into the wall next to the kitchen sink. 

Next day, different person. Same thing. Weird. 

I LOVE CHOCOLATE

After pizza Wednesday night, we went down the street to Molly's cupcakes on Nicole's recommendation. At $4 a pop, they probably should be better. I got the chocolate decadence. 

Chocolate cream oozed out of the cake when I lifted it. Needed a fork to finish. Wanted a second cupcake, but I didn't want to feel like a fatty. 

After cupcakes, we stumbled into trivia night at some college bar. I ordered a Blue Moon, and some hot Blue Moon chicks happened to be working the room. They gave us Blue Moon bottle openers. With only a two-man team, we didn't fare well at trivia. 

Our most impressive correct answer was name three of the four countries that are less than 100,000 square miles and border the Persian Gulf. Obviously, Kuwait -- you know, from the Gulf War. Joe added Qatar -- home of the 2022 World Cup -- and I got UAE, where Abu Dhabi is the capital. 

TIE ONE ON

Nicole got me a tie for the wedding to represent the homeland. It was purple with a bunch of little Louisianas, interspersed with pelicans and magnolias. It got several compliments. 

ROYALTY CHECK COMING

At a bar last Thursday in Champaign, Lindsay tells me that her boyfriend makes video game T-shirts to sell at conventions. I gave her this idea for a shirt: My Call of Duty is to play Call of Duty. 

GET THIS SHIT

In one of those watershed realizations moments, Joe explained to me -- while we were eating pizza, of course -- that the Interstate system is numbered on purpose. 

Evens -- like I-10 -- go east-west and odds go north-south. And even crazier: the I-10 is 10 because it's so far South. It goes higher the farther up you go. 

My mind was blown. 

LEFTOVER PHOTOS

The Chicago River, where Joe and I took a romantic boat tour in 2010. 

The Bogner family pool. 

A leopard killed in Africa in 1896. 

DePaul University. That soccer field was being constructed when we visited in 2010. 

Our hostel on North Sheffield. 

And that's it from Chicago. I'll miss the pretty women -- so many more people in Chicago and thus more pretty ladies -- and the tights they all seem to wear, the pizza, Wrigley Field and the endless Cubs merchandise that's on sale at every corner. 

But most of all, I'll miss you, Chicago. Your homeless might give speeches when they beg, but I love you anyway. 

See you in 2018. 

PIZZACATION

NO MORE PIZZA FOR THREE WEEKS

I was gone for nine days to Champaign and Chicago. And you know what I ate while I was there? Oh, the title gave it away. 

Chicago is known for many things, one of them being deep dish pizza. I love me some pizza -- I also rewatched the original Ninja Turtles movie during this trip -- and since we don't have anything like deep dish at home, I went to town on vacation.

I had pizza for seven meals. Some of that was leftovers. Let's go over the four places I went to wolf down pizza and declare a Gene Pool winner. Each beautiful creation took anywhere from 30-45 minutes to cook. 

Last Thursday. Beggar's. 

Joe and I flew into Chicago -- and boy were our arms tired, knee slap -- last Thursday and before boarding a train to Champaign, we had pizza at Beggar's Pizza, where they lay it on thick. 

We split a green pepper and pepperoni deep dish. 

Spoiler alert, every pizza I had was amazing. This one in particular had to be eaten with a fork because it was so loaded. This shot was taken in mid-slice by Joe. High quality photography. 

I ate the leftovers for lunch Friday while I watched Joe write a prep football preview. 

Tuesday lunch. Pizzeria Uno. 

On our second day in Chicago, we started with lunch at Chicago's first -- 1943 -- and most famous deep dish destination. It was so good last time that I remembered pretty much exactly where it was. 

We each got our own individual, Joe the BBQ chicken and me the spinach-mushroom-pepperoni. It didn't disappoint and was the perfect amount of pizza for one sitting. The mushrooms were particularly tasty. 

Their slogan was: We owe it all to a man and his pan. 

Tuesday night. Giordano's. 

When I went to Chicago with Bert and Paul in 2006, we ate at three pizza places. We each had a favorite, and mine was Giordano's. 

I don't think Joe and I ate there in 2010, so I had to get another taste of the joint on this trip. I didn't want to make Joe go to two pizza places on the same day, so I looked up the closest Giordano's -- there are 40 in Chicago -- to our hostel and walked there Tuesday night. 

The last customer served, I ate while the cleaning crew did its thing. But I did as the slogan suggested: get stuffed. 

Yummm. Good as I remembered. I got pepperoni and mushroom, and it became dinner Thursday night as well. I was on a pizza high Tuesday night. 

I didn't even care that I got turned around on the walk home and had to call Joe for directions, as my phone had died. 

Wednesday night. Pizza and Oven Grinder Company. 

On our previous trip to Chicago, Joe and I found this cozy, romantic establishment across the street from the site of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, which was masterminded by one Al Capone. 

It's unique because it's a pizza pot pie. You can get a half-pounder or a whole pounder. The only options after that are if you want sausage or mushroom in it. There is no pepperoni involved. 

Before flipping. 

After flipping. And that's a pizza pot pie. My mushrooms are what's trying to burst through the cheese. 

Like last time, there was a rose on our table. Like last time, the host memorized faces instead of taking names for the waiting list. And like last time, Joe and I held hands and looked longingly into each other's eyes. 

And that's my pizza journey in Chicago. I'm not going to sit here, be a food critic and make some kind of scorecard for the places based on texture, sauce, crust, service, etc. 

I'll just say that Giordano's won. Congratulations. I'm sure it's an honor. 

IT'S THE PARTY OF THE CENTURY

WE WERE SINGING GO CUBS GO

Every four years, I end up in Chicago. It's not planned that way, it just keeps happening. In 2002, my dad took me just to go see the Cubs; in 2006, Paul, Bert and I came to see Spamalot; and in 2010, Joe said hey let's go to Wrigley Field. 

In 2014, our friend Katie got married down the road in Champaign, so we moseyed on over again. Joe found a hostel down the street from the ballpark for easy access. 

We saw three games this week, so let's see what happened at my third experience at fabled Wrigley Field, where my record was 3-4 going in. 

Monday. Lose 3-1 to Brewers. 

We arrived in Wrigleyville at about 2 p.m., five hours before game time. We picked a bar for lunch and discovered it had batting cages upstairs. 

Bob and I had been talking all week about opening a batting cage back home, and here Joe and I found ourselves at one. After a burger, I took about five rounds of hacks. They had softball and three speeds for baseball. 

Once I got the speed down on fast pitch, I was able to put some solid swings together, possibly some doubles down the line and into the left-field gap. I took a round on softball for practice for rec league. Was crushing the softball. 

And now I really want to open a batting cage in the city. I think there's a market. 

There's our view from the front row of the left-field bleachers. While I was in the bathroom during batting practice, a home run came our way. Joe ended up with it, but gave the ball to a little kid, a decision he may or may not regret. 

Tuesday. Defeat Brewers 3-0. 

Joe is in the right corner of this picture from our seats in the right-field bleachers.

The Brewers' best player, Ryan Braun, plays right field, and he was suspended last year for taking PEDs. He was actually caught twice, but got off the first time on a technicality. And boy, did he hear about it from our section, as I'm sure happens in every game he plays on the road. 

The guy behind us kept saying: "Hey, Braun. ... You suck!" I swear I heard this in my dreams Tuesday night. Around the seventh time the fan shouted this, Joe and I set the goal for him at 20. And he got to 21 times shouting this same exact thing -- the game lasted 2 hours, 22 minutes -- with four variations on the insult. 

Our section also yelled "cheater!" about 500 times. Plus, there were some unprintable insults and out-of-line remarks about the man's wife. Braun brought this situation on himself by cheating, but I couldn't help but feel sorry for him for all the abuse. He is human. 

I caught this ball in batting practice when a relief pitcher tossed it into the stands. Not the same thrill as catching a home run ball, but I'll take it. It even has the 100th anniversary of Wrigley marked on it. 

I was able to get up close while the center fielder took extra batting practice. Wrigley is so old that it doesn't have new age batting cages tucked away in the stadium. No, this is next to the men's bathroom in the bleachers. 

Thursday. Lose 6-2 to Brewers. 

The Cubs lost two of the three games I saw, dropping my Wrigley record to 4-6. But so what? At least I had a good time. 

Not a bad view from down the third-base line. 

On every trip to Wrigleyville -- 2002, 2010 and 2014 -- I have bought a souvenir. First, there was a Wrigley Field shirt, then a vintage Cubs hat and Thursday this cool shirt that combines the Cubs symbol and the Chicago city flag. 

After the game, we took the pilgrimage to the famous seat Steve Bartman sat in during the 2003 NLCS when he changed Cubs history forever by helping -- along with several other fans -- to prevent Moises Alou from making a pivotal catch. 

I don't think this seat should be used, but they sell it for every game. As Indiana Jones would say: It belongs in a museum. 

Here's me looking at the spot where Alou was when trying to make the catch. It's not far down, and I remain convinced he would have caught the ball if the fans would have stayed the fuck out of his way. 

It wasn't all sad, though. I found this on the ground, cleaned out the nacho cheese and earned a free memento. 

By the time I get back to Chicago -- yes, probably 2018 -- Wrigley will be much different, as the push to modernize the park now seems inevitable. 

So I was glad to see some games on the 100th anniversary of the field and perhaps the last season where it still looks like Wrigley, the greatest venue in all of sports. Not to mention several of the young stars that could help turn this franchise into a winner by 2016. 

And before we go, let's play a guessing game: How many beers did Joe drink during our three games at Wrigley? 

Keep in mind that they stop serving beer in the seventh inning but also that we were in the stadium at least an hour before each game. Also, he was not drunk by the end of any game. 

Keep thinking. 

OK, ready for the answer?

14. 

That's two touchdowns worth -- five Monday and Thursday and four Tuesday. 

WE WEREN'T ALLOWED TO STAY AT NIGHT, WHEN THE MUSEUM COMES ALIVE

MY SCHOOL FAIRS ALSO HAD A FERRIS WHEEL

On our third day in Chicago, Joe and I went to The Field Museum in Grant Park. The featured attraction, at least through Sept. 7, is the exhibit on the 1893 Chicago's World's Fair, which was attended by 25 million. 

The fair was 22 years after Mrs. O'Leary's cow kicked that bucket and started the great fire that devastated the Windy City. The fair served as a signal that Chicago had risen from the ashes while also putting the entire world on display. 

Wednesday was a rough day for me. I developed a runny nose, sore throat and headache over the weekend and into Monday, so I bought NyQuil on Tuesday while we were out and about. 

I took three doses throughout the night Tuesday, and that strategy backfired as I awoke Wednesday woozy as all hell. I dealt with that by walking all over the damn city. I felt drunk and didn't have my bearings, but here's what I shot at the World's Fair exhibit. 

The fair was scheduled for 1892 to mark 400 years since Columbus "found" the new world. But delays pushed it back to early 1983. It lasted for six months. 

There were so many exhibits showing off so many cultures that a museum opened the next year on the fair's grounds. The museum was moved to its current location in 1921, where it grew into a complete natural history museum. 

There were many different tickets for the World's Fair, with different days being special attractions. Oct. 9 was designated as Chicago day at the fair to commemorate the fire. Moooo!

You could get high at the World's Fair. Is that shit still good?

This was a quartz from the fair. The museum lets you touch it. I felt it up real nice. 

These were made by the Sioux Indians. Unfortunately, part of the point of the fair was to tell Westerners that their culture was far more advanced by putting Native Americans and other cultures on display as savages. Blacks had a small role, too. There was a black day at the fair, which Frederick Douglass used to speak about injustices. 

Peruvian mummies was a unique display at the 1893 fair. The museum had an interactive element where you could see inside the cloaks. There was the skeleton and several idols buried with the dead. 

That is a musical instrument played by the Java at their station at the fair. 

We went through several other exhibits, including a look at hundreds of animals and their place in the world. The most interesting exhibit was Evolving Planet, which was highlighted by an explanation of the six mass extinctions in Earth's history. 

That's Sue. She -- the sex is actually unknown -- greets guests upon Field Museum entry. She was found in South Dakota in 1990 and is believed to be 65 million years old. She is the largest -- 42 feet and seven tons -- and most preserved T-Rex in the world. 

Four things I learned on my trip. 

-- Flamingos are pink only because of the algae they eat. 

-- There are 10 kinds of Tyrannosaurus. T-Rex is just the most well-known. 

-- Dinosaurs went extinct either because of a giant meteor that hit Mexico or a volcano that erupted in India. In either theory, the dinosaurs went caput either because it got too hot or it got too cold. 

-- We are currently living during the sixth mass extinction. 

So we, uh, got that going for us.

LIVE FROM THE SEARS, ERR, WILLIS TOWER

VIEW DAT

Joe and I have have been in Chicago for two days. And while I've been here three times before -- 2002, 2006, 2010 -- I've never been to the Sears Tower, once the world's tallest building. 

The new World Trade Center is now America's tallest, but the Sears (changed to Willis Tower in 2009) has the highest building point for observing at 1,354 feet. It was a fun tourist attraction to visit in the Windy City on Tuesday afternoon. 

Here's some pictures as I observe batting practice at Wrigley Field. 

Soldier Field is to the top left, mostly blocked by a building. 

What a magnificent city. The really tall black one to the left is the John Hancock Center, sixth tallest in the country. 

I wish I knew more about architecture, but it sure is pretty. 

That's one of the newspaper buildings. 

The city is vast, eh?

Just to show how high up we were. 

There's a four-foot wide deck that let you stand atop the city. I put one foot out to make sure it was sturdy enough. 

The boats in Lake Michigan look like thumbtacks. 

I didn't take a picture of the actual Willis Tower. I know, I'm a moron. But I did take this terrible shot of the model of the building in the lobby. 

Before getting to the observation area, there was a poor man's museum showing some Chicago landmarks that could be observed from the top. 

There was also a caricature of Oprah and some other Chicago luminaries

Girl in front of us: But I thought Oprah wasn't actual from Chicago. 

Her boyfriend: No, she's from Chicago. 

Girl: Are you sure?

Boy: Definitely, she's from here. 

Yeah, and so is Michael Jordan. 

THE GREAT BIG BOTTLE OF BUBBLY

IN CHAMPAIGN, THEY STILL HAVE PAPERBOYS

There are many things I've never done. For instance, I've never had a cup of coffee. But I can scratch something off that list after attending my first out-of-town wedding Saturday night in Illinois. 

It was my 11th wedding as an adult, and unless something drastic happened during my trip, I'm still perfect in that all these marriages still are intact. 

The four days I spent in Champaign were wonderful, and I have an appreciation for small town Midwest life that I didn't have before. The August weather was great, not hot at all with a nice breeze most of the time. I only sweated one time, and that was while dancing. 

Let's go through some of the happenings that went down in Champaign as I take a train back to Chicago and listen to Weezer while these people behind us yell things like "we're going shopping, you can jack off in a brewery" and "do you prefer missionary?" and "this country was founded on champagne and cocaine."

FRIDAY

Katie and James were top-notch hosts, never showing any frustration despite having four -- Joe, maid of honor Jenna and officiant Bob were also on hand -- extra people in their house. 

Like I told them in their guest book, their energy for life was infectious. 

And they let me go to their rehearsal even though I had no real business being there. But I'm glad I went, because it was pretty damn cool. 

When Jenna and Joe got married last April, Katie was the maid of honor and gave a touching, yet hilarious speech. So it was froot to see Jenna return the favor 15 months later. 

Jenna's speech had me laughing at all the shenanigans them two have gotten into and then had me holding back tears when she talked about their friendship. And then back to laughing again as Jenna welcomed James into her and Katie's open relationship. 

No word yet on if James and Joe will hook up on Facebook. 

Speaking of James, he may be the coolest nerd on the planet -- sorry, Bert. James loves board games -- he's going to a convention -- Dungeons and Dragons and trivia. But he also is big into auto cross, drinking/partying and boy can he dance. His smile ain't bad, either. 

The rehearsal dinner was at Jupiter's, which had a spacious second floor with about four parties at once. We had pizza, wings and spinach and artichoke dip. They put the Bears-Eagles on TV instead of Saints-Rams. The Midwest, I tell ya. 

They had a children's arcade in the basement -- everything has a basement there -- and pop-a-shot with the restaurant on the first floor. High score was 105; I hit 97. Ughhhhh. 

The actual rehearsal was like any other rehearsal, except it was outside and they practiced it three times, instead of once. 

Katie was like pointing and shit. 

SATURDAY 

Wedding day started with lunch as several groomsmen were mystified that Bob and I had never eaten at the legendary Culver's. I got a kick out of one groomsman reciting a popular commercial, as that's what I would have done. 

Culver's -- it's fast food -- is home to the butter burger, but I, for one, wasn't overwhelmed. It was OK, nothing any more special than Tru Burger or Smashburger or Atomic Burger, etc. 

The wedding ceremony was short and sweet, lasting about 10 minutes. 

Then there was mingling before dinner at 6. Menu: carrots, baked beans, pulled pork, rice with asparagus, squash and peppers, and brisket. I ate the rice and brisket. Pretty good. Had seconds. 

Dessert was sugar cookies, lemon and strawberry cake pops and mini cupcakes. I liked lemon better than strawberry, which surprised me. The sugar cookies, some of which had their initials on them, were, as you might imagine, addicting. 

The bar served only beer and wine, so Joe and I payed a guy to run to the store and get some Jack Daniels. Good move. 

The band finished around 10:30, and that's when Katie and James' friends came alive and rivaled any wedding partying we've done in New Orleans. 

The Illini never seemed to stop drinking and bounced around with boundless energy. None more so than James, as mentioned early. 

There's the dance floor that was pieced together Friday afternoon. 

You must be wondering if I performed my usual antics. That would be a yes. 

Katie purposely put Don't Stop Believin' third on the iPod mix, and I had a nice buzz going when the music hit. 

There is no photo/video evidence of the sixth wedding rendition of the Journey Dance -- first done in a New Res dorm room circa 2004 -- so you'll just have to take my word that it was good. 

Best songs for the group dancing portion included I Don't Care, Your Love is My Drug and a localish band's hit song about Fred Astaire. 

The grounds of casa de Bogner are fairly vast, allowing for groups to mingle in different areas. There was the house itself, a swing outside the house, the dance floor, the dinner seating area, a camp fire in the back and to wherever this one couple kept disappearing. 

My favorite people I met on the trip were Katie's oldest brother Kevin, who is 6-9, and James' friend Lindsay. 

Kevin was funny, congenial and seemed to win MVP honors for assisting in wedding preparations. Kevin, 29, was everywhere in setting up, read a poem during the ceremony and danced with every little cousin who wanted a turn. 

Joe and Kevin share a birthday, which is Mardi Gras next year, and we're requesting his presence to help catch anything we want. 

Lindsay seemed like I could drop her into one of my friend groups, and she would be a part of it instantly. She was even pushing our pace at the wedding. If she saw us take a break, she'd come over disappointed. "Come on, New Orleans."

Anyway, the reception was damn near nine hours, and I think the longer the reception the better. It worked for Gill. It worked for Katie. Other times, it seems like the fun just ends way too soon. 

SUNDAY

Recovery day was highlighted by trivia night at the Cowboy Monkey, where a monkey would have done better than me at the general knowledge rounds. 

There were six rounds, with a bonus round in the middle. The bonus question was name as many of the top 10 quarterbacks in career TD passes as you can. Which, with some help, I did. 

I was actually disappointed because I tried to put them in exact order but mixed up No. 5 and 6. For shame. 

Trivia nights usually have bonuses like that to add some points but don't really expect someone to get the max. The trivia host came over to our table and said: "OK, who is the autistic one?"

The final category of the night was Weird Al related. Boy, was I excited. He plays a clip from an Al song, and you name the original artist. Ten songs, with the 10th being the hardest. 

Jenna was shocked that I liked Weird Al so much. Joe: "That's like saying you didn't know that I like brats."

I knew the first nine right away but had no clue who the original artist was on the 10th. There is a gift card given for the winner of each round -- except, of course, that bonus round -- and some bastard team got all 10 right. 

Figures that the trivia host would play the one song I wouldn't have got. 

Before trivia, the New Orleans crew drove through the monstrous University of Illinois campus. We walked along the football stadium, where it just so happened to be picture day. 

I believe this is the first 2014 Illinois football team photo. Suck it, media guide. 

MONDAY

There was some document signing to make Saturday's events official. 

And as they say in Champaign: OK, bye. 

THE CHAMPAGNE OF CHAMPAIGN

KATIE'S WEDDING PICTURES

Katie's wedding was Saturday night, and let's just say it was the best wedding I've ever been to next to a soy bean field. 

The wedding was at Katie's parents house, which is like the peninsula version of expansive fields, instead of water. The house is surrounded by fields to the front, back and right. 

So it made for a unique wedding, with the wedding and reception in the same place and no real time limit to the party. The wedding was at 4, dinner at 6ish, the band from 7-10:30ish and a iPod mix until 1:15 a.m. 

The bride was beautiful and energetic throughout the night, despite what seemed like an endless amount -- and I mean like way more than normal -- of pictures. The night was almost as beautiful, with only a few drops of rain early in the evening. 

Here are the pictures I took. 

Bob was the officiant, and he and James wait here for the rest of the bridal party to make its way from the house to the ceremony. Bob was a master of ceremonies. "Welcome one and all who have come from near and far."

Katie's father was a bad ass. Not only was he proud and happy for his daughter, but the man did a tumbleset on the dance floor. A tumbleset. 

Alternate caption to Bob reading the vows: "Thank you all for being here. I would like to take this opportunity to speak about the importance of grammar."

Selfies may have been replaced by usies as done here by Jenna and Joe. But here I give you the themsie. Me taking a picture of them taking their picture. 

James' first dance with his mom was Wind Beneath My Wings. Thought this was so cute that Katie's little cousins swayed along. 

The band was spectacular. James met the lead singer in college around 2002. 

They played mostly older rock songs, including several Beatles, CCR and other classics like Ain't No Sunshine. Plus, there was Weezer's Say it Ain't So and the Peppers' Under the Bridge. 

The first dance was an amazing rendition of John Legend's All of Me done by Postmodern Jukebox. Probably the best first dance I've seen at a wedding, highlighted by a double spin manuever executed masterfully by the couple. He spun her like normal, but then she came out of her spin and spun him. 

That's all for Saturday's pictures. Hopefully, much more to come from this trip, and that night, soon.