We were promised sunshine today. We've got it now, after 7pm, but this morning when I set out for the Hash it looked like rain. Dashing back indoors for my mac and waiting for Sid to stroll in at the same time made me a bit late (not to mention getting side-tracked by Facebook over a leisurely breakfast!) so when I arrived I quickly jumped out of the car; threw my handbag etc into the boot and joined the group who were about to set off.

The run was lovely, despite the grey day. Any rain held off and we ran through beautiful countryside around Coulsdon and Chaldon, with views off the North Downs ridge. We paused en route to pick blackberries off the bushes and ears of wheat from the field, to eat.

It wasn't until we returned to the carpark that I realised I'd left the driver's door of my car wide open in my haste to start!!! What horrors did I discover? Well, none. The car was exactly as I'd left it, even though it's a well used carpark with a constant flow of walkers etc using it.

So there you are - a lovely day all round.

Quote of the day "That man deserves a biscuit!"

Well! Can you believe our medal tally now? I'm having to overflow on to a second page for my list of medal winners! The last time we won more than this was in 1912, when we won something like 49 medals - but it was in London and there were only 22 countries competing!

What a pleasure to watch young Usain Bolt of Jamaica romp to a new World record in the 100m sprint! Usually they cross the line straining to get the chest over - he was leaning backwards, thumping his chest and delightedly telling the world "Look at me!"

And on a day when we've picked up 4 Gold medals, a Silver and 3 bronzes to add to our tally too. I think I've achieved new heights of armchair sports-viewing!

Thur 31st

Last breakfast, then Goodbyes to Jenny and the Maddisons, who were staying on another day. A long and tedious drive back to Detroit via Kalamazoo, with only a brief toilet stop near Kalamazoo. We called Rick en route and arranged to stop off and say hello to him at work, as my Mum wanted to see where it was and meet some of his colleagues. We arrived much later than expected because of the traffic, and had to wait until he finished a class he was taking, then we all went out to dinner at a local Greek restaurant with Rick and his boss Bruno and workmates Ed and Lisa and their lovely little girl Serena, who calls Rick “Fiji”. A nice end to a travelling day. Back to the Farmington Hills Marriott, which felt like “home.”

Fri 1st August

Kris called and suggested a visit to the baby store Carters, to buy presents for Ivy and Elsie. We met her there, and Kathy was with her, an added bonus. We all purchased lots of cute stuff, except the men who wandered off and looked at a good art supplies shop instead! We then drove into Detroit and walked along the waterfront with its views across to the nearby Windsor, Ontario, in Canada. We saw the Slave Railroad memorial and walked to and had a bite to eat and a look round at the Guardian Building, an apricot coloured Art Deco skyscraper, with astonishing tile work inside. We walked down to the Renaissance Centre and the general Motors car showcase, via an African festival in Hart Square, where we enjoyed seeing the Workers’ Rights Monument.

We picked up the cars and drove back to Waterford, stopping briefly to see the derelict Grand Central Station. Spent a great evening at Kathy and Paul’s – Ed rode on a jetski, and Dad did too – we were extremely impressed!

Then we had a final tour on the pontoon boat, before reluctantly saying our final and hardest goodbyes to Kathy and Paul and our very dear children.

Sat 2nd

After breakfast we checked out and went to the Ford Museum, arriving not long after it opened. We spent the morning looking at the amazing car collection, then had the poorest lunch of the trip in their café. We had another couple of hours looking at the other sections of the museum – furniture, agricultural machinery, trains, etc, before all too son it was time to leave for the airport. Final hiccup with Tom-Tom nearly had us at the wrong airport, but we spotted it in time and weren’t late for check in. Unfortunately, North Western had scattered us around the plane separately, but we all had pleasant enough journeys with our different companions on the overnight flight. Our taxi was there to meet us at Heathrow and we got home at 8am Sunday morning – and went promptly to bed.

Mon 28th

Went on very circuitous bus trip to the Shedd Aquarium and still ended up with quite a walk – we realised it would have been quicker to walk from the hotel across the park! However. The Aquarium was brilliant. We all love fish and aquariums, and especially liked the coral reef display and the Beluga whales. We had lunch and saw the dolphin show, then Ed and I and Mum and Dad went with Jenny on the River Taxi. We had intended to go to navy Pier, but when we saw an Architecture Cruise advertised which had been recommended to us by Kathy, we took the tour. Very enjoyable and informative, with lovely views of the waterfront from the lake and the river and a history of Chicago’s development thrown in. We went home on the underground train, not the El. Met up with the Maddisons again and had a train trip back into the more central area for dinner at a restaurant they’d previously eaten at. Good food after a short wait.

Tues 29th

After group breakfast as usual Jenny came with us to the town centre on the underground train, where we had tickets to go up the Hancock Centre to the 96th floor viewing area. The lift gave no real impression of speed, though our ears popped. The views were splendid – down Michigan Ave, back towards Gary, Indiana round the coast, and up the coast to the beach resort area. After lots of photos we came down and had cheese cake at the factory in the basement of the building, as recommended by Mike and Connie. We enjoyed it, but weren’t bowled over. The building was worth visiting, for its quirky gold embellishments everywhere, even the ladies’ loos.

We then walked down the Magnificent Mile, past all the famous shops – Bloomingdales; Sachs; Tiffany, etc. We did some window shopping, but didn’t buy the shoes reduced to only $100 in the sale. We saw a spectacular multi-caked wedding cake with adjoining icing bridges in one shop window.

We realised what an opportunity we’d missed. After a good walk we picked up the free trolley bus back to the hotel and met up with the Maddisons, who’d been to the zoo in Lincoln Park. Trained back into the city to an area they’d discovered and had meal in posh restaurant frequented by the famous. Lovely seafood – best mussels I’ve had. As it began to rain as we came out, we jumped in a taxi to get home and save more wet walking after a strenuous day.

Wed 30th

Our last day in Chicago. After group breakfast we all walked across the park to the Field Museum of Natural history (and ethnology). Wonderful museum again – we all loved it. We toured Africa, American birds, native Americans, geology and jewels and a number of other sections before lunch in the café, then did the Egypt tour with Georgia and Jake – good artefacts, not a great tour guide, but the kids enjoyed it.

After viewing the dinosaurs and a whistle stop through sections we couldn’t deal with that day, we took off on a water taxi again to Navy Pier, where we strolled amongst the holiday makers like at Blackpool, then when we got too hot, went inside and thoroughly enjoyed the Museum of Stained Glass Windows.
Train back to the hotel, where we met with the rest of the family for a farewell dinner in our hotel restaurant, sitting outside on the sidewalk. Lovely evening and excellent food – we may have eaten in more if we’d realised!

Sat 26th

Everyone else was returning at least temporarily to Detroit – Gareth, Julie and Jim to catch flights home, Rick and Kris to go back to work at the end of their honeymoon, and the others to fly to Chicago directly. We had one last mass breakfast at Bob Evans before saying our goodbyes.
Mum and Dad, Ed and I were driving to Chicago. I’d intended to take the coast route to Manistee, but the Tom-Tom took us on a more devious and protracted route, so it was lunchtime by the time we got there.

A one street town, we thought it didn’t look very interesting, but found the restaurant we selected had a riverside veranda where, as we ate our fishy lunch, the fishing fleet went by in a flotilla, providing our entertainment.

We went on to Silver Lake Sand Dunes, where our holiday friend Mike had advised us to take a buggy ride. We did, and it was great fun, with more views of lovely, different dunes and an exciting ride. We finally reached our evening’s destination of Holland in time to eat in the lively main street at the Irish pub. A pleasant end to the day. We stayed in the Day’s Inn. Lovely comfy beds – we all slept well.

Sun 27th

We decided to press on directly to Chicago and drove there in one go, travelling through the state of Indiana en route to Illinois, and crossing a time zone and gaining another hour, as we later discovered. Checked in to the Best Western in Grant Park and, being no sign of the rest of the family, we went for a quick bite at a Starbucks then walked through Grant Park to the Art institute.

We were fascinated by the monster insect life we saw in the park, and enjoyed the Art Institute. A bit difficult to navigate, but once we realised it was several inter-connected buildings, we viewed it all, glad to see some unfamiliar works by familiar artists, the Benin artefacts display and particularly liked the American section. We returned on the “El” the elevated railway, and an attendant directed us to where we could buy 5 day tickets, which we did. We then met up with the rest of the family and walked back up Michigan Ave a short way to eat at another Irish pub.

Thurs 24th

We decided to take another look at the sand-dunes, as we hadn’t had time to see the really big ones last time. First we went to the other Traverse Museum, where there was a really good exhibit of “light paintings” as well as the permanent Inuit display, and some intriguing interactive stuff with light projection and sounds which we all enjoyed playing with. The Dunes were as amazing as ever.

The huge 400 ft drop to the Michigan lakeshore severely tempted Jake, but when we heard some fit young men report it had taken them 30 seconds to run down and 30 minutes to climb back up, and knowing we would be much much slower, we dissuaded Jake from trying and distracted him with little slopes instead. The views were terrific.

We went on to the little town of Glen Arbor, where we visited the Cherry Republic and sampled their wares, purchasing some to bring home and eat later or as gifts.

We then drove back to the Old Mission Peninsular, where we met the others for a meal at a lovely restaurant - except we went to the more casual eatery in the old servants’ quarters round the back! Still good food. After dinner Kathy, Paul and Chris said Goodbye to most of the party and left to visit Uncle Toots.

Fri 25th

The party was further reduced when the girls left, taking Brett and Roly with them. Rick, Kris and the others opted for a final full day on the beach, with maybe a side trip to Pirate Island with the kids. Mum and Dad, Ed and I drove to Leland, to see the historic Fishtown quarter.

Over 100 years old, the weathered shacks still worked, in some cases, as fish smoking houses. We had a good mosey round both the old town and the modern marina, where there were some very smart boats with quite an array of fishing tackle on dispay, before lunching at a riverside café.

We joined the others at dinner over the road when we got back, and spent our last evening on the beach together, before the breakup of the party the next morning.

Tues 22nd

Lovely start to the day, so Mum and I went for a walk along the shore of East Traverse Bay, about 45 mins round trip – a tradition we carried on for the next 3 mornings we enjoyed it so much. Kris had planned a beach BBQ as the addition of her parents and Auntie Chris and 2 of the bridesmaids, Angie and Claire augmented the party to 22. Unfortunately it rained all day, so that was postponed. Some of us went for breakfast and a look round Traverse itself – not its usual self in the wet. We were thwarted of breakfast in the Omelette Shop as it was full, and ended up with Brunch at Jenny’s Cornish Pasty Shop. Very good pasties and pleasant service. We looked in the hat shop, and the Cherry Stop, and some of us bought extra clothes for the unexpectedly cool weather, then we got fed up of walking in the wet and had a drive round instead. We found the historic museum and decided it was worth a return trip the next day. Meanwhile we went back to greet the newcomers and all had dinner at the Mexican place across the road, at 2 long tables. Good food and company, then we went back and watched a bright sunset over the now rainfree bay and a thunder storm still flashing in the distance. The kids had befriended another family with children and were happy frolicking in the water and on the beach as we whiled away the evening sociably. Josh left!

Wed 23rd

Kathy, Paul and Chris came with us after breakfast at the pasty shop again to the little historic museum on 6th Street. It had an interesting display on summer cottages through the years amongst the permanent exhibits of local artefacts. We learned about the 2 local tribes of Indians, the Michigan and the Ottowa, some of whom survive today.
We crossed the road to look at some of the historic houses (mostly built in the 1890’s) along the street. We were directed to one with an open garden. The owner had been brought up in England and had made a beautiful English garden. We met her and chatted for a while, and when we expressed interest in the house, she very generously invited us in for a guided tour. It was beautifully and artistically decorated inside and immaculate! We thoroughly enjoyed it.

We went back to the beach for our postponed BBQ. Paul did the honours with the meat, and the salads and snacks were laid out in Mum’s cabin. All very delicious, followed by another social evening on the beach till late hours, some taking sailing trips with Rick and the rest chatting and sipping wine.

Sun 20th July

A leisurely breakfast lasting about 2 hours again, followed by socialising around the hotel foyer, waiting for the bridal couple to surface, then on to lunch at Waterford – cheese and spinach pie! – and lounging about Kathy and Paul’s beautiful home and garden and lake.

Rick and the lads dismantled the catamaran to bring on honeymoon, Kris opened the remaining presents and cards – most of which contained generous cheques, which pleased everyone! All too soon we had to say tearful farewells to Gill and John, who wanted to see the Ford Museum before heading off to Yellowstone Park and then Montana to a Dude ranch. Paul and Laura also said goodbye as they were going to Niagara Falls on the next leg of their journey. Don and Linda were continuing their Detroit visit with Lewis and Keighly a bit longer, so we had to say Goodbye to them and Mark and Gary and our other new friends when we set off on honeymoon with Rick and Kris, Marion and Vince and the kids, Gareth and Julie, and Jenny, and Jim, Roly and Brett. The journey was straightforward – we stopped for a bite at a Wendy’s en route, and arrived about 7.30pm. We were sorry to see the accommodation was more cramped than we’d hoped, and the lads felt they wouldn’t all fit into one cabin, so they went over the road instead and got a refund, after some haggling with Sandy, our landlady. The cabins were very clean and reasonably equipped, although ours smelled slightly of damp or drains.

Mon 21st Jul

Up early and went for a stroll round – met Mum and Dad coming back from the beach and had coffee with them. Met up with the whole gang and went across the road for breakfast at Bob Evans’ – a tradition carried on every morning by at least some of the party. It was delicious – fresh coffee on demand, juice and a huge pile of fruit for me – others had waffles, omelettes, fry-ups etc, as the fancy took them.
3 carloads set off for the Sleeping Bear Sand dunes National Lakeshore. We made for the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive and stopped at each viewpoint, until we reached the Cottonwood Trail, which we decided to walk along. Jenny’s car missed the turn off, and we didn’t see them again till later. Dad opted to stay by the car, and the rest of us set off. It was a lovely warm day and the scenery was terrific – lots of gypsophylia bushes in bloom, and other flowers and dunes to marvel at. We ended up overlooking the Dune Climb that some of us had attempted last year – marvellous views. The kids trundled up and down the lesser dunes, but not all the way down the big one. Then we walked back along a cicular trail, only reversing our steps at the end. Lovely. We were met by Jenny and co, who led us into Empire and an icecream and coffee shop they’d discovered, then we all went on to the Information Centre and had a look round the exhibits and shop there.
Back at the ranch, we hoped to eat at Bubba’s, our restaurant from last year – but the only place that could accommodate all 17 of us was a hotel restaurant up the road recommended by Bubba’s staff. It was nearly empty, which meant the ambience was poor, but we all got served straight away and the food was good! Josh arrived late.

Sat 19th July – Wedding Day!

Breakfast mob-handed again, lasting about 2 hours as we socialised with various surfacing groups. Then Mum, Marion, Georgia and I set off to have our hair done. Mum & I had a blow dry, Marion and Georgia an up-do. All done and back to get into our smart gear in time for leaving at 3.30 to take Rick, the male supporters and junior attendants to church. Ed had forgotten his speech – Rick showed first sign of drop in coolth and didn’t want to go back for it; but we did, and still arrived in good time, to be met by Kathy, lovely in long navy blue gown, and Stacey in ice blue satin, who was handing out floral buttonholes – a red dahlia for Rick, a white orchid for Jake and similar corsage for Grandma (she pinned it to her bag) and green chrysanths for the other men.

Other guests began to arrive in the RAIN!
We took our places in procession, followed by the bridesmaids (all in red cocktail dresses with large bows behind, and carrying yellow orchids) and groomsmen (Men in Black!), then Jake and the flower girls strewing yellow petals. In a break from any wedding I’ve seen, Kris then started up the aisle on her own, to be met by her father half way and escorted to Richard and handed over. Kristin looked truly gorgeous – an extremely pretty girl in any guise, her stunning ivory silk gown fitted like a glove to the hips and spread out behind her. She carried a simple spray of white orchids and had a short veil in the back of her hair, just covering her bare back.

Unfortunately, my camera battery ran out just as the ceremony began. The ceremony was interesting, all very ancient ritual and repetition, with sung parts in Greek and the Bride and groom passively having it all done to them – the swapping and receiving of rings, the lighting of candles and the swapping and wearing of the stephana to join them together as they made their first journey 3 times round the altar, lasting about 45 mins altogether. There were no hymns or communal singing – just a harpist to start with. At the end the married pair came and greeted both sets of parents and then processed back down the aisle.

As it was raining, they swiftly returned for the formal group photos to be taken in the church. After not too long a session of this, the guests all left and Rick and Kris, toting a holdall and with her skirts hitched over her arm, came in the bus with us to the reception!! Not like our traditional sending off, then…

There were photos of both families’ weddings through the years on the piano at the reception, and the 2 wedding cakes were on display just inside the lovely decorated hall. Both the English fruit cake – trimmed with red ribbon – and the American sponge cake – iced in a white lace pattern – had a posy of the red, yellow and green flowers on top, matching the wedding theme, and complemented each other well.

Rick and Kris made a show of struggling to cut the rock hard icing on my cake and then did the American thing of feeding each other from the other cake – without smushing it into faces!

Each table was decorated with a selection of the wedding flowers and candles and the table numbers were printed to match the Order of Service and Invitations. Ladies received a bonbonnière tied in yellow ribbon, and the gentlemen one tied in red. All were given little net bags with sugared almonds – a Greek tradition.

Food was good – a variety of hors d’oeuvres as people gathered, then Michigan salad followed by a chicken main course. Paul opened the speeches – he got a bit choked at one point and was helped out by Ed, who then added his piece to Paul’s. The Best Man Lewis spoke hilariously, as did the Koumbaro Kyle, then Laura made a touching little speech to finish off. Richard remained firmly seated throughout!

Rick and Kris opened the dancing; then Paul cut in with Kris and Rick danced with me; then Ed cut in with Kris, Rick danced with Kathy and I danced with Paul. Then everyone joined in.

The music was provided by a live band – they were excellent for dancing to, although a little loud for general conversation. Ed and I circulated the hall, chatting to guests and introducing ourselves; then the deserts – Greek sweets and wedding cake – were served in the other room. I just managed to grab some cake before it all went and wrapped a little bit to bring home for family – it was delicious, moist and alcoholic!
The music finished at 12.30, by which time many had left, Georgia was asleep on marion’s lap and Jake and Vince were asleep on the bus. We tidied up and woke Vince to drive us home – including the Bride and Groom and an extra bridesmaid!

It seems to be rapidly edging into the past now, but I thought I'd maybe share my holiday diary with you, and insert a few pictures.

Thurs 17th July

Up 4am. Taxi 5am to Heathrow. Mum, Dad, Ed, me, 5 suitcases and hand baggage including CAKE!

Had to open box to put it through x ray. “No flowers?” Flight attendants panicked then agreed to store it in 1st class wardrobe as long as we didn’t sue them for possible damage. Not a bad flight – a first for Mum and dad. Through customs again with cake. “We hope no flowers?” Met by Rick. With Paul and Laura, friends from Fiji/Hull who’s been on the same flight as us. Welcome news of safe birth of Ivy Aurora and Elsie Mistletoe to Holly (& Oli). Went with Rick to check in at hotel, leaving Ed to meet his family. Checked in at hotel and left Mum & Dad and back to airport to welcome Gill and John. Ed was still there with Marion, Vince and children, Jenny, Gareth and Julie. We all went together to pick up rental cars from all over the lot. As we’d each booked with different companies this took some time, but we eventually got sorted and drove back to hotel. Don & Linda came from Australia by train (!), Lewis and Keighly flew in later from Vancouver and Brett was the last in, from Newark, NY. As we were leaving to spend the evening in Waterford, we saw very tall man and wife checking in to hotel, who looked vaguely familiar – he turned out to be Paul’s brother Gary when we introduced ourselves later. Lovely evening at Kathy & Paul’s catching up on everyone’s news and enjoying good food and lounging on the deck/lawn/boats on the lake. We were intrigued to see fire flies.

Fri 18th July

Breakfast in hotel with whole party, incl Gary and Linda. Very sociable. Some, including Dad and Ed, went off to the Tamla Motown museum in Detroit, others to explore the riverfront. Mum and I opted for pottering to the local mall to pick up some essentials from Walgreens and find out where our hairdresser’s was for the next day. We met Paul and Laura, shopping for shoes, and had a chat before enjoying lunch at Happy’s Pizza (we had chicken subs). Got back in time to pick up Keighly and set off for the Rehearsal Dinner Hall, where we met the Sheikos and helped decorate the room ready for the evening in Island Style, to remind the guests of the Fiji wedding in 2006 and ensure informality in face of the next day’s event. Changed into our colourful clothes and spent lovely evening socialising with our friends and families and meeting our American counterparts.

Lovely food – Salmon, wraps, salads and a variety of brownies for dessert. Tried unsuccessfully to learn Greek dancing. Came back to hotel and saw 2nd very tall couple checking in, so didn’t hesitate to accuse them of being Sheikos, to which they gladly confessed, and we spent a further pleasant hour meeting Mark and Marion.

I'm not used to cameras being allowed in church during the ceremony - I don't know if it's different now, but in my day we had to wait until we got outside - but at Rick and Kris's wedding, people were taking photos all the time, discreetly. Which allows me to share the occasion with you! No-one got the procession of bridesmaids and groomsmen, who in an American wedding range themselves either side of the altar, looking out at the congregation and their Bride and Groom - an arrangement which I liked a lot.

The Stephana Bearer staggers up the aisle under his heavy load of silver salver and resposibility, eliciting smiles and winks of encouragement all the way. Father Nick descended the altar steps to relieve him of his burden.

The Flower Girls are only slightly embarrassed and strew yellow petals with gay abandon.

The Groom and his Best Man spot the Bride.

In an innovation from any wedding I've seen, the Bride sets off up the aisle by herself...

...to be met half way by her father, who leaves his wife's side to escort his daughter to her future husband. As you can imagine, this whole section caused floods of tears from most of the females present.

The Couple stand before the altar and their attendants.

The swapping and receiving of rings. The Best Man assists at this point.

Two candles are lit and carried by different groomsmen throughout the ceremony.

The Koumbaro does his stuff with the stephana, and then the Maid of Honour assists as Father Nick leads the newly married couple on their first journey together, around the altar. (At this point, several people had noticed small attendant with finger up his nose - the Groom, passing on his journey, discreetly swipes his hand down, removing the offending finger from nostril!)

The marriage is sealed with a kiss.

The Groom leads his Bride from the altar...

...and introduces her to his parents, and then she introduces him to hers!

Aaaah!

Home after our Wedding of the Year. They say a picture says a thousand words, so I should manage a book, as we have about 200 photos to sort, and the official ones aren't in yet!....

I'll get round to proper sorting and posting, but here's a taster of the ceremony.

The lovely bride.

Proud Parents!

Cutting the Cakes.