Thursday
Our flight left incredibly early at 6:45am, which meant waking up at 4:30am. I had emailed Continental airlines ahead of time to see if I could get a wheelchair and that worked out great. Max checked in at the airport and soon he was wheeling me through security.
Tip: Walk through the metal detectors if you can. The extra special pat down required if you wheel through is not worth saving yourself a few moments of pain. Trust me.
It's a strange feeling to be wheeled through an airport. Alot faster and easier than if I had been on my crutches but I felt like everyone was looking at me wondering what was wrong with me. I got on the airplane first - also weird being on an empty plane. We had a stop-over in Cleveland and there was a wheelchair waiting for me at the gate. Same for SFO. Max handled the car rental (waiting in line over an hour while I sat nearby knitting my Clapotis). There was major traffic on the way to the hotel so by the time we checked in, it was probably 3pm. And we were hungry! We had lunch/dinner at BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse. It was very good and so filling. Max talked to Natalia (the bride) and had a beer with Alex (the groom) that night after I had gone to sleep.
Friday
We woke up early (jet lag), had breakfast in the hotel, then drove into San Francisco. Our destination was Imagiknit. It took some effort to navigate the city with the maps we had been given but we made it there and found parking even! What a great yarn store. It is the biggest store I've ever been to and the selection is great. The staff were very helpful, especially considering my mobility issues. I spent an hour and a half there, looking around the store, looking through their binders of patterns and books. Max said I could buy whatever I wanted (within reason). I came away with two skeins of Art Yarns, one skein of Lorna's Shepard's Wool, two hat patterns, 16" size 3 Addi Turbos, a set of size 3 Susan Bates DPNs, a set of four (size 5) bone DPNs, and Viking Patterns for Knitting. That night, Max and I went over to Natalia's Mom's house for a little get together. I got to wear my new green and white summer dress, people came over to talk to me instead of me having to start up conversation, and Max brought refreshments to me on the couch. It worked out well.
Saturday
We were able to sleep in a little. Max didn't want to do anything that would tire me out so after breakfast in our hotel room (Max made a run for me: blueberry bagel and cream cheese from Noah's Bagels and a vanilla latte from Starbucks), I went to Salon Salon. I got partial highlights, a haircut, manicure, and pedicure for $200 without tip. Took about 3 hours and they were all very nice. I would recommend it if you're in the area. Max went to Lee's Comics. The wedding was at 6pm and we arrived at Ralston Hall with time to spare. The ceremony was short, and with a Catholic priest (rogue or not) I was surprised. By the end I was crying and, of course, I forgot to bring a tissue. Luckily Max had one. The photographer, Noah Hawthorne, was very good - never once yelled at a guest for taking pictures at the same time as him. There was dinner and speeches and dancing and cake and more dancing. Max had a great time. I made him go dance with his friends, instead of just sitting with me all night. We both stayed until the end, which was midnight.
Sunday
We slept in and then drove out to Napa for brunch at the Napa General Store Cafe. I had blueberry pancakes and breakfast tea. Max had the Napa scramble. Then we drove through Napa and Sonoma. We stopped at the St. Francis Winery and the Ledson Winery for a wine tasting. On the way back to the hotel, we drove over the Golden Gate bridge and saw this amazing dense fog that ate up the land. For dinner we went to Mimi's Cafe. Then we had to pack our suitcase and go to bed early - we needed to wake up at 3:30am.
Monday
Our flight was at 6:45am. We checked out of the hotel, Max drove me to the departure gate and set me down with all the suitcases, I knit while I waited for him to drop off the rental car, Hertz drove him back to the departure gate so I didn't have to wait for him for so long, he checked us in, and then I had to use my crutches all the way through security and to the gate because there weren't enough wheelchairs available. It took so long. I was tired, I hadn't eaten and I was cranky. Almost made a scene going through security but we managed to get on the plane okay. There was a wheelchair waiting for us in Houston and again in DC. By the time we got home it was almost 6pm. It was a long day. We're both glad to be home!
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