The Marriage of Kate and Joel

The Days Following.

Kate & Joel's Wedding Summary
Bensenville, Chicagoland, Illinois, USA
(Modified from an original post to alt.wedding and soc.couples.wedding)

Sunday morning, we tried calling my parents, only to discover they'd all gone to the early service of church. We later learned that in addition to having our leftover flowers as the altarpieces for the two church services, the church was treated to LOTS of wedding cake for the outdoor fellowship hour.

So anyway, we went downstairs and proceeded to meet up with many more listmembers. And had breakfast on the house, at which point two of the guys at the table tried to convince them that they'd also just been married. Heh. Lots of people coming in and out. Lots of family members walking around. Hugs and farewells from everyone. Parents did finally return, at which point we were able to get the wedding gown and veil and stuff handed over to my mother, who swore she'd get it to the apartment with all the rest of the stuff.

Finally, three cars' worth of listpeople drove up to Waukegan to get with the people who had stayed at Sarah's house (not Sarah Hahn Joel's sis, but Sarah H. our net.hostess). Anyway, we got lunch at McDonald's, and then said goodbye to those who weren't able to go to Great America with us. There were eight of us left-- five who loved coasters, and three who were a bit more... subdued, shall we say?

Jacob and I wore our Elitist Bastard t-shirts. Since the park has a "family" policy, they wouldn't let us in with those shirts. So we both had to go back and change in Jacob's car. He luckily had a cleanish t-shirt for me to borrow. After a six-minute walk to the car and six minutes of griping and walking back, we were ready to go on the roller- coasters!

We went on Shockwave (sit down), Batman (dangling feet), and Iron Wolf (standing up). This took up the better part of three hours. Recall that we got to the park at about 2:00 pm, not counting the half-hour of ticket-buying and shirt-switching. We were reunited at the pool near the front entrance, and decided to all go on the two-tier carousel. It was a LOT of fun.

We left the park around 6:30 pm, and ate at Burger King. And then we left. I don't remember much, but we all ended up at home. One of our cars dropped two people off at the airport, but I really can't recall if it was us or not. I think it was us...

We pulled out our tickets, and packed, and called Joel's dad and read off the info from the ticket on when we'd arrive at O'Hare Airport on Friday. We told him we'd be catching our cab to Midway Airport early Monday morning, so we would have to go to sleep. I went to spend some time with my mom, and ended up spending a LOT of time with her, just chatting about life, the universe, and everything. I finally got back upstairs near midnight, and crawled into bed.

We woke the next morning, Monday, July 13, 1998, at 5:30 am. I decided to take a shower. Joel was strangely quiet, and had the bedcovers pulled up around his ears. We'd decided not to meet Clara, as hotel breakfast wouldn't be available before 6:30, when we were going to take our cab to midway. Our flight was at 9:30, but we weren't taking any chances. I'd even called the cab the night before to double-check the booking.

Joel still looked a little green, but we got packed and got into the cab. As I was getting in, I heard someone call out, "Kate!" It was Clara! She gave me a big hug, and waved us on. We took the taxi down to Midway, where at about 7:15 am the cabbie asked us what airline we were on. "Delta." "Are you sure?" he asked. "Delta doesn't fly here." "Yeah, it does," I replied, "because when we first made our reservations we had the choice of going with Midway or O'Hare and OH MY GOD!!!" I checked the tickets, and you guessed it-- we were supposed to be at O'Hare. I'd checked the cab, I had gone over the arrival at O'Hare with Joel's dad, but it never sunk back in that we were leaving from O'Hare! Oops. We had two hours to get there, but it was a 35-normal-minute drive through Monday morning Chicago rush-hour traffic.

The cabbie turned around and veered right, left, and right, at which point my beloved said, "I think I'm gonna be sick..." and proceeded to do so before he could try to roll down the window. It's a cab, so we couldn't exit without the cabbie opening the door. Cabbie pulled over at the nearest gas station, where Joel hurled twice more, praying to the ground. The cabbie offered paper towels from the back, and I (cheerfully, for some unknown reason) went ahead and cleaned up the backseat and window and front door of the cab. I got out a ziploc and a garbage bag my dad had left us for laundry, and went into the station to pee and to get a coffee cup full of water. We got Joel cleaned up. "I feel much better now," he said. :)

The cabbie told us he'd need to charge us for both trips, and set the meter at 20% extra charge. He avoided the tollway, which was already parking lot in the northern direction, and tooks Mannheim Road north to the airport. We got near the airport and then *my* stomach kicked in, and I needed to use the facilities before a few parts burst. Ugh. Our faithful driver pulled over at a hotel, and let me run in as fast as I could. We got to the terminal at around 8:45 am, and the cabbie looked at the date as he took my credit card. "Here is the problem-- it is thirteenth of month!" Oh, great. I figured out his tip (because I tip well, especially when we've messed up a guy's morning to this extent), and it came to $13. I silently screamed.

We got inside, and I couldn't find a listing for our flight. Joel ran to the bathroom again, and I did when he returned. We checked in, and found the flights had all changed times and numbers. We had about 15 minutes before the flight started to board. We grabbed our stuff and ran to the gate, and actually had time to rest our legs (and stomachs) before boarding the plane.

Luckily, we were on the two-seat side. The flight attendant took pity on us and got us a larger, shopping-bag-sized airline bag, as well as the usual airsick bags. Joel slept through the takeoff, sitting in the aisle seat. I just looked out the window, got us water and juice, and read in-flight magazines and sales catalogs. Joel woke up and had a little water, and thanked God when the pilot had a smooth landing.

We got off our Delta flight to Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky airport, and walked to the bus that would take us to our departing gate. While Joel went to the bathroom again, I checked in for our Canadian flight, and found out the plane only had *thirteen* rows of seats. Ack. As I checked in, I again heard my name called out. "Kate! My God, it *is* you!" I turned around. You guessed it, it was our dear net.friend Clara. Yes, in Cincinnati.

She and I got lunch while we waited for Joel to return. She told me that she'd taken her car back to the airport, and she got on the plane, and got off a little while ago. She didn't have a connecting flight for over an hour and a half, so she decided to have some fun while waiting to go back to Colorado. She knew we were on a Toronto flight, and could only find one-- the one I was in front of when she came out to the outer terminal. We spied Joel, and walked back with our lunch, and took care not to make him sick.

We chatted, and talked about our flights. Clara got a gleam in her eye and asked what our flight number was. You guessed it, we all had been on The Same Damn Flight from Chicago to Cinci! So, we could have avoided a $100 cab ride from hell, and could have slept in, and could have had a nice relaxing breakfast with our friend. The moral should be crystal clear here. Anyway, we said goodbye to Clara, and boarded our flight. This one was a bit bumpier, but Joel and I were okay. We got through customs with no problems, and it only took us some time to get to the bus to take us to the hotel.

Eventually, we got to the Royal York Hotel in Toronto. My God, it is an amazingly gorgeous hotel. It used to be the largest hotel in the British Empire, if that gives you a clue as to its size. Everything was of rich dark wood, painted in red/green/gold, or furnishings of the same colors. Just amazing. Joel rested with the bags while I checked in and cashed a traveller's check. The desk clerk gave me the key to our room. What floor were we on? THIRTEEN.

I whimpered.

We got everything together and went up to our room. It was cream- colored, with a green brocade duvet with red and gold embroidery, and similar golden wallpaper. Just amazing. The bed was of down feathers. Joel fell asleep, while I unpacked all of our goodies, including my dress for the evening and his new clothes. I hung everything in the closet, and myself took a much-needed snooze.

We woke up later on that afternoon, and were soon called by our friend Dwayne, a guy we know from the comics newsgroups, whom we'd never actually met before. He'd made reservations for us at the 360' Restaurant at the top of the CN tower. I surprised Joel with his new clothes, we got changed, and met Dwayne in the lobby. On the way, I bought a one-use camera.

Dinner at the 360' was awesome. I had an amazing Caesar salad with a traditional dressing over romaine hearts, topped with bacon and freshly shredded cheese. Main course was pork chops and apple stuffing and tons of really unusual veggies in butter (I tried asparagus for my very first time) and some spicy fritters for myself, and chicken for Joel and some other thing for Dwayne. Mouth-watering meat, succulent sides, savory salads. Dessert was a split-- a Triple Chocolate thing of some chocolate and berries, fresh fruit, a cream-cheese-like stuffed thing, and a huge dark chocolate cone filled with chocolate pudding creme. Mmmmmmmh! We dined at 8:00 pm. and saw the city go from day to dusk to dark. Simply wonderful. The tip for the meal? $13 Canadian. -sigh-

We went downstairs to the observation deck after dinner, and took quite a few photos of ourselves being windblown. What fun! Joel was brave enough to stand over the glass blocks, but I wasn't. I didn't like being able to see that far down. :) We walked back to the hotel and chatted for a bit, and then went to sleep.

Tuesday was a busy day. We started out by going to Casa Loma, this big castle / mansion built around the turn of the century. They say it's 45 minutes for the audio tour, but we took about an hour and a half for that, including a climb to the tops of each tower. We then ate a quick lunch in the basement, wandered around the beautiful blooms of the back garden, and wandered through a few tunnels to farther-out rooms and annexes. Highly recommended!

We then travelled to the Royal Ontario Museum. The uppermost floor had an exhibit that started at ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt, and had so much new and interesting information, that it took us an hour just to do half of one section of the upper floor! We rushed through the Greek and Roman parts, and went to the next side, where we saw architecture and interior design from 1300-present. Very cool. Next, we grabbed a quick bite on the main floor at a place called Druxy's. Good bagels! We finally ran back up to wind our way through the visiting Victoria & Albert Museum exhibition. Lots of large pottery, weird art pieces, and a photo of Naomi Campbell falling off some foot-high mock-croc blue shoes, and the shoes themselves. They also had a pair of Doc Martens. Very cool place; I'd love to go back sometime.

The hotel unfortunately had a Mason's convention going on that week, with one lodge holding its welcome party right next door Tuesday night. I called the front desk, who said "What can we do for you, Mrs. Hahn?" before I could even say a word! They closed them down, and we could still hear them bitching about it. -sigh-

Wednesday, we started late. We ate a wonderful brunch at the hotel restaurant downstairs (York's Kitchen), and took the TTC metro out to the Ontario Science Centre. It wasn't quite as fun as I'd hoped, as it's more aimed at kids than adults, but there were many cool things there. A temporary exhibit on Roller Coasters and the science of the same was very well done, and a rainforest in another part of the museum was really cool. We took in an IMAX movie, ate overpriced pizza there, and stayed until the place closed. That evening, we relaxed in the hotel jacuzzi. Definitely needed after two days of intense walking.

Thursday was another fun day-- Niagra! We were newlyweds; how could we not go? We also had 10% off of the tour from our flight package, so that was an extra bonus. We drove up in a tiny van, and had a stop to get fruit and fudge along the way. Once at Niagra, we saw the floral clock, were able to wander around the side of the whirlpool basin, and were treated to a "free" lunch buffet.

During lunch, we were able to meet up with another friend of ours, a librarian and fellow comics fan who we'd also met on the net. His name was Mike, and he lived just across the way in Buffalo. We were able to walk around and take waterproof pictures (camera #2) from the Canadian side of the Falls. Definitely go-- and try to see it from the Canuck side-- because the roar and rush of the water is phenomenal. Anyway, we chatted with Mike about things various and sundry, and then met up with our tour group to do the Maid of the Mist.

The boat ride was really funky. It took forever to get onto the boats. On the way, we went down an elevator, wound around here and there, and then were handed blue saran-wrap raincoats. With hoods. Too geeky, so of course I wore mine with glee! The ride itself is loud, and wet, and very, very fun. We both got soaked, and got some great photos. Again, highly recommended!

We got back that night around 6:30 pm, and ate dinner at the kitchen again. Good sandwiches there too. We went to a little gourmet shop which was part of the PATH system of underground walkways and shops, and bought some Whole Saskatoon Berries and some Topping. Joel was looking for that stuff during the entire trip, so it was a real coup to actually find some! We wrapped it up in bubble wrap for the flight home the next day, and went upstairs to bed.

Friday morning, we awoke, and tried to get all of our stuff together. Joel was once again feeling ill, but tried to keep it together. I was kind of tired too. We got outside, finally, and looked for the bus, and waited a few minutes. We finally asked when it would be there, and were pointed around the corner. I ran around the corner, where the bus was just departing, and got the guy to crankily open the doors. We just yanked our two suitcases and bags on with us. Luckily, there were lots of empty seats.

The flight home was pretty unremarkable. We didn't get sick, and we didn't get stopped by customs, and we didn't lose our luggage. And as we reached baggage claim, we saw Joel's dad waiting for us. I gave him a huge hug, as I was *so* relieved that we wouldn't have to take yet another cab ride! He dropped us off at the apartment, and drove back to work.

We spent the next four or five hours just moving and opening all of our wedding presents. We have some very weird, thoughtful, sick, twisted, and generous folks. :) And that's all I have to say about that!

Anyway, that's the end of our marvelous tale. I wouldn't change a thing about the wedding, and I'd definitely recommend any of our many awesome vendors. I'd recommend triple-checking flight times and numbers and airports and stuff, though. ;)

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