My brother Tom’s son, Brandon, was married in Dyer, Indiana last week, and we attended the wedding.  It was fun to get together with family and to catch up with each other.

"L-

The wedding was at Meyers Castle and it was very nice.  The bride and groom were going to make a last-minute indoor/outdoor decision, based on the skies.  Based on conversation among the guests waiting with us for chairs to be dried off, the wedding party were apparently some of the few who did not look at the radar before making the decision.  A huge area of heavy rain was just outside the town at the time of the ceremony, but the call was for an outdoor wedding.  We were sprinkled on a little bit, but everyone was inside before the deluge hit.  The pastor did a world-class job of including all the important information, as well as some pleasantries, while keeping the service moving along ahead of the rain.

During the ceremony, Brandon made promises to Damon (his soon-to-be-adopted son) to always care for him.

During the ceremony, Brandon made promises to Damon (his soon-to-be-adopted son) to always care for him.

You may kiss your bride.

You may kiss your bride.

"L-

R: Brandon, Maddie, JoEllen, Tom” width=”800″ height=”600″> L–>R:  Brandon, Maddy, JoEllen, TomAnd then it was time to party!

The venue was beautiful and romantic.

The venue was beautiful and romantic.

Damon dancing with his grandma.

Damon dancing with his grandma.The winner for "most unusual wedding cake topper."

The winner for “most unusual wedding cake topper.”Ted and I had a good time, and we wish Brandon and Maddy many happy years together.

Brandon and Maddie forever

Brandon and Maddy forever

We had a wonderful time this afternoon and evening visiting with our friends, Cheryl and Dave.  We met them on our European river cruise last summer.  They live in New Mexico and are on their way to North Carolina to visit their daughter and grandson, with lots of interesting stops along the way to geocache.

It was great to talk about our families and to exchange travel adventures with them.  They went to Australia in January and spent some time with another couple we met on the river cruise, Tracey and Mark.  We hope to visit Cheryl and Dave in Fall 2017 when we go to the balloon race in Albuquerque, and we want to see Tracey and Mark when we go to Australia–maybe in 2018.

What a pleasure it is to travel, make new friends, and then spend time with them again.  Thanks for including us in your travel plans, Dave and Cheryl.

This is the picture

I forgot to have our

dinner waitress take

of Cheryl, Dave,

Ted, and me.