Wakeboarding and Wedding Rehearsals ...

Photo-A-Day #518 09/08/06

Today I went with Andy and his three brothers and his father out on a ski boat on Bass River in Dennis, MA. Andy brought along his two wakeboards and a towrope. We motored out through the channel and into the speed zone. We were basically the only boat out on the water today. There were a few kayaks and a couple other powerboats but essentially the whole speed zone was ours to do with what we wanted. Once we figured out the proper trim settings and went down to four people in the boat (Andy's dad and brother Zach stayed on shore.) we got some speed out of the boat. I had Tara's camera and was perfectly fine trying to take pictures. Andy went first and he got right up on the wake board and was switching lead feet and everything. Then his brother Nate tried and I think he might have gotten up, then his brother Ethan tried and he got up too. We went back to the beach and Ethan and Zach switched. Zach got right up on his first try and got the hang of it very quickly.

After Zach was done I gave it a try and did pretty good leaning back and having the boat tow me but I would lean too far forward each time and the board would get sucked under the water and me along with it. We tried this a couple of times and I just couldn't wrap my head around what I needed to do. So I got back on the boat. Apparently I was the only one who needed the swim ladder and I left it down. When Nate got back in the water to go for another turn on the wakeboard the rooster tail that the swim ladder kicked up was impressive. Oops. I took a ton of still images (we need to get a better zoom lens) and then I used my other camera to take some video. Got some great wipe out shots and some great action video of the guys. We dropped back over to the beach and I switched places with Ethan so the four brothers could have some time together on the water. Andy's Dad and I talked about kayaking while we watched the fiddler crabs on the beach. There were tons of them, I've never seen that many before in one place. The four brothers came and picked up Gordon and me. We did a few high-speed turns around the speed zone and then headed back to the dock. At the dock Andy told me where the beach was for the ceremony and the rehearsal so I drove out there to make sure I knew where I would be going later in the afternoon. I found the beach and where we were to go and then turned around and picked up some lunch at Pizza Paradise. They made some really good pizza there and they had a Jimmy Buffett/Island/Red Sox theme int eh place. It was a fun atmosphere, very New England, very beachy.

I went back to Grandma and Grandpa's house and reviewed the pictures and video from the morning. I transferred everything to my laptop and recharged the camera batteries. Then Allison and Grandma came home. They had been out shopping and running errands while I was being dragged behind the boat. Allison got two pairs of very nice shoes for the rehearsal and the wedding ceremony. We began to get ready for the rehearsal because we were going to be going to a very fine restaurant for the rehearsal dinner. It is a good thing that I knew where I was going and had scouted ahead because we were running late. Not too late just late by my definition of late.

We got to chair 11 on the West Dennis Beach and ran through the rehearsal. Andy and Rondi have some great ideas for their wedding I am looking forward to it tomorrow. After the rehearsal we rode over to a reception for guests who were arriving from out of town. Andy's four younger brothers were all dressed up and had coordinating colors with their ties and shirts. I asked them if that was an accident or if they planned it and why had they not included Andy on that memo. The reception was very nice and I took a few pictures while we were there.

Then we were to the rehearsal dinner. It was at the 902 Main Restaurant. The food was excellent. I had the most amazing filet ever. And as we know I love my Filet. This was fork tender melt in your mouth like butter Filet. And I am not just saying that, I have heard people say that and thought, “What are they talking about? Like butter, that makes no sense.” It was not until I had this Filet for dinner that I actually understood and experienced that. I told the chef that, I told everybody that. The restaurant also has some very interesting bathrooms. The men's room has a James Bond/martini theme. I was told that the women's room had a Tiffany's theme to it.

Andy and Rondi were such gracious and generous hosts. We even got to sit with them for the meal. The meal also had a wonderful fresh salad with a slice of Blue Cheese on top. I got two of them because Allison does not like Blue Cheese. I set it aside to have with my Filet. This restaurant had very good servers, if you got up to use the bathroom when you returned your napkin was folded again on the table for you. So as we were waiting for the main course they began to clear the bread plates. 

That is where I stashed my second piece of Blue Cheese. I was talking and didn't realize that they had taken the plate till the server was halfway down the table. I made a noise like, 'Ah' or 'Um', you know the noise you make when you want to say something but realize that it might not be appropriate to shout out, "Hey where are you going with my Blue Cheese." The server heard me, (and the meaning of what I was going to say) and she returned the Blue Cheese. I stated, "I was going to save that piece for my Filet." She was very happy that I was going to eat that Blue Cheese and even checked on it as I ate the meal. The first bite of the Filet was the most perfect bite of Filet I had ever had. I was so happy while eating this meal. I was probably helped by the fact that each time my wine glass was empty the servers were right on top of things and topped me off. Such good wine too. It was a very tasty Pinot Grigio. I had a far amount of it, not enough for Tiki Drew to come out but enough for his milder cousin to make an appearance. I probably got Andy in trouble with one or two comments about wedding traditions.

For dessert we had a creme brulee. It was okay not spectacular. The presentation was spectacular but the creme brulee tasted a bit too eggy for me, not that creamy. Andy and Rondi did put a Crème Brulee set and recipe book on their registry and I told Andy that maybe he and I can make some fantastic Creme Brulee sometime. Then the statement that Derek makes about my Creme Brulee making prowess would be true.

We had a very nice day today. We are so looking forward to tomorrow as well.