The Wedding and other stuff

South Carolina is really nice. At least where Alisa's parents bought their house is. Everything is so green here! They have a great back yard. If I lived here I would plant tons of flowers. It is really hot and humid, but I manage to stay in aircon most of the time so it isn't bad.
I think we left some holes in the trip narrative so I will try and fill in. On Thursday we left Longview, Tex-ass and drove through Louisiana, Mississippi, and then stopped for the night in Birmingham, Alabama- at the worst hotel of the whole trip. But it wasn't that bad, although their coffee at breakfast was AWFUL. We didn't go swimming on account of the scary, staring rednecks that were already out there. Plus there were a million children splashing around in there already. Alisa already mentioned our nice dinner that we had in a different part of the city and our adventures the next day, so I won't be redundant.
We arrived here in Summerville, SC on Friday, but then the next morning I hopped in the car again and drove 4+ hours back into Georgia to attend a wedding. I had the best time at the wedding. I saw so many people I love that I hadn't seen (some of them) in 11 years - since we left Taiwan. Amy, the bride (who designed her own dress), was just a little girl living across the street the last time I saw her. She married Tzuchien who is her brother Ryan's best friend - they all went to Morrison Academy in Taiwan where I graduated from highschool. Amy's aunt, uncle and cousins - Dan, Clare and Jon - are the family we first went out to Taiwan with. So I've known them since I was two. There were other MK's and Morrison people there too, so it felt very much like home. I wish my whole family could have gone, but at least I was there to represent them.
The ceremony was lovely, short and sweet and very meaningful. The reception was gorgeous - like something out of a magazine. It was all held at a B&B in the tiny town of Watkinsville and there was gentle rain falling intermittently throughout - so it was good that everything was under two large white tents. The flowers were huge pink peonies, dark red carnations and roses. The dinner was catered by a local restaurant - deliciously gourmet with three choices of starter and entree. I had the proscuitto salad and the beef tenderloin. There was champagne, wine, and all kinds of drinks (I had two yummy cosmos). Also very good coffee to go with the cake which was white with pink cherry blossoms climbing up the side. Around 10:30 that night we saw them off amid a flurry of rose petals (instead of rice) into the warm Georgia night, bullfrogs providing the background chorus. They did a very nice job of incorporating both American and Chinese traditions. It was just really beautiful. And most of you know that I am really not one to gush about weddings!
So I drove back yesterday and now finally am starting to get my bearings. It's nice to not have to spend the majority of the day in a car! Alisa's parents return to California today and we will start working on the house. We're going to paint a couple rooms and finally put all the hours of watching Trading Spaces to good use!