O'Neal - Nisbet Wedding Spectacular

This past weekend we traveled to Ann Arbor Michigan to see the lovely Anna walk down the aisle to her prince Chris. Michael was a groomsman so we definitely couldn't miss this special occasion! So here is a rundown of our last couple of days:

Wednesday PM: I met Grandma and Papa to give them Will for the weekend. He kind of pitched a little fit and it broke my heart to leave. But, eventually he was able to say "bye bye Mama" and blow me endless kisses!

Thursday PM: Flight from RDU to La Guardia, NY - short lay over - NY to Detroit. Got there, got our car, and IMMEDIATELY headed out to downtown Ann Arbor to meet up with the cool kids.. I was definitely stylin' and profilin' in my FV t-shirt :) We went to a bar called Scorekeepers which reminded me of a normal college bar in downtown Raleigh. We had to pay a $4 cover and everyone was lke "UhHHh? CovVeR??" -- can we say, old? But, we did, because let's be honest, we were too lazy to go anywhere else. Michael practically played DJ and we all discovered that some people (ahem, Katie and Bayley) had some amazing Dr. Dre rap skillz! We got the "Party Bus" to take us to the hotel and soon discovered that our driver was a perv who didn't wear pants, and no matter where he took us, it was $20.. the pillow and blanket in the back of the van wasn't creepy either.. Anyway, enter Clarion Hotel. Host of the Eastern Michigan Greyhound Convention.. 300 greyhounds and their owners.. at first, cute. after a while, annoying. We were roomie-d up with Zach and Katie and the boys thought it would be a good idea to try and push the hotel beds together so we could have a slumber party. Fail. And apparently people in Michigan do not have a concept of "air conditioning" because being the cold natured person I am, I was even hot that night.

Friday AM: "WHOA, 10am. I haven't slept this late in ages. Aw, we missed breakfast." HAVE NO FEAR HUNGER... The Blimpie Burger awaited us for lunch. Krazy Jim's Blimpie Burger is a local favorite that has been featured on Food Network for it's querky way of ordering and its nummy nature. We rolled up and there was a line out the door.. once we got in, the line weaved through the tables of this tiny diner. You have to order in sequence: fried sides, how many patties, what you want grilled on it, type of bun, cheese, anything sides for fried items, and then the rest of the condiments you want on your burger. I only messed up once.... cook: "i need to get your order" - me: "yep." - cook: "yep?......" - me: "oh.. um double." BUT we did see some people that were effing everything up and they didn't yell at them but they did look irritated. When you have a system, you have to stick to the system. Anywho.. here was my complete order: onion rings, double, bacon, regular, american, ketchup, ketchup/lettuce/tomato/onions. BOOYAH. Best $10 ever. And, I even got a 50 cent piece and a 2 dolla bill as change.. what what!

Friday Noonish: We walked from Krazy Jim's to get our cars that were parked in a parking garage, and it is a good thing.. we all had to walk off that massive lunch. Michael and I had to go get his tux and then we went back to the hotel to grab Katie and Zach. The "Charlotte Crew" had rented a literal "Farmhouse" and invited us over to hang before the rehearsal.

Friday PM: While we were at the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner, the other kids went and played Whirlyball (a mix of bumper cars and lacrosse?).. and I have to say, I am quite jealous even though they did come back with some knarly brusies. The rehearsal was eventful because we take our collegiate rivalries VERY seriously.. and when you have a UNC grad marrying an NCSU grad.. "a house divided" extends to friends :) But, we kept it mostly civil.. After dinner we met up at a bar, but honestly, we were all too pooped to really stay out.. so it was an "early" nighter.. by midnight or so.

Saturday AM: YEA-YUH! Made continental breakfast! Michael had groomsman stuff to do, so the rest of us Raleigh-ians hit up Detroit Rock City.. and it is a piece of crap. No one is lying when they describe Detroit as run down, gray, and sad looking. BUT - we did hit up the MGM Grand Casino.. played some Roulette... little brag here, I won $10. Ha. Then, we wanted to find out what is Detroit's Best Coney: American vs. Lafayette as featured on the Food Network as well. They are restaurants side by side owned originally by the same family, but when one brother wanted to make the chili differently, they split the kitchen in half. You can tell that both started off as little skinny diners, but American has expanded quite a bit. Both come the same way: chili, mustard, onions. Mine was minus mustard + ketchup. It was unanimous that Lafayette was our favorite.. better bun, better dog, better chili. (see http://www.detroitmoxie.com/home/2009/11/22/detroits-best-coney-american-vs-layfayette.html for pics) And that's weird because in most challenges, American wins.. hmm.

Saturday PM: Wedding TIME! It was gorgeous.. she was gorgeous.. tears were shed.. laughter was had.. the "Katie" became the preferred drink.. the "Bernie" and "Dougie" was done.. Trolley was ridden.. a construction hat was found.. and GOODNIGHT ANN ARBOR!

Sunday AM: Definitely felt the pain of the night before.. it was a slow moving, dreary, rainy, cold morning in Ann Arbor.. we left for the airport.. our flight was at 1:20.

Sunday PM: Flight left on time.. got to La Guardia around 3.. sat on the runway for a while because they needed to let us out at the hangar instead of the (whatever that thing is you walk down to get on the plane is called). We exited the plane by stairs, loaded into a bus, and finally made it to the terminal. By this time, it was 3:30ish and we had a flight that was leaving at 4 to catch.. buttttt as our luck would have it, something is up with that plane too.. they switch gates, we wait some more, eat a pretzel... and finally we get on the plane at about 4:15.. we sit.. we wait.. we sit some more.. and FINALLY we take off around 4:45.. and land in RDU around 6:30.... and good god, I thought I was going to have heat stroke.. It's good to be home :)

SO WHEW! What a weekend! I am pooped! But I wouldn't have missed it! Congrats, Chris and Anna!!