Almost back to NYC!

Thanks, everyone for dropping by! Sorry we didn't post much during the trip, but we'll add some more Chicago and Pittsburgh info soon!

Let's Party!

This is a pic of the folks remaining at 10 o'clock, after some of the less spry guests departed:

Not actually at the party, but the wedding party took these classic Fords to the Reception. As far as I'm concerned, these were the last great American cars! (Just kidding!)

The obligatory coordinated dancing rigamarole:

Andrew Schmale, the Ring Bearer, lets loose:

The best man, the bride and groom agree to let me do my superman impression. Whoever grabbed my package, THANKS!

Mara's mom

Now, I have to say, all of the parents were great. We got to speak at length to both Kevin and Mara's mothers, but Mara's Mom, Deb, invited us to sit next to her at the reception. What a wonderful, loving woman. If Mara is half as lovely as her mom is, Kevin is the luckiest man of our generation. She did me the great honor of allowing me a dance:

Rich Quick Is a Curmudgeon

This guy's first words to me: "I seen a fella walking up my driveway, and I say to myself, boy that guys got quite a tan! I'm not racist or anything."

Followed by: "Those damn Polacks are stubborn sunnabitches."

Followed by: "I don't care what color yer skin is, I love them hooters!"

Joe & The Groomsmen

No, not the hottest band in Michigan (although it wouldn't be suprising). Joe was the Best Man, and great fun all night. He had the unenviable job of following up the Maid of Honor's tear-jerker, which better not happen to me next Spring.

The Speech

It was so good his head got big (that's what you get with a wide angle lens, stop being so damn tall!)

Introducing the Konings ...

We barely know Mara. We didn't even remember Kevin's name until Mara reminded us via text 24 hours before the event. In any case, what a spectacular couple. I suspect that in another life, Mara would have been a fellow Life-Is-A-Road-Tripper and Kevin would be a regular at Sunday Poker Night. When two strange men crash your wedding at the behest of the bride, a lot of grooms would go into a full blown jealous passive aggressive meltdown. Kevin didn't miss a beat. It probably helps that he's a lot better looking than either of us. And Mara? After that bachelorette party, we tried to suss out if Mara was at all serious. I mean, drunken BS aside, there are a lot of reasons that you don't want two semi-unbalanced road trippers at your wedding. The First Dance

The Spin Into Kiss

Once a Girl Scout, Always a Girl Scout

Both times I've met Mara, she's been wearing a sash. Strange.

Neither Vince Vaughn or Owen Wilson ...

... but not too shabby. For those just joining us, these are your wedding crashers du jour ...

Phaux in the 'Always Slimming All Black':

Zoobroker in the trey:

The Wedding Is On ...

Really. We. Are. Here.  Ok, for those who haven't been following the story along the way, here's the deal.  We met Mara a few weeks ago -- on the night of her bachelorette party.  She was winding down the night with her possibly nymphomaniac neighbor, Vicky, by having pizza at Two Boots.  At Midnight.  Sober.  What kind of bachelorette party is that?  Crickette, Phaux and I remedied this by pouring shots of tequila down everyone's throat.  Until 3:30.  At which point the concerned fiancee, Kevin, shows up, as his future bride has been incommunicado for 3 hours.  He could have quite rightly given us the "Who the fuck are you guys?"  but he joined the festivities for a shot, and at some point Mara flippantly invites us to the wedding.  I'm sure she thought we'd never show up -- but she hasn't visited lifeisaroadtrip.com before. So, we're here. Here's the happy couple ...

Tons of pictures after the break

Mara, Mom & Dad

7 fifths of the wedding party.

The groomsmen (in sandals)

The Kiss

Gorgeous ...

The Bagpiper

Dodging Rice

Off They Go!

Almost there ...

We put the hammer down, and for legal purposes we can't say exactly how fast we were going, but we suspect it may involve time travel.  In fact, we found time to take a wrong turn and end up on Lake Michigan .. which is more impressive than one might think, but still not impressive enough to convince anyone to stay in Michigan.

Oh, for fucks sake ...

Forgot that we lose an hour crossing between Illinois and Indiana.  At this pace, we're going to get there with about 15 minutes to get ready and get to the wedding.  I wonder, can I shave and change into a three piece suit IN the car?