This weekend, Chaz and I headed up to Vermont to attend a friend's wedding. I think it's funny that no matter how long you've lived somewhere else, the place you grew up will always feel like home. I stepped out of the car when we pulled into the driveway, and the night air suddenly smelled crisp and clean. Massachusetts has its own set of fall-ish smells, but those don't compare with Vermont autumnal scents.

On Saturday, we had a few hours before the wedding started in the afternoon. So we got dressed, grabbed my youngest brother, and headed out on a mission to find Starbucks. Considering the nearest one is a good 30 minutes from my family's house, that's no small feat. Nevertheless, we made the trek, and Chris turned into a happy camper in the back seat with his chocolate chocolatey chip frappacino. He also insisted on wearing Chaz's sister's mislaid pink sunglasses that we've had in our possession since our wedding in July.

After Bucks, we hightailed it back home to get ready, and we somehow managed to all arrive at the wedding 10 minutes early. Considering my track record for getting places on time...be impressed.

The wedding was lovely. It took place in our small country church, and the sanctuary was filled with all the people Sara and David knew and loved. For awhile I worried about people passing out, since that happens at weddings sometimes (I mean...it happened at ours!), but everyone stayed upright the whole time. And the service itself was lovely.

The reception was in a beautiful barn in the next town. The food was great and the atmosphere was fantastic, but the best part was being able to catch up a bit with some long lost friends from high school!

Lane, Brianna, and two people you already know.

Ben and Greg, enjoying being photographed.

But above all, probably the most impressive part about the reception was that Sara made all the cupcakes herself. Three days before her wedding. Having done a wedding recently myself, I can safely say that baking and frosting that many cupcakes while figuring out all the last minute details is quite an accomplishment. And they were delicious to boot! I ate two...back to back.

There were even two different flavor options!

Long story short, it was a highly enjoyable wedding.

Table 14...that was the place to be, I tell ya!

When it was all done, we headed home happy and tired out. But we sat down and watched a movie (Red! So good!) with popcorn (Kettlecorn! Can't be beat!), so we clearly weren't too tired to continue a fun evening at home.

So there you have weekend part 1. Weekend part 2 involved church in Vermont, followed by a very scenic drive to Connecticut. If it hadn't been quite so scenic, we probably would have ended up a lot grumpier. Thankfully, the loveliness of our surroundings eased all botheration at driving an extra 30 miles.

Come back later for the next installment of Tales of the Woodstock Road Trip.

Woodstock Writings