Rachel And Jason's Wedding, Part 1

     Last Saturday, May 13, our family celebrated the beautiful marriage  of two beautiful people, my nephew Jason and his bride Rachel.

     The wedding took place in Westlake, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland.
     Not least among the joys that a wedding brings is the reunion of far away loved ones for the happy occasion.
     And so for Tom and me the joy began on the day before the wedding when we drove from Columbus to Cleveland Hopkins Airport, to pick up our daughter Claire, who flew in from Chicago for the wedding to pick up our daughter Claire, who flew in from Chicago for the wedding. 

     On our way from the airport to our hotel, The Residence Inn in Avon, Ohio, we sought out a spot for lunch, to which end we found a great little Mediterranean place,

​...that had  a family of geese living  in the front yard,

...a bright, cheerful, interior,

...and yummy food.

      Our meal started off with some warm, soft, delicious house bread,

...followed by steak kebob with rice for Tom,

...a falafel gyro with rice for Claire,

​...and for myself a very tasty lamb gyro with hot, crispy seasoned fries.

        After lunch we headed The Residence Inn,

​...which was also the location of the reception venue.

     The hotel lobby had a bright,  open, modern decor,

...with a bar in the middle of the lobby,

​...that changed colors.

    The lobby opened to a spacious patio

​...and the work-out room opened to a basketball court.

     Tom's and my  room on the third floor,

...was a suite with all the comforts of home-away-from -home,

​...the cabinets were stocked with dishes,

​...plus there were some nice little touches, including a service that will deliver groceries directly  to one's room.

​     And, wonder of wonders, the internet was speedy and there was a plethora of electrical outlets all over the room.

     Later, when a dinner hour was upon us, we set out to find a nearby eatery.
     On our way out of the hotel lobby we came upon the happy surprise of finding some of our just-arrived Rochester, New York  relatives at the bar 

     After our hellos and hugs Tom, Claire, and I headed out to a nearby outdoor mall called Crocker Park where we strolled for a bit, 

...then found a Brio, upon which we settled for dinner.

...and were waited upon by our friendly server, Matt,

​...who snapped our picture for us.

     In truth we waited quite a while for our food, but our server Matt kept plying us with the delicious bread,

...and sometimes stopping by to sit and chat with us for a few minutes just to make sure we were happy.  Which, despite the long wait, we basically were.
     The food, when it finally arrived, was delicious.

     Claire had a bowl of rich,  tasty squash soup, under the lovely surface of which swam a dollop of sour cream,

​...and a plate of grilled vegetables over quinoa, also very tasty;

...Tom had a beautiful piece of grilled Mahi-Mahi;

​...while I had the most delicious mushroom-stuffed ravioli.

     By the time we finished dinner the sun, which still hung in the heavens when we arrived,

​...had long since set.

     But the mall was now all lit-up and pretty,

...and festive,

​...to match our celebratory  mood,

 ...which kicked up a happy-notch when we arrived back at the hotel and met up with Tommy and Emily, who had just arrived from Columbus and stopped down at Tom's and my room for a visit, and stopped down at Tom's and my room for a visit

​...and some laughs.

     A happy night it was,

...but the best was yet to come.
     To be continued...