Raleigh (JonesRoadTriptoNC)

We made it to NC just in time for the wedding Sanjeet (sort of a meet and greet) in the evening at the hotel we were also staying at.

The main motivator for this road trip was that Peter's work friend, Gokul, was getting married to Brinda in an elaborate and traditional Indian wedding ceremony. We warned our kids that for a couple of days there would be nothing to eat but Indian food (they're pretty picky eaters and we were unsure of how this would go over). They said they were game to try lots of new and potentially spicy things, so we didn't have any "regular" food on backup.

The Sanjeet provided many new experiences- Bryn, Ivy, and I got henna tattoos. The kids tried lots of new things (and even liked some of them). There was dancing, toasting, a fun song (Brinda and Gokul set to Titanium), and lots of meeting new people.

my outfit for the Sanjeet. Bryn had a pink one in this style

The next morning we attended the wedding (at a Hindu temple). It was a long ceremony, but fortunately decorum was neither expected nor observed. People came and went, kids played in the aisles, chatting and low-level noise were no big deal. After the ceremony, we had an amazing luncheon. The kids drank their weight in mango lassi. Unfortunately, I spilled something on my only dress, so after the luncheon we made a quick trip to Ross and I found a great dress for the reception that evening.

Ivy and Calvin cut the rug

wedding luncheon food- my plate

We stopped at a custard place on Autumn's recommendation, then drove over to an awesome park in Cary. After that we wanted to go for a hike/walk, so we drove to a lake and started walking on a trail, but it soon became apparent that the hike was going to be more miserable (bugs, heat, humidity, us in nice clothes, too long) than it was worth, so we turned around went back to the reception hotel.

Frozen custard- yum!

The Lake of heat and bugs and misery, formally known as Lake Crabtree

The reception was yet another amazing cultural experience, and we loved being able to be with Brinda and Gokul on their special day. We ate another fabulous meal and our kids spent some time dancing before we called it a night and got in our car around 11pm. AND DROVE ALL THE WAY BACK HOME IN ONE GO.

We tag-team drove (I'd drive for a couple of hours while Peter slept, and then we'd switch), figuring we'd stop at a hotel if it got to be too much. Everything went pretty well until around 6am when we were both dog tired and Cece woke up fussing. Somewhere in NY my eyes started closing on their own while I was driving, so we pulled over and switched for the last time. I slept straight until we pulled in our driveway just before 9am and we stumbled up to our house, told the kids they were on their own, and went to bed. The End.