A Fun Night At The Akron Art Museum

Akron Art Museum

Ian And Jessie

Dad And Mom

Well, I am sitting in the lobby of the Mariott Hotel in downtown Akron, and it's 6:30, just across the street from Luigi's, one of our favorite restaurants when we lived in Hudson.  Yesterday, when we arrived at 3:00 in the afternoon, there was already a line to get in this Italian classic.  At the moment, it's gray and dreary here in the city as the hotel lounge is just beginning to pick up.  I had to ask the staff for coffee as they seemed to loathe to begin their morning.

Akron Favorite

Yesterday morning was mostly getting our house and ourselves together for the three-hour ride to Akron for a good friends daughter's wedding.  We like to leave the house "spiffy" when we leave and we both had to make sure we had not only our clothes but all the other things (devices, cords, pills) necessary for even a day trip.  And, of course, I had to take our trash to the Transfer Station before we took off.  It was a windy day on the lake with rain forecast for later in the day so we were not going to miss much by our short trip. We left at noon, stopped at Love's Truck stop just in Ohio to get gas because it's usually forty cents cheaper than New York but they jacked up their prices so it was no deal.  I assume they did so because of Hurricane Harvey.  We arrived in a rainy Akron at 3:00 and checked into our hotel, a fairly new Mariott, in a redeveloping area of Akron called North Hill.

The wedding was not until 5:30 so we relaxed in our room, watching some TV, checking our emails and I took a quick cat nap.  We left just before 5:00, expecting to drive the mile over to the Art Museum but the Akron Art Trolley was outside our hotel and the driver said he would take us over so we would not have to worry about driving back.  When we got to the Museum, guests were standing outside, under the roof, sipping wine and the wedding was going to take place on the Museum's patio. We got a glass of wine and talked with Scott, the father of the bride, and his sons, all of whom were students of mine at Reserve.  It was fun to see them on this special night.

The Brides Family, Pete, Michelle, And Andy

Three Generations

Unfortunately, it started to rain around 5:25 so the staff quickly moved the chairs from the patio under the roof so we were still outside but safe from the rain. We were able to bring our wine to our seats and the ceremony, officiated by one of the bride and groom's friends from Los Angeles, officiated the ceremony.  It was short and sweet, the bride in tears as she walked down the aisle.

Cocktail Time

We then had a good hour of wine time, talking with friends and fortunately, our best friends from Hudson were there as well, Barb and Mike.  We had not seen them in quite awhile so we quickly got caught up on their sons, both who are living in New York city.  We also browsed the Art Gallery which was a nice way to spend time before dinner.  The bridal party was introduced, the cake cut before we sat down to eat which was an interesting departure from the normal.  It must be an LA sort of thing because both the bride and her groom are in the movie business in LA.

The Happy Couple

Dinner was a buffet, chicken breasts in a mushroom sauce and beef ribs, both excellent as well as mixed veggies and a salad.  The venue was really quite nice for a wedding, many of the tables, settings, and flowers designed by Jessie, the bride.  The museum is modernistic, lots of aluminum looking roofs and angles, giving the wedding a modernistic look.

Jessie And Her Dad, Scott

We stayed until 9:30 watching everyone boogie out but it was mostly 80's kind of music, not much to our taste so we did not do much dancing.  Our friends dropped us off at the hotel and we decided to go to the bar next door for a night cap.  The bar was bustling, no seats and lots of people at the tables which was nice to see.  We sat down at a table, had a beer, people watched before going back to our hotel room around 11:00, ready for bed.

We will drive back to the lake this morning, stopping at Trader Joe's to fill up on goodies for a month or two.  The wedding was fun; it was great to see some old friends and students but we cannot wait to get back to the lake, even if it's raining.