Wedding in Missoula

It has been quite some time since I posted any travels. However, I am now happy to report we had the good fortune to go to Missoula, Montana, last weekend for our niece's wedding. 

WARNING-LOTS OF PICTURES.   Despite the fact that I did not think to take many pictures away from the wedding, there are MANY family pics.  They are also only with my iPhone, so not necessarily all that great.  However, they are cherished memories nonetheless.

We made it out the door at 6:30 for the trek to DFW airport Friday morning.  We breezed into the airport without incident and found a spot for the car close to our gate.  Unfortunately that will be the wrong terminal when we return Sunday night, but we will worry about that then.   It had been quite some time since either of us had done any flying, so we had to figure out all of the new procedures for security, etc.  Fortunately we did not seem to fit the profile of terrorists and the TSA officers did not hassle us unduly even though I set off the alarm when I forgot to take my iPhone out of my pocket (duh!).  We made it to Missoula via Portland uneventfully. In fact, we were quite impressed with the Portland airport and enjoyed our lunch (with a waitress, no less!) at a restaurant at our gate. 

We picked up the rental car and made our way to the Holiday Inn downtown.  Missoula is not large and it was very easy to find things.  The weather was also not bad, sunny and in the 30's with snow on the ground.  However, it was amazing how slow the traffic moved along the main street into town late on a Friday afternoon.   As we walked through the lobby we saw Aprille and her sister, Wendy.  It was great to get reconnected with them so quickly.


The event for the evening was a casual get-together at the Iron Horse Bar and Grill, a great local watering hole.  Missoula is a college town with many locally owned bars and restaurants.  True to Friday night in a college town, this was definitely a hopping place and was great fun. 

The Holiday Inn is the "H" at #18 in the center just north of the river.  The Iron Horse Bar and Grill, location of the Friday night event, is at the dot next to "HI". (The hotel lobby clerk was writing upside down on the map when he gave us directions :) ).  The Loft, location of the wedding, was on Main Street just west of Higgins.

Our hotel room had a great view overlooking the Clark Fork River (as in Lewis and Clark, I think).  After a quiet breakfast in the hotel on Saturday morning, we decided to check out the walk along the river where we had seen many joggers the day before and maybe even take a stroll over to campus since everything was so close.  First the Frog found a stocking cap in the hotel gift shop to keep his ears warm.  When he wears this in the future in Texas, I doubt most folks will know what "Griz" means on his cap. 

Unfortunately the sidewalks were very icy, so we did not venture far.  However, we did circle back and get the car, then drove a few blocks to Missoula's carousel.  The carousel features handmade horses, each with colors and markings special to the donors who sponsored them.  Everything had been put together by volunteer labor within the community.  Once the volunteer mechanic on site found out we were interested, he explained all kinds of interesting things about how they had reconstructed the working mechanism.  We also got to see a horse under construction in the wood shop.  The Missoula Carousel was definitely worth seeing.

Horse under construction

One of the adults grabbing for the ring in the dragons mouth. I think the adults were having as much fun as the kids!

A horse of a different color.

We had lunch at the Shack Cafe, a great little restaurant which the waiter told us had once been a car dealership.  It certainly had a Montana vibe with antique woodwork from the 1800's.

The main event for the weekend was Kirstin and Aldo's wedding.  It was at The Loft, a great location downtown, with large windows looking onto the mountains.  We arrived at 4 pm, and tried to help with the last minute preparations, although I think we were mostly just staying out of the way.

Aprille and Wendy adding last minute touches.

Looking beautiful.

Chardonnay cupcakes with raspberry filling...what a fabulous wedding cake!

 

The nervous groom with Britta in the background working on the music.  ("Britta in the background" was a recurring theme among lots of my pictures from this event.  Sorry, Britta.)

Kirstin and friends

The family picture. Front row: Aprille, Kirstin, Aldo; back row: Skip, Britta

The ceremony started at 4:30, with Kirstin's Aunt Wendy presiding. 

Then it was time to celebrate.  First there was great food.

Next there were cupcakes for everyone.

Then there was dancing,

including celebration with a Mardi Gras flair,

Wendy

The Frog

and even an acrobatic performance.

 A good time was definitely had by all.

The following morning was a brunch at Aprille and Skip's house. Their house is part way up the mountain with a view to die for.  Among the most excited in attendance was Baby, their golden retriever.  We could not stay long since we needed to catch our plane back home, but we did not want to miss seeing everyone one last time before taking off.

The trip back was via Denver, which was noteworthy since the Broncos were playing in the Super Bowl.  Some of the gate agents were in Broncos jerseys and many people were huddled around tv's throughout the terminal.  As we were in line to board there was a giant cheer from the bar next door.  We did not know what had happened, but we were sure it was good for the Broncos.  Even our plane's captain gave frequent updates on the score while we were in the air.  It was still only the third quarter when we landed.  I am not sure whether it was the Super Bowl or something else, but DFW airport and the highways on the way home were absolutely deserted...an unexpected but welcome treat.

This was a great weekend reuniting with family while celebrating Kirstin and Aldo's new life together.  Congratulations Kirstin and Aldo!!