Party on the Patio

  Hilton Head, South Carolina, United States
Friday, October 17, 2008

Leisure reading

Riding the wave

For the wedding weekend, Mike and I are sharing a room at the Hilton Oceanfront Resort at Palmetto Dunes.  The accomendations are great and it is convenient since all the wedding activities will take place within the confines of the resort.  After the round of golf, we had some free time before the cookout after the wedding rehearsal.  Some of the folks were continuing the party by going to the poolside bar.  I decided to spend the free time on the internet and exploring the resort's courtyard.  The gardens within the resort were beautiful and I took several pictures of the fountains.  There were two interesting statues worth mentioning;  pelican reading a book on a bench and a bird ride the water gushing out of a fountain.

I headed out to the beach to watch the wedding rehearsal and noticed there were two wedding parties this weekend.  I located my party which were just finishing up with the practice.  I offered my help in whatever they needed and got recruited to carry the guests' gifts down to the courtyard.  The gift was a bag of goodies and snacks for anyone who was joining Steve and Katie at the cookout.  Let me tell you, the gift bag was a big hit with Mike and I because we indulged ourselves throughout the weekend whenever we had an urge for a late night snack, morning snack or snack while on the road...great idea Katie!

Steve's Family (Karen, Gene, Bonnie,Steve & Katie)

The After Rehearsal Cookout was held in the courtyard and we had the standard burgers and dogs.  I do not know what they put in the meat pattie but it was tasty.  I enjoyed meeting some of Steve's friends from Charolette.  It was funny...I have been in a fantasy football league with Steve and his Carolina friends for years but I always had to draft via the telephone, so I was known as the guy on the phone.  I meet a pleasant couple Adrian and April who were fans of the Irish and the Steelers...well Adrian is a Steeler fan, April is a die hard Packers fan.  Anyway we had a lot of things in common.  The life of the party was Jimmy and his wife.  I met Jimmy almost 3 years ago at Super Bowl XL.  Jimmy, Steve and I shared a hotel room in Detroit as we cheered the Steelers to their 5th title.  Around 10, I called it a night but Jimmy convinced quite a few people to continue the party at a local bar.  As usual, Jimmy was buying shots for anyone and everyone.  I also heard stories of drinking games against a bunch of college kids.  I do not know where he has the energy or where he keeps his spare liver.  Jimmy was drinking during the round of golf, at the nineteenth hole, at the poolside bar, at the cookout and now at a local pub.  God bless!