I'm So Tired of Being Alone

The best thing about getting out of the city is driving in a car and seeing the images change out the window.  There are levels, like in a video game.  First you leave Brooklyn via bridges, tunnels and most likely you'll need to go through Manhattan.

We were to attend our good friend, tall Paul's wedding in Rhinebeck.  An unknown place that looked enchanting on the website.  A great spot for a wedding and far away from the masses. 

Something magical happens when you hit those tunnels.  It may only be Jersey but the lay of the land will change dramatically coming out the other side.  

I've always loved how this city makes me feel like I'm living in a snow globe. A tiny speck isolated and protected by all the height and masses.  There is contentment in chaos and movement.  

But I also love when it feels safe to venture out from under the dome into the great wide open without the crowds, the buses, the bicycles and the subways.  Without the sidewalks and crosswalks, the bodegas and shops.  

Nature is quiet.  Nature is what's real.  Nature is truth.

So it's sort of fitting you'd have to pay to get in, sort of like Disneyland.

Paul did good.  This is the kind of place you'd want to protest your love for someone.

And that's just what they did.  Right on the Hudson River with blue skies and fall foliage.  Almost felt like a dream. 

Yeah, yeah, soul mate, couldn't live without you....that's really swell guys but let's get inside before we all freeze our tuchus off. 

 Let's get to the food, which for me was to be the highlight of the day's celebration.  We were starving, having left late and misjudged the time it takes to exit the urban jungle.

Inside was a toasty refuge with snacks and tables awaiting their assigned members.

First was a nice arugula salad with goat cheese.  Let them tell it, it had roasted beets and the cheese was pistachio crusted. 

But somewhere there after the first dance and the cutting of the cake, the toasts and all, I felt like the grinch after realizing that this wasn't about the toys or in this case the food.  Perhaps there really was something to weddings. Perhaps, maybe,  they mean just a little bit more. 

After that I blanked out on the entree and the three desserts.  I watched the bride and groom in their element of joy with a big lump in my throat and a feeling of humility.  

We gathered our partner in most crimes, friend for life, and coincidently the talent for the evening, to make the trek back home.  Thank goodness for us paradise came in the form of a Quarter Pounder with cheese and fries combo for that long ride home.