More old stories never published, but which should have been:

We had a great time at Matt and Molly’s wedding. Everything went off smoothly and it was a lot of fun. We love Molly and we have known her and her parents for years. It is so nice to have in-laws that you already know and can be comfortable with right away.

It was great to meet Molly’s extended family and for her family to meet ours, including Jen’s parents, Rikki and Jerry who came from San Francisco to join us. On Saturday morning we scheduled a 2 hour driving tour of Austin, which included a stop at Mayfield Park, the wedding site. The bus was exclusively family, Molly’s and Matt’s. So the aunts and uncles got to meet each other socially in a relaxed setting before the wedding and the Welcome to Austin dinner party that evening. I even agreed to wear a Birthday Hat in honor of my birthday for the whole tour and while walking to the restaurant for lunch afterwards. People driving down the street would honk at me and those walking, smiled and waived.

Our Welcome to Austin event was a Tex Mex buffet at the Iron Cactus Restaurant in downtown Austin on 6^th street, within walking distance to the hotel. Everything went very well, the food was great and plentiful. We even had enough leftovers for dinner the next night. We had name tags with a picture of either a groom or a bride, so we could identify how the family and friends were connected to Matt and to Molly. Everyone seemed to have a good time. Some guests left early to try to catch the nightly flight of the bats under the bridge adjacent to the wedding hotel. Apparently my siblings had ordered a birthday cake for my brother Paul and me, our birthdays are 3 days apart. But I never got the message and headed back to our lodgings after the party. But they bravely carried on without me, wishing me happy birthday in absentia.

Austin is a great city, I appreciate it more each time that I visit. M&M had selected Mayfield Park for the outdoor ceremony at 10:30 am on Sunday. It is a beautiful park with lush foliage and many peacocks wandering around. The Rabbi was great, the weddin itself was short, and the ceremony very moving. Molly and Matt have 4 siblings in total, just enough to hold the 4 corners of the chuppah. The reception was indoors at a synagogue about 3 miles away. Molly and her mom, Cathy, did a great job of organizing the reception. There were vegan and kosher options on the brunch buffet catered by Whole Foods Market, something for everyone. It was nice to be indoors away from the August heat. Even though the wedding was early in the day, the outdoor setting was a tad warm and everyone was glad to get inside where they could take off their suit coats. Matt and Molly bravely smiled through the familial toasts, numerous photographers’ efforts, including the professional photographer. Matt and Molly left for their honeymoon night at the famous Driscoll Hotel, and their parents saw the wedding guests off on their way safely home.

Sunday night those of us left in town met down at the hotel to catch the bats nightly swarm from under the bridge. We missed the beginning of the flight, but there are so many bats, that we still had time to see many streams of bats leaving for their search for flying insects. We had a great time in Austin and look forward to many future visits to see our two Printz families now living there.