Getting to the Altar
The next adventure was on the wedding day. I arrived at the hotel an hour early. I went to check in, but noone knew which room the wedding party should be using to dress in. Eventually, the hotel finds the dressing room, but is unable to find the room that I will be sleeping in that evening. They suggest I go get changed and come back after the wedding. They promise that they will have it all worked out by then. Gee, I think I'll just stay here until you get it figured out...
You see, on the weekend of our wedding, the ROT motorcycle rally was in town, which draws over 30000 motorcycles each year. It bills itself as the 'biggest biker rally in Texas'. And each biker needs a place to sleep... Hmm, what are the odds that if I come back after the wedding that my room will be available? Nah, I'll just wait right here...
The hotel staff finally get it figured out and I go upstairs to change into my tux. Since the rest of the party is already changed, I take my tux into the restroom to change. By now, I'm running late, and getting a bit nervous. To top it all off, I'm having a tough time with my tie. I finally ask the best man to help me with it. He looks at me and asks if I'm alright, since I'm sweating profusely. I assure him that I'm ok.
As we step into the bathroom to grab the tie, he comments that the bathroom is hot. After a second he asks why I have the heat lamp turned on! In my haste, I turned on all the light switches, including the heat lamp.
We step into main room and close the bathroom door to keep the main room cooler.We eventually get the tie and cufflinks on, and I go to grab my jacket, which is still in the bathroom. Unfortunately, the door to the bathroom won't open. The doorknob will turn, but the latch will not open.
My call to the front desk sounded like a 911 call as I tried to explain that my jacket was locked in the bathroom, and I only had 17 minutes until the wedding was to start.
Maintenance came and finally got the door open. As I am putting on the jacket, the bagpiper starts to play, marking the start of the ceremony.
Unfortunately, I am on the fourth floor, and the building is a bit confusing. As I am running around, I eventually find the stairs, but am unable to find the elevators. I decide I will just run down the stairs. After running down I find that there is no 1st floor doorway, only second or basement. The basement door says Employees only... So I run back to the second floor and search for another way down. Finally I find a stairway that will get me to the first floor, but they take me across the stage, in full view of all of the attendees, and behind the bagpiper.
The stairway is visible in the background here on the right.
I had to run behind the bagpiper...
Finally, I arrive at the correct spot, just in time.
