Sherry and I traveled to the San Francisco Bay area to attend the wedding of the daughter our friends Belinda & Peter. Through the weekend event, we also got to meet many of their friends and relatives and connect with a few of our own. Read on.
Getting There via TWA Hotel
This Californian adventure started even before we left New York. Our flight departed from Jet Blue’s terminal #5 at JFK.
When looking for a place to park, I stumbled across an option to valet park at the new TWA Hotel right next door. The stunning mid-century designed 1962 terminal, which was obsolete before it ever opened, was converted to a hotel in 2019, shortly before the pandemic. I’ve been looking for an excuse to visit ever since.
The redesign was done incredibly well playing up the 1962 theme with a twister room, “Sweet & Glow Salon” and classic 1960s vehicles including some three wheeled race cars. There are food vendors, several bars and restaurants, including one in an old propeller aircraft in the back and a pool. The old flight status boards have been remade to enhance the nostalgia and flash various messages to bring us back to that time.
When we were done looking around, getting to the terminal was simply rolling up a ramp and passing by an elevator cleverly letting us know we were leaving the 1960s for the modern age. Retrieving the car at the end of the trip took about an hour, but with more time to explore and reminisce, it felt completely worth it.
Off to SFO!
Belinda and Peter’s daughter Jessica was marrying her beau Dom – and both sets of parents set up events to celebrate the occasion including a rehearsal dinner, the wedding reception and a post-reception breakfast. This gave us plenty of time to reconnect with old friends and make new ones. It was great to spend time with old acquaintances Susan & Joel, Ivan and another Joel who we have not seen in decades. We also had quality time with some of Belinda and Peters new California friends, who we had been hearing stories about for years, but never got to meet in person. We greatly enjoyed the company of Matt (who officiated at the wedding) & Olivia, Curtis & Lois as well as relatives on both sides of the two families.
Cousin’s Reunion
It took some organizing, but we found time on Sunday morning to sneak down to Bill’s Cafe in Fremont to brunch with my cousins Gary, his kids Alexa & Jacob who just happened to be in town, and Craig & Mishga who brought their growing family Julian and Mariam.
The Wedding Day
Jessica and Dom have a passion for live action medieval role play, and added little touches to the ceremony that made the event feel special. The wedding was held outdoors at the Brazil house in Tilden Park in Berkley, overlooking a beautiful field and forest.
Jessica and Dom were radiant and participated in both a Celtic binding ritual and Jewish customs of breaking a glass and a hora.
A highlight for me was seeing Peter dressed in a tuxedo (he actually does clean up nicely!)
It felt special to observe the magic between the newlyweds and we wish them a long, healthy and happy life together. We also greatly enjoyed meeting new friends and relatives and catching up with our San Jose family members.