Nick picked me up from the airport. The flight was delayed so we went immediately to the lake house. This is the home of Marissa's parents Larry and Debbie. It is a Texas style mansion on a lake. This was to be the location of the wedding shower. I had briefly met Larry and Debbie in a prior visit, but this was the first time I had to get to know them a bit. They; like their daughter, are wonderful and fun people. They had planned a Crawfish boil for the shower, and I learned that there were 150 people attending. I had never been to a Crawfish boil, and I was not sure if I understood the etiquette around this type of affair. We had a nice dinner and prepared for the party and then we headed back to Nick and Marissa's place for the night.
In the morning, there was ice to pick up and last-minute shopping to do and then back to the lake house for the party. There were already people there doing preparations, so we all pitched in and got ready. I was caught completely off-guard with the specialized hardware and skills required for a crawfish boil. Propane powered cooking device with 10 or maybe 20 gallon capacity and specialized hinged straining and dumping pan, many 5 gallon cleaning buckets, and lots of crawfish, corn, potatoes, mushrooms, andouille sausage and a very spicy mix to go in the water. It was a cultural experience.
The dinner was excellent!
Texas, like Mexico was hot so many people spend the day in the pool and then we all sat down outside for a Texas style dinner.
Nick turned out to be a handsome man and Marissa is kind and beautiful. They make a great couple.
Nick, Marissa and her niece Addie sitting under the pergola.
Later, there were the traditional shower style activities, games, gifts and many nephews and nieces running around enjoying themselves.
It was an excellent affair. The next morning we all met at a buffet restaurant and had a great brunch.
I was very happy to spend a few days with Nick and Marissa and I can hardly wait for round two, the wedding in July.
My thanks and appreciation to Nick and Marissa as well as Larry and Debbie for a great visit and new cultural experience!
The next day Nick took me to the airport to head to Seattle.