Weekend in Bakersfield

Our busy month of May continues!  Last weekend we headed to lovely Bakersfield for a wedding.

The groom is a friend of Marco’s from USC, and during the reception, the USC fans cheered the groom with Trojan football signs and the fight song.  It’s always a bit awkward for me, being the lone Bruin in the room, but Marco loves it.  This time, he was the voice leading the “Southern California” cheer.  “A house divided” is a theme in our lives together, and it’s one we have fun with.

Bakersfield turned out to be pretty fun!  Our Best Western Hotel was next to the Buck Owens Crystal Palace, and the first night, there were horses in a corral outside.  There is a bar near our house with a corral, and locals ride their horses there and back.  I wonder if that’s what the corral was for at the Palace?

The bar in our hotel was a lot of fun, but a bit too well-lit, as I mentioned in an earlier post.  But the karaoke was a very fun mix.  Some classic country songs, and some Michael Jackson songs were among the ones we heard.

  

The hotel was on Buck Owens Boulevard, and it had a very central location.  Also, it had a diner attached that served complimentary full breakfasts to the guests.  It was a great classic diner, and a very nice surprise.

  

On the wall behind the cash register (which seemed unnecessary, as all the food was complimentary!) were photos of celebrities who had dined there.  I would assume these are people who performed at the Crystal Palace.  I found a picture of Buck Owens on an old episode of “Hee Haw.”  If you’ve never seen the show, you should check it out!  It’s a mix of music and sketch comedy, with a country theme.

  

We (of course) forgot the invitation at home, so we had to rely on my faulty memory for the address of the church.  Thank goodness for GPS!  The church was located at 1515 Baker Street in Bakersfield, which I only remembered because it reminded me of 15 Yemen Road, Yemen, from “Friends.”  Anybody else remember that episode?

The church was St. Joseph Catholic church, where the groom attended as a child.  It was beautiful inside and out.

  

I think it’s fun to look at what people wear to weddings.  I loved this girl’s hair and dress.

And doesn’t Marco look cute with his new hair cut and blue shirt?  

I saw him taking this photo of himself from across the room.

The drive to Bakersfield only took about two hours from Corona, and even though we left home after 8, we made it to the hotel before 11.  We made some stops on the way home, which made it a full, fun weekend.  But all this travel has made us pretty tired!  It will be nice to spend some time at home this weekend.