Monica and I went to Santa Rosa earlier this month for my nephew AJ and his finacé Ali’s wedding. It was a quick trip–just 5 days, including two travel days–but we managed a family reunion of sorts and saw a lot of  Sonoma County in that time.

Along with the Alcocer wedding which took place at Ali’s family’s TreRicci Winery in Healdsburg, Monica and I took a meandering drive through the western part of the county that took us through (among other places) Freestone and Bodega Bay, up Westside Road and into the Dry Creek Valley (where we tried unsuccessfully to purchase some Raymond Burr port and bought a bottle of Cab instead). We also lunched with mother at Spring Lake Village where Cate dispatched me in a quick post-meal ping-pong game. Monica and I strolled the grounds of the Luther Burbank Gardens. And of course, we took in a breakfast at the Omelette Express.

Naturally I had to document the trip. This is after all the 21st century. And I’ve got a web site to feed. So along with the Sony Camcorder and the Canon Powershot, I brought along the very 20th century Polaroid 600 SE and its various accouterments needed to make it all work. My camera bag probably weighed in at 15 pounds.

Going through security at the Denver airport, one of the TSA agents asked in a drill sergeant kind of way “whose got the camera bag?” I slowly volunteered that it was my stuff. “How old is that camera?” she asked. I quickly did the math. About 35 years old, I said. “Yeah, it looks like it,” she said with an air of authority laced with a pinch of small talk. And with that Monica and I were on our way.

I’m glad I brought it along. I made three photos that made lugging that thing around worth while: Ali and AJ’s wedding kiss, the newlyweds sitting at their table during the wedding reception and the picture of Cate. They won’t hang in the Louvre but each has a unique, sentimental quality that filmless cameras just can’t render.

It was a wonderful trip to commemorate a beautiful occasion: the Alcocers’ marriage. The added bonus was seeing family–mom, Mary, Anne Marie, and Mark–all of us together for the first time in I don’t know how long, really, maybe eight years–too long, regardless.