Friday was a special day for us...very special indeed, as we celebrated our 39th anniversary. And, by default, the beginning of our 40th year as a married couple. We had promised in our wedding vows, standing together at the altar of Jackson's Christ Lutheran Church (using a phrase insisted upon by the Lutheran pastor who co-officiated) "for as long as we both shall live together," which sounded both silly and rather like hedging our bets...but guess what? Here we are...still "living together"...and more importantly, still having adventures together.
About this year's anniversary adventure...it all started on a rainy day last month. Nothing unusual about an April shower, right? Well, as it happened, I had planned to work in the garden that day (again, nothing unusual), but the weather wasn't cooperating...and I got bored. So I decided to amuse myself by planning a trip.
I think I've told you before...and often...that I love train travel. Always have, probably always will. No, the recent wreck hasn't deterred the little pitter-patter my heart does when I hear a train whistle. And I have always wanted to go cross-country on a train...well, on several lines as it turns out.
And that's what I was amusing myself with that rainy April day. I was on the Amtrak website, cobbling together a trip from East Coast and back. I was enthusiastically sharing my findings with Mr. T...when I realized that he had a look of sheer panic on his face.
"Wouldn't you like to travel cross-country on Amtrak?" says I.
"Well, maybe we could start with a shorter journey," says he.
"And where would you like to go on this "shorter journey?" I said, starting to see the humor in the discussion.
After thinking about it for a bit, Mr. T says: "Raleigh."
And so, there we were, on our two-hour train ride to Raleigh. Actually, my trip was two hours, since I left from High Point, using a ticket that I'd rescheduled from an earlier planned-but-untaken ride.
Mr. T dropped me off at the HPNC depot, then headed 20 minutes away to the Greensboro station where he would board. This would work out better in the end, with me getting off in Greensboro on the return trip, since we needed our car to be in GSO, in order to get to our next adventure: the Greensboro Grasshoppers baseball game.
We enjoyed our relatively uncrowded ride and arrived in the State Capital without incident. The day was absolutely beautiful, and we enjoyed our walk of a few blocks to the downtown Marriott. Here we would take advantage of their lobby Starbucks and WiFi connection to allow Mr. T to participate in his conference call (yeah, so much for "taking the WHOLE day off). Then, business managed, we headed to Bükü...my favorite downtown Raleigh restaurant that I was eager to introduce to T.
When we shared that it was our 39th anniversary with our waiter, he brought us glasses of champagne to celebrate! How lovely!! Since neither of us was required to drive a vehicle until much later, we enjoyed every drop.
I had the yummy Greek Salad with a grilled salmon steak, and Mr. T ordered the burger that he pronounced as both good and "huge!" And then we shared a dessert they call Trilogy: three cremé brûlée cups...one vanilla, one chocolate mint, and one ginger...with fresh fruit. Delicious!
To walk all these calories off, we headed toward the Capitol building and the state museums, starting with NC History and ending up in the Natural Science's cafe called The Daily Planet. If we'd had three days, we probably couldn't get it all done. Here's a shot in front of the Capitol (admittedly, not the most impressive state Capitol in the country), of the three Presidents born in North Carolina...but from Tennessee...
Our ride home didn't go as smoothly, with our train running nearly an hour late. No matter, we arrived at the ballpark in time to see the Hoppers score first...and last...in the game with the Blue Claws (gotta love Minor League team names!). In between, we also were treated to a mention on the Jumbotron and by the announcer: "Happy 39th Anniversary to Thomas and Patricia!" Woohoo! I wasn't quick enough to snap the moment, but it's a nice memory all the same.
And now, loyal readers, you probably know what comes next. "Wonder where we'll be this time next year?" Guess what...I have an answer! Seattle. Yes, we already have our reservations on an Alaskan cruise for our 40th...on the Ruby Princess, for the ruby anniversary! We should be returning to port on the 29th, and we will probably return to one of our fave University of Washington-area restaurants, Ivar's, to toast this special occasion...with a fave wine that is a local there (Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling).
Wonder if we tell the waiter, s/he will also bring us champagne?
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