It's our 5th Anniversary!
If you've been trying to reach us and haven't had much luck in the past few days, that would be because we have been on vacation to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary. Yay for us!
This year we decided to continue our tradition of going to a new zoo on our anniversary and chose the Minnesota Zoo as our destination. But did the fun begin or end there? Oh no!
We arrived in the Twin Cities on Thursday evening amid an incredible rainstorm that commenced the moment we emerged from the car at our hotel. Soaked and tired, we collapsed upon the bed and tried to work up the energy to go to dinner. The Holiday Inn we stayed at had a terrific restaurant attached with some of the best pizza I have ever eaten in my life! Yum!
Energized with a new infusion of cheese and cured meats, Jenn and I ventured out to IKEA! I only became familiar with this huge, Swedish superstore a few years back and it is a paradise for those, like my Jenn, who love to decorate and find cool things for their homes. Jenn was in a bit of a frenzy and found all sorts of neat things we could use. I pushed the cart and enjoyed her enthusiasm. I love to watch my wife get excited about the things she enjoys. It is one of my big joys in life.
The next morning broke stormy and dark, but with the weather radar showing a clearing trend for the day, we headed off to the Minnesota Zoo. First, I forsook our pre-printed Mapquest directions and followed the "helpful" signs pointing "Zoo". This got us lost in a suburb with not a sign of any zoo-like structures. Next, we backtracked and I followed our directions and this time we ended up in an industrial zone that did not look like a welcome habitat for any critter. Finally, we stopped and asked at the gas station with the SLOWEST PUMPS IN THE WORLD. The folk there we very friendly and quickly got us on the correct route which ended up being nowhere near the other two directions we had previously followed.
Thus we ended up at the Minnesota Zoo. It was an enjoyable tour with the highlights being: some gigantic looking wolves, the Fishing Cat, the dolphin show, snow monkeys and a very impressive aquarium display with lots of large, impressive fish (Jenn got to pet a shark). A lot of the animals, however, were absent. Most were being kept in their enclosures due to the storm warnings that were out and some might have just been busy doing other things. It was a little bit of a let down, but all in all a good visit. We ended our day with another great dinner at the hotel and congratulated and were congratulated in turn by another couple there for their 50th anniversary.
Saturday, our actual anniversary date, broke with the both of us a bit wiped out. Still, we had planned to go to the Mall of America to do some shopping and we made a valiant effort. We had some barbecue at Famous Dave's, where the seemingly untrained hostess kept trying to seat everyone right by the kitchen door even though the restaurant was empty. We then proceeded with our planned shopping trip which was over in one store!
We popped into Games by James and made some purchases: a copy of Password...and something called Dungeons and Dragons 4th edition (I think, I'll have to take a look at it again to be sure of the name). We then realized there weren't any other stores we wanted to do to visit at all...a zillion stores and nothing there that interested us. How sad is that? Undaunted, we hit the suburbs and found some interesting little shops including an organizational store that Jenn went wild for.
Finally, we wrapped up our visit to the cities with a stop at White Castle for some burgers (I love these little burgers, and swear that the frozen ones you can get at the supermarket are NOT the same. Jenn loves them much less and is not convinced of my arguments concerning the frozen ones) and then we headed home. Today we are recovering from our trip, and Moses is enjoying having us around again.
This year we decided to continue our tradition of going to a new zoo on our anniversary and chose the Minnesota Zoo as our destination. But did the fun begin or end there? Oh no!
We arrived in the Twin Cities on Thursday evening amid an incredible rainstorm that commenced the moment we emerged from the car at our hotel. Soaked and tired, we collapsed upon the bed and tried to work up the energy to go to dinner. The Holiday Inn we stayed at had a terrific restaurant attached with some of the best pizza I have ever eaten in my life! Yum!
Energized with a new infusion of cheese and cured meats, Jenn and I ventured out to IKEA! I only became familiar with this huge, Swedish superstore a few years back and it is a paradise for those, like my Jenn, who love to decorate and find cool things for their homes. Jenn was in a bit of a frenzy and found all sorts of neat things we could use. I pushed the cart and enjoyed her enthusiasm. I love to watch my wife get excited about the things she enjoys. It is one of my big joys in life.
The next morning broke stormy and dark, but with the weather radar showing a clearing trend for the day, we headed off to the Minnesota Zoo. First, I forsook our pre-printed Mapquest directions and followed the "helpful" signs pointing "Zoo". This got us lost in a suburb with not a sign of any zoo-like structures. Next, we backtracked and I followed our directions and this time we ended up in an industrial zone that did not look like a welcome habitat for any critter. Finally, we stopped and asked at the gas station with the SLOWEST PUMPS IN THE WORLD. The folk there we very friendly and quickly got us on the correct route which ended up being nowhere near the other two directions we had previously followed.
Thus we ended up at the Minnesota Zoo. It was an enjoyable tour with the highlights being: some gigantic looking wolves, the Fishing Cat, the dolphin show, snow monkeys and a very impressive aquarium display with lots of large, impressive fish (Jenn got to pet a shark). A lot of the animals, however, were absent. Most were being kept in their enclosures due to the storm warnings that were out and some might have just been busy doing other things. It was a little bit of a let down, but all in all a good visit. We ended our day with another great dinner at the hotel and congratulated and were congratulated in turn by another couple there for their 50th anniversary.
Saturday, our actual anniversary date, broke with the both of us a bit wiped out. Still, we had planned to go to the Mall of America to do some shopping and we made a valiant effort. We had some barbecue at Famous Dave's, where the seemingly untrained hostess kept trying to seat everyone right by the kitchen door even though the restaurant was empty. We then proceeded with our planned shopping trip which was over in one store!
We popped into Games by James and made some purchases: a copy of Password...and something called Dungeons and Dragons 4th edition (I think, I'll have to take a look at it again to be sure of the name). We then realized there weren't any other stores we wanted to do to visit at all...a zillion stores and nothing there that interested us. How sad is that? Undaunted, we hit the suburbs and found some interesting little shops including an organizational store that Jenn went wild for.
Finally, we wrapped up our visit to the cities with a stop at White Castle for some burgers (I love these little burgers, and swear that the frozen ones you can get at the supermarket are NOT the same. Jenn loves them much less and is not convinced of my arguments concerning the frozen ones) and then we headed home. Today we are recovering from our trip, and Moses is enjoying having us around again.
So, to sum it up: we went lots of places, saw lots of stuff and ate fattening food, but these are not the important things. What is important is that I am more in love with my wife than the day we were married and that our marriage just gets better and better each day. I enjoy every little detail about Jenn and would not change a thing about her. She is a precious gift given to me by the Lord and it is my job to love her and try to be the best husband she can have. It is the best job in the world.
2 comments:
Happy Anniversary Steve and Jenn!
Hey Steve and Jenn,
Happy Anniversary! I'm glad your vacation was mostly good, and now you've given us some good places to avoid when we go up there in a few weeks.
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