I don't remember the weather ever being less than gorgeous on our anniversary which is only odd becuase June is historically gray and wet around here. We don't always mark our anniversary. Jay and I are not big on special days. For us, every day is a celebration of the best decision we ever made. (Awww. So cute. You can go barf now.) Half the time, we don't even remember when our anniversary is until one of us says "Hey, it's the fourth of July. Didn't we have an anniversary a week or so back?"
But 33 years seems like a long time. Well, it sounds like a long time, anyway. That's as long as Jesus walked the earth. It hasn't seemed long at all to me. In fact, I think Jay and I have been married since the beginning of time. The idea of a time in which we were not married, together, a team, a set, a matched pair is as hard for me to imagine as the event horizon of a black hole: being stretched out indefinitely in an infinite moment.
See? Can't quite wrap your brain around it, can you?
This year we realized the date because it's the day the President came to town.
So naturally, we left.
We put down the top of the Saab and spent the day maximizing our carbon footprints by driving up and down the St. Croix river valley. We fortified ourselves for the journey at Wally's diner, eating the best roast beef sandwiches in the metro. Then we went south along the river to Prescott.
We hit several garage sales along the way. All I bought were a few picture frames but we saw some neat stuff including an antique desk with a ton of carving and details. It needed a lot of work but it would be really fun to refinish. We couldn't put it in the convertible of course so my dreams of bringing it back to it's full glory had to go unfullfilled. We also saw an infants bouncy seat that was shaped like a classic corvette. We could have tossed that in the Saab but decided the grandkids had enough toys.
That decision I'll probably regret. But seriously, they have a pony. Don't feel sorry for them.
We saw an enormous Victorian B&B for sale. In addition to five bedroom suites it had a full apartment on the top floor and another apartment over the barn in the yard. We had fun fantasizing about a life in which Jay runs the B&B or an artists colony while I live over the garage, painting and ignoring or hiding from the guests/other artists.
Due to the Biblical amounts of rain this spring, the roads near the river were flooded but we didn't worry about that. We just followed the detours and took our time. No hurries, no worries.
Our timing wasn't perfect. We crossed the river into Taylor's Falls and headed down into the city just in time to hit rush hour. It's never easy to get through downtown during rush hour but it's especially tough when half the highways are closed to allow the Presidential motorcade to pass through town unmolested.
That seems unAmerican to me. I know Presidents have been pulling this crap for a long time but I think in this respect at least, Jimmy Carter was right. I don't know anyone who saw the motorcade first hand so I don't know if the reports that Obama's entrourage is so big it requires something like 40 cars are true. I hope not. I hope they're just right wing propaganda because if they're true, O is an even bigger ass than I thought.
We picked up some steaks for dinner and Jay threw them on the grill while we sat on the front hill and watched the sun set over the park. I had a glass of wine and Jay had a scotch and smoked a cigar.
It was a typical Thursday evening.
It's been a great 33 years.