Happy Anniversary

So, seventeen years ago, Jennifer and I had our first date.  This weekend we celebrated.

On our first date, I had taken her all around San Francisco giving her various views of the city.  We had a picnic in Golden Gate park, ate clam chowder on Fisherman's Wharf, and just had a great time.

This weekend, we celebrated us.

Friday night, I made me new personal specialty, chicken pad see ew.

Saturday, we went for a long ride.  Possibly our longest ride together.

We started off with breakfast at Starbucks, but then rode south.  We raced an Amtrak train from Emeryville to Jack London, and ended up beating it.

We continued on and crossed onto Alameda.  We followed the road around the south end of the island, and came back up to Shore Line Drive.  And there we discovered that they are in the process of installing a two-way bike lane along the water side of the road.  It was great having our own lane that allowed us to mostly ignore car traffic and not have to dodge foot traffic.  There are little concrete islands that have been installed, and they had barricades with an electrician's name stamped on them.  I'm guessing that the islands will have some sort of light.  Based on the plans on the web, these may just be street lights.  Still, we were very excited.

After stopping for lunch at Sushi House. we rode on north, and made it to St. George Spirits.  Unfortunately the new vodka isn't ready yet so we didn't taste.  We did go next door to Faction Brewing for some beer.  It was okay beer.  They poured either full pints, or 5-ounce glasses for tasting.  We chose 8 and sipped our way through them.  As you can guess from the logo, they're into hops.  We're really not, so we doubt if we'll be going back.

On our way off the old navy base, we came across some pyracantha bushes that were thickly covered in berries, and the berries on the individual bushes were different shades of red and orange.  We stopped, and Jennifer took some pictures.

After that, we were pretty much ready to head home.  Until we came across a Foster's Freeze.

Then we rode home.

At the end of the day, we had gone about 32.5 miles.

Sunday, I took Jennifer to Cooperage in Lafayette.  We had a wonderful brunch, and then walked a bit through downtown Lafayette.

We had talked about watching movies later that day, but we weren't sure which ones we wanted to see.  When we got home, "Inherit the Wind" was on TMC, and that was immediately followed by "Forbidden Planet".  With a little pause for homemade chicken nachos as dinner, that completed the night and the weekend.

Triskadekamania - The Conclusion

So "The World's End" was lots of fun.  I'm kind of glad I came across an interview with Simon Pegg, because I had some cool things to look for during the movie, but they might have been more fun to look for on a second viewing.

Afterwards, Jennifer and I wandered around Bay Street, and had lunch at the Elephant Bar.

Then we rode back home and did laundry.

Trsikadekamania

It was thirteen years ago today that Jennifer and I got married.

Today we've gone bicycling for breakfast, explored the extent of the new bike trail to the new Bay Bridge.  It's a little short of the toll plaza so far, but we're looking forward to the new trail.

Now we're waiting for Simon Pegg's new movie "The World's End".

Fifteen Years

Fifteen years ago, yesterday, I took a woman on a picnic.

It was a brave endeavor as it had been raining every day since the rainy season began.  And as it turned out it would for almost every day through the month of February.  But January 25, 1998 turned out to be a beautiful sunny day with big fluffy clouds all around the San Francisco Bay Area.

I took her on a visual tour of the city.  On the way in, we stopped at Treasure Island to admire the view.  We also went around to the Palace of the Legion of Honor, and up to Twin Peaks.  Then we headed down to Golden Gate Park and enjoyed what I had prepared: shrimp cocktails, pork tenderloin with rolls, and Grand Marnier chocolate mousse.  While we ate, we admired the tiny daisies growing in patches around the lawn of the park, and we were visited by a gopher who would stick its head out to watch us, and then hide when we looked at him.

After eating, we went to the Cannery, and walked around for a bit.  Then we headed back to my parents' house, with a stop at Treasure Island again to see the city all lit up for the night.

The next day, we watched the Super Bowl eating salmon with dill sauce, and before she left to go home, we had our first kiss.

Yesterday, we were in the city again, this time for a dentist appointment.  We parked in our usual spot behind Kennedy's, and walked hand in hand up Columbus to Washington Square Park.  Afterwards, we had a mid-afternoon meal at Burger Meister.  Then we drove home.

I still have a picture of that woman from that day on my desk at work.

Model Behavior

Yesterday was my Grandmother and Papaw’s 50th wedding anniversary.  My mom and her brother (with my dad and aunt) took them out for dinner, and my mom performed a renewal of vows ceremony.  Details are sketchy from 2,700 miles away, but keep an eye on mom’s blog, and I’m sure she’ll have a full accounting and pictures.

Coming up in April, my parents will celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary.  And no, they didn’t get married when mom was 5, and I wasn’t born when she was 8.  My Grandfather passed away from cancer when my mom was a child, and Grandmother married Papaw when mom was in college (if I’m getting my math right).

But what better living examples of marriage could I have than these two?

Congratulations to Grandmother and Papaw for 50 years!

10 Years of Marriage

Wednesday was my tenth wedding anniversary. Today marks the ten year anniversary of our honeymoon.

We had delayed it by a day to visit with visiting family and friends. People who had come up to 2,500 miles to witness my marriage to Jennifer. My Dad's sister (Ohio) and her granddaughter (Florida). My Mom's mother and papa, and Mom's brother and his wife (all from Kentucky). My Dad's uncle and his wife (also Kentucky). My cousin (Iowa, I think, but perhaps Virginia at the time). Jennifer's parents (Oregon). Old friends from Dad's time at Chevron (Florida and Texas), and family friends (Kentucky). There may have been others, but they are no less loved, and I apologize if they slip my mind at this time.

And then all of the friends from around California. Friends from college mostly, but some from work, and even one from my first time in California whom I'd known since I was 7-years-old.

Then there were those who stood with us. Jennifer's nieces were our flower girls. Again two friends from college were my ushers, one a gamer through John, and the other through marching band. Working up the steps, were my cousin Lee on Jennifer's side who was balanced with my good friend Donna on my side. Then Jennifer's friend Luann and my friend Brian. Finally Jennifer's Matron of Honor was her sister Cynthia, and my Best Man, John before he became a ninja space monkey.

All three on my side I had gotten to know in the marching band at Sac State, and knew that I could count on to help me if I panicked. I didn't, but it was wonderful to have them there with me.

Jennifer continues to talk about how wonderful Lee was to her that day. He kept her distracted and entertained until it was time to get ready.

And a personal addition was to have both my local minister and the minister that I had grown up with in Kentucky.

Of course the topper was to have my new bride sing to me. You can hear the original artist sing it here and here. I have the entire ceremony on a mini-disc, so I need to figure a way to convert it to an MP3.

IKEA Drift

Once more I have spent the weekend assembling furniture. However, this time, We have completed the office.

Finally.

And it's wonderful.

I've got drawers, and cabinets and a light table in my work table. Once we get it all organized, I'll be allowed to put up pictures. Jennifer insisted on a complete before and after.

In thanks for the work I did, Jennifer took me to T-Rex Barbecue in Berkeley. And on top of all of the wonderful food they have there, they also have Death and Taxes.

Tomorrow will be the twelfth anniversary of Jennifer's and my first date. We're still deciding exactly how we're going to celebrate it.

An Irulan Moment

Yeah, so I forgot to mention to whole reason behind the trip to Monterey: Sunday marked the eleventh year since Jennifer and my first date.

Way back in 1998, I invited her to a picnic in Golden Gate park. Now thinking back this was insanely optimistic as we were experiencing an El Niño event. But as it turned out, that Saturday was the one day without rain for a month in either direction.

I had prepared marinated/grilled pork tenderloin, shrimp cocktails, crackers with goat cheese (her favorite), and Grand Marnier chocolate mousse. I keep the picture I took of her that day on my desk at work.

The day turned into a "Many Views of San Francisco". We stopped first at Treasure Island, then went to the Palace of the Legion of Honor, Twin Peaks, and the had the lunch n the park. After eating, we went down to Fisherman's Wharf, walked around, and got clam chowder in a bread bowl. We think we got the last ones the guy sold, because 10 minutes later when we were walking back to the car, he was gone as if he had never been there. The day ended with a stop at Treasure Island again to see the city at night.

Happy Anniversary to Us!

So that plan for last night was to make a simple pasta dish and watch "Goldeneye" together.

Instead, we got an anniversary card from my grandparents. And it had money in it. So the question quickly became: Where do you want to go for dinner?

At first we thought of doing La Piñata, but then I suggested sushi.

So we walked to Damo Sushi, ordered our sushi, and then walked home.

And sat on the futon in the media room, and filled up on sushi. We were both stuffed.

It was a wonderful evening.