We Interrupt This Program with a Very Special Announcement...

I'll get back to telling you about our trip to England tomorrow, but first i have to tell you why today is so special:

Today is my 27th wedding anniversary!!!

Boyfriend and i were married in some hotel in Charleston, SC 27 years ago.  I would show you pictures, but...

On the way to the park across from the Justice of the Peace's office, Boyfriend and i got in a terrible automobile accident in Georgetown, SC.  We plowed into the back of an 18-wheeler on a bridge on the highway, and we totalled Boyfriend's car.  Needless to say, we did not make it to our 2:00 "wedding" in the park.  Boyfriend called the Justice of the Peace  (JOP) from the hospital (while waiting for me to have x-rays), and the JOP said to "just let her know if we still wanted to do it later that evening since the paperwork was already filled out." 

So at about 7:00 that night, in our hotel room on I-26, the JOP married Boyfriend & me.  The 2 of us were all bruised up, and i had a broken thumb and 7 stitches in my leg, but we were determined to "do this thing!"

Boyfriend's Toyota Starlet on Nov 3rd, 1983

Boyfriend's  Toyota Starlet on Nov 4th, 1983

And here we are, twenty-seven years later!  We've kidded that since it was just Boyfriend and me and the JOP, maybe we weren't really *legally* married...   But it's certainly "by law" by now!  =-)

Yes, we've had our rough patches.  Every relationship does.
We lovingly refer to 1994 as "The Year of The Bitch"!  But thank you, Boyfriend, for holding on!  It just keeps getting better and better!!!

Thank you, Boyfriend, for being the BEST husband any girl could EVER ask for!!!

And may we have 27 MORE!

=-)

p.s. Do a little jig for my 100th Post!

First Stop: Manchester, England

We actually started talking about taking a trip to England as a joke.

We frequent a local place called 'The Wine Room' in our little town.  They have tastings every Tuesday which we always attend, unless something "big" is happening that keeps us away.  There's a college student there, "S", who one  evening said something about her birthday being November 14th.  I chimed in that our Anniversary is on November 4th and we should "party together".  She said she'd be in England then, and our neighbor, "W", said "We can be there!"   ("W" & his wife "C" have been to England at least 6 times and they love it.)  It sort of picked up steam from there.

What started out as a joke, somehow became a reality, and boy am i glad it did!

A mixture of old & new in Manchester

After an 8 hour (or so) flight, we checked into our hotel on October 14th around 11 am or so, and then went walking around town.  (We didn't really do much "tourist-y stuff"  in Manchester.)  We ate lunch at a place called 'Bar 38'.  Then we walked around town some more. 

If you ever go to Manchester, be sure to stop in at their Information Center downtown.  They have the COOLEST maps there!  The maps are actually "powered by Bing", and totally interactive!  The four of us stayed there playing with the computerized maps for almost an HOUR!  =-)

After playing with the coolest maps ever, we walked into a huge department store called Debenhams.  (Boyfriend needed a hat since it was so chilly.)  Then we strolled back to our hotel.

After freshening up back at the Jury's Inn Hotel, we met "S" and a friend of hers at a place called "KRO-Picadilly".  Very nice bar/restaurant.  Seemed to be a  very "happening" place.  Plus the food was delicious!  "C" & I got the "Pint of Pie" which was like a steak & ale pie in a ceramic pint "cup".  Delicious, but almost TOO HOT to eat! (Heat, not spice.)
It was really good to see "S", and i think we only reminded her how homesick she was.  She's in England for one semester in a "study abroad" program.  She said she couldn't really believe we had come all that way "just to see her". 

After eating supper at "KRO-Picadilly", we walked to the Hilton Manchester Deansgate Hotel... to the bar/restaurant on the 23rd floor (i think it was called "Cloud")!  It was FANTASTIC!  The view was AWESOME, and unrestricted because the 23rd floor only has low-level lighting so you can sit and truly enjoy the view.
Oh, it was beautiful!  (See the pic from yesterday here.)  Gorgeous!

I cannot get a picture to load, but if i could, you would be seeing a picture of the Hilton Deansgate from my hotel window here!!!  [FRUSTRATING!!!]

A beautiful evening for us all.
S & her friend walked back to her dorm, and the four of us walked back to our hotel, and thus ended our first day in England. 
Come back tomorrow for more of the continuing saga. 

=-)

Big One!

TODAY is my anniversary!

I'd like to sing a little ditty and dance a little jig.

... But I don't even know any dittys...

or jigs, for that matter.

Whatever!

Anyway.

Today is my twenty-sixth anniversary.

And I still love this man, people!!!

And the TRULY amazing thing is that HE still loves ME (or at least that's what he tells me... And I'm buyin' it, hook, line AND sinker, people!!!) !!!

Anyway, we went out to supper...

had a bottle of wine *with* supper...

and I'm a CHEAP date, let me tell you!

Our two daughters went with us, 'cause we're having a Fabulous anniversary weekend this coming weekend, and, trust me, the daughters WILL NOT be in attendence at this Soiree (sp?). Trust me!

We have already booked the hotel room (King suite with a shower huge enough for him, me, and EACH one of you reading this!),

booked the wine tasting at the Winery,

booked the supper at the special restaurant at the Winery,

and, did I mention, booked the King Suite at the wonderful hotel! =-)

Yes, I am in F-I-N-E form, people! I'm feelin' good. =-)

Anyway, I did take 1 (one) picture for your "enjoyment":

We had a great supper tonight, and we even ordered dessert...

...However...

I thought of taking a picture for your enjoyment.

...But...

I was a *little* too inebriated (sp?) to think soon enough to get a picture you'd like to see.

We finished the dessert and...

Well, it was Pumpkin Cheesecake, and

it

was...

Mmmmmmm.

Wish you could have been there!

=-)