Celebrating 25 Years of Marriage

What a day last Wednesday was! August 5th was our 25th wedding anniversary and it just went downhill as the day progressed. Here's the story if you choose to want to read it. It is kind of long.

Just as in life we hit curves, bumpy roads, road blocks, detours, got lost, side-tracked, rained on and just about everything else. Whew!

Our plan was to go to Strawberry Banke in Portsmouth NH. We go there often on our anniversary and we love it but we what used to be free parking now costs a handful of money! So, we drove to another area where we figured it would be free but it's quite a walk to the downtown area. Well, the temp was around 92 and it was humid! We started walking and we gave up. We realized we were too far from where we wanted to go.

Back to the car we go and head off to The Oar Restaurant down on the water. No parking as the lot was full but the worst thing was that a woman had parked (yes, PARKED!) her car in the middle of the road. No one could get past her. The road is only a single car wide. So, my husband decides to back up down the narrow road to get out and we're all of a sudden blocked in by a truck that has come to deliver to the restaurant!! It was just too much! Finally the woman comes out to her car and leaves. What an idiot!

We drive through all these side streets looking for a decent restaurant and everything is packed solid. It's Wednesday--noon time! Doesn't anyone work!? So, my husband decides to check out Warren's Seafood across the bridge from where we were. Do you think we can get to it? We can see it from where we were, but to get there was a whole different story! We had gone all around it via different roads knowing we were close, but just beyond reach. Finally...we get there and I wish you could've seen the parking lot. Bumper to bumper cars! No parking. And there was a line of people a mile long waiting to get in. I estimated there had to have been a 45 min to a one hour wait. Forget it!!

So, now we're heading down Rte 1 in Kittery and decide to stop at The Weathervane. We're not fond of the place, but we're getting hungry. Guess what? Yup. Mobbed. Long waiting line. By this time, my husband is fuming and the day is pretty much bust! I'm on the verge of tears because what I had wanted to do to celebrate was going down the drain. We were hot, hungry and aggravated!

We leave and head further north and decide to make one last attempt before giving up and going home. We drove into Dover and stopped at Newicks. They have great seafood dinners. Finally! No Wait! Yay!

I had a scallop/shrimp platter with fried rice and a cup of homemade seafood chowder. It was delicious! Michael had the Seafood platter. We were going to head back to Strawberry Banke after we ate, but at this point, it was nearing 2:30 and by the time we got there and parked, it was going to be around 3:30. Michael wanted to be home by 5:00 and we had a 45 minute drive back! So, we drove approximately 2 1/2 hours to have a 45 minute lunch!!!

On the way home, I get a phone call that Zachery has gotten into a fight at camp and had to be sent home. Grrrrr..... Now Michael is ticked off and he really doesn't want to do anything. I'm angry as hell too. We arrive home, deal with Zachery's out of control behaviors and then try to relax. My oldest daughter arrived home with a cake and balloons to celebrate. So that was a shining spot in a frustrating day. Several years down the road, we're going to look back on this and laugh, but for now, we feel as though it had just been another day. The day just proved what our marriage is like---full of surprises, frustration, aggravation, rough spots and some happiness tossed in when you least expect it. Go figure!