Yaaaa know....sometimes, no matter how well you plan something, it blows up in your face. Our one year anniversary plans are a perfect example of this. We had originally planned to spend the day at the ZOO in Washington, D.C., and then later return home for a nice dinner at the Cheesecake Factory (where we went on our first date, and where Thomas took me on the night he proposed). We went to church, and then went out to lunch with Todd and Julie (Thomas' brother and his wife). It was about two o' clock before we left for our ZOO adventure!!!.....and before our plans went awry. It took us about half an hour to drive into D.C., and then we missed the ZOO entrance. So we had to drive around in the traffic in downtown D.C. to get BACK to the ZOO entrance, after which we found it impossible to find a parking spot. So, we drove around for about 25 minutes in downtown D.C., hoping to find a parking spot so we could walk to the ZOO. No dice. It was the sloowwwwest bumper to bumper traffic ever, and there were no parking spots to be had. Soooo then we decided that we would just drive back to the metro and take the train back into DC. We drove back, parked our car, walked to the metro station, figured out which lines we needed to take and how much it would cost, and then we went to purchase our tickets at the machines (that's the only way you can buy a ticket). They were out of order for debit and credit. So, we spent $2.50 to get some cash out of the ATM, and attempted to purchase our tickets that way. But alas, the machine wouldn't let us pay for our tickets with a twenty dollar bill, because we would be getting more than five dollars in change. The man at the booth (the only employee for miles around) didn't give out change. On the way back to the car, Thomas's flip flop broke. He couldn't keep it on his foot, so he threw them away in a trash can and scorched his feet on the black pavement all the way back to the car.
It is sufficient to say that we gave up on the whole ZOO thing.
We ended up having a really fantastic time despite our initial troubles. In all honesty, with all of the trouble we had getting into that blasted ZOO, I'd have to assume that a higher power was keeping us out for a reason. Who knows? Perhaps we would have fallen into the lion's exhibit or been eaten by a rhino??? ;) So thank you Lord for keeping us away! ha!
We went home so Thomas could put on some shoes, went to Safeway to get a loaf of bread, and went to a park we'd never been to before called Royal Lakes Park, where we fed the terrifying geese! There were about fifty of them running at us all at once!! Then we took a hiking path into the wooded area around the lake. It was really beautiful and romantic; like an enchanted forest! The perfect place for an anniversary walk :)
After our nature excursion, we drove back into town and went to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. We were seated right away, and the food was delicious. Afterward we shared a piece of Snickers Cheesecake!
After dinner, we went to see the new Disney Pixar film UP. It was the sweetest, most adorable movie I've seen in a long time, and we both really loved it. The storyline is so sweet and sad, and without giving away too much, I'll just say that it is a perfect movie for married couples to watch together.
After the movie, we decided to drive up to the temple in D.C. and take a gander. It's located in a fairly heavily wooded area, and it was pitch black outside. The only light came from the temple, which was MASSIVE, pure white, and brightly illuminated against its black surroundings. The gates were closed, so we couldn't see the entire thing, and it still gave me shivers. The only situation I could equate it to would be seeing a Blue Whale while scuba diving. Breathtakingly beautiful, and terrifyingly huge.
All in all, I'd say this was a spectacular anniversary. It wasn't the romantic walk through the forest, the lovely dinner, the cute movie, or the breathtaking temple that made it special. It was experiencing those thing with the man I love more than anything that made the day so great. We could have spent our anniversary in a dumpster and I'm sure I would have had an equally fantastic time! Stinky....but fantastic!
