Chirky

Our vacation began Thursday night. Roger and I spent the evening and the next
morning searching for a pair of sunglasses for me. Some were too big, some too
small. Some made me look like an astronaut, some made me look like a bug-eyed
fly.

One pair made me look like that blind guy from Star Trek, and as Roger handed me
pair after pair, he couldn't stop laughing at my commentary and the poses I
struck in the mirror.

Poses in the mirror when trying on sunglasses are very important. I needed to
know how they looked on my head when worn as a headband (thus the reason that I
could only wear the plastic brown kind instead of the wire kind with a nosepiece
that could get caught in my unruly locks). I needed to know how they looked when
I lowered them long enough to give Roger "the look." I needed to know how they
looked when I smiled, because I didn't want them to swallow my cheeks when I was
happy or delighted about something.

I finally found a suitable pair at Foley's on Friday morning, and Awesome! Oh,
wow! Like totally freak me out! Roger found a cute dark brown purse for me too!
Since I've unsuccessfully been searching for one for the past two years, we
decided it would be foolish not to get it. So, at 11:30 we were finally on the
road, a pair of sunglasses and a new purse in tow.

We drove to Hot Springs, Arkansas, stopping only to eat lunch. And then stopping
again for a dipped cone. And then stopping again for a bathroom break.

Upon checking into our room, Roger and I were surprised to find a tub for a
dwarf. Especially considering we were in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Isn't this town
known for their baths?

We headed out to a German restaurant (Brau Haus) with the best Jaeger Schnitzel
on earth. Seriously, it's the only place I've thoroughly enjoyed it. We
meandered the Historic District, stopping occasionally to window shop.

Saturday morning we got up early and headed to a local tourist breakfast nook
for an underwhelmingly average breakfast, forgoing the free breakfast that was
offered at our hotel. We stared at the owner of the restaurant as we ate,
watching her become a warm and smiling woman when her son came to visit her.
(Not to mention to eat a free breakfast.)

Roger and I both had appointments at the spa Saturday morning, where we were
bathed in a hot springs whirlpool and massaged with warm lotion. My masseuse was
blind, and it made me giggle a little when she would squeeze more lotion into
her hand and it instead dropped on my leg. To her credit, I must tell you that
by the time she was finished I was disappointed that it was over. Her hands were
like magic on my knotted muscles and tense neck!

Afterward Roger and I went back to our room, and leisurely got ready for the day
while watching The Gunfighter, an old-timey western that was full of bad
scripting but entertaining nonetheless. Or, entertaining enough to hold our
attention for two hours and persuade us to put off lunch "just a little longer"
until it was over.

We drove to Garvan Gardens, where we wandered the paths and hiked down to the
lake for a private picnic. While walking across one of the bridges, we saw a
black snake and stood mesmerized by it for several minutes. I felt that I was
enough of a distance away (on top of a bridge, out of the snake's reach) that I
could watch it slither through the steps and poke its head into holes, looking
for a cool place to stay out of the sun.

We returned to our hotel room, each took a 2-� hour nap, and then headed to a
local Italian restaurant on the lake for dinner. Afterward we watched Drumline,
a movie that was surprisingly good considering it's boring plot of�you guessed
it � a drum line.

At midnight, Roger presented me with an anniversary gift. It was a relatively
flat box, wrapped in shiny silver paper and a magnificently large iridescent
bow. Roger knows my love for bows! I unwrapped it to find a black and white
photo held inside of a large black frame. Together we will choose the remaining
photographs, and he will frame them and arrange them on the wall. For our
anniversary, he gave me my "wall of photos" that I have been wanting for so
long!

Sunday morning we slept in, packed our bags, and headed out. We drove up the
path carved out of Hot Springs Mountain to the overlook, and wandered around
looking beyond Hot Springs and across the Ouachita Mountains as far as we could
see.

After stopping for lingonberry crepes at IHOP, we set out on the road toward
home, where we each ate some of our bride's and groom's cakes from a year ago
while watching the video of our wedding.
The cake and the video were as good yesterday as they were last year. One down,
the rest of our lives to go�happily. :)