On this August the 4th, 2012, the eve of our second wedding anniversary I am thinking about how lovely our first anniversary was. I spent much of today reminiscing about that day one year ago when I realized that I have never properly documented it. I'm not planning on losing my memory any time soon, but you never know, right? What was that movie with Rachel McAdams where she got in a car crash and didn't remember her own husband? Anyway, it could happen.
We don't have any photos from our first anniversary because we didn't bother to check if the camera was charged or not before we left the house. I will just have to do my best to write 1,000 words about it that are worth a picture.
August 5th, 2011
We hopped in the car (our old Volvo, Dina R.I.P) around 9am and headed for the coast. The day was picturesque, sunny with a slight breeze and a few of those cotton-ball clouds. We listened to music in the car and sang loudly to the Moulin Rouge soundtrack and later listened to some Harry Potter on audiobook (thank goodness for Jim Dale). When we arrived in Florence we headed North up the coast for another 20 minutes until we arrived at our destination. I stepped out of the car and onto a grassy slope, feet away from some gorgeous chestnut horses. We meandered up the pathway to the small building where we were to sign in. After reading the rulebook and signing our lives away we were each introduced to our companions for the day; mine was named Alan. Alan was tall, dark ad handsome, just like my husband.
I was so proud of Ricky. After being kicked by a cow as a child, Ricky has always been a bit wary around hooved beasts. Like the brave man that he is, he climbed up into the saddle anyways and gave me a strained grin. I laughed, feeling comfortable and excited. We rode our horses one by one across the road, through a meadow, then a forest, up some sand dunes and finally onto a wide expanse of beach. Our guide said that we were free to go at our own pace (which turned out to really just be whatever pace our horses decided to go) and that she would signal when we should turn around. We mostly walked our horses but couldn't resist a good trot every few minutes. Alan let me steer him into the water a little bit, which I got a big kick out of. Ricky and I were able to keep our horses next to each other most of the time. He relaxed a lot and ended up really enjoying the ride. Does it get more romantic than horseback riding on the beach? I don't think so.
After the ride we ate at our favorite little restaurant in Florence, Resto Bar. We had pastas and bread and cheeses and sliced prociutto, salami, and pesto. After sufficiently stuffing ourselves we walked down onto the beach. Ricky surprised me by presenting me with a lovely necklace with a tree on it. It is delicate and simple and I wear it nearly everyday now. We sat on a log and watched the sun make it's way toward the horizon and, when we were ready, made the journey home.
We ended the night with delicious cake from none other than Sweet Life Patisserie. The day was absolutely wonderful--one I will not forget, even without photos.
That wasn't 1,000 words, it was only about 500. That's just an indicator of how great of a day it was; it was so obviously awesome that I was able to get my point across in half the time. I began writing this post on August 4th, now it is officially our anniversary. I'm looking forward to a very Seattle anniversary when I wake in the morning. Hoorah for two whole years!
Happy Anniversary.
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