Since hubby and I began our relationship at Niagara Falls and my Sunshine proposed to me at a waterfall, early on, it seemed only natural to name the journey of our romance, “In Search of Waterfalls.”

This Thursday, our marriage turns 14 years old. Like most special days in our family, this calls for celebration. But I have to be honest, my wedding anniversary is perhaps the most exciting time in my year.

I am married to a man who just loves to plan a batta-bing batta-boom date night or trip to remind me why he proposed to me over a decade ago. Why he told me, “It seems kinda obvious that I like you,” beginning our dating journey. And why he called me almost every morning to say, “Good morning,” and every night to say, “Good night,” just cuz he loved to hear the sound of my laugh. This all the summer we first met and were just enjoying the friendship.

So to get us in the mood, I thought I’d take you on tour of our past anniversaries. So get yourself some candles, a bottle of bubbly, and snuggle up to a romance in progress…On our first and second anniversaries, we were living on the island of Dominica, giving us a chance to enjoy some island adventures including snorkeling, hiking to waterfalls, dining by the water, and watching shooting stars while sitting on the boardwalk. This after walks across the beach at night. It helps when you marry a guy attending a Caribbean med school. 

The resort we stayed at by Batalie Beach year two was called “Sunset Bay,” and I still remember hubby asking, “Hey, do you think those long and skinny white and black striped fish are water snakes?” and us both racing out of the water back onto shore as fast as our slippery fins could take us. At the time, the owners were from France, and I recall the cream smothered peppercorn steak we ate for dinner like it was yesterday.

On our third anniversary, I was pregnant with our firstborn, and a little bummed that I couldn’t do much. But hubby was not phased. He bought a trick kite, stuck it into the trunk and we drove out to a big open park. Then he pulls it out and says, “Happy Anniversary! Let’s play!” and we gave it a whirl. We only got about five or six total flight attempts, because neither of us really knew what we were doing. And this kite that looked like a multicolored bird when we first put it together had a little more than one broken wing as we drove off to grab a bite to eat. Laughing hysterically over how ridiculous we probably looked every time our kite took a nose dive into the dirt while the little kids all over the park had kites sailing high above the trees. I think next time we’ll watch a few YouTube videos on kite-flying first. But when I think about why this is one of my fondest memories, it’s cuz it was so simple. That night we ate dinner at Benihana, and I remember the host asking us if we wanted a table for two or would prefer to sit around the chef and watch him toss shrimp into his pocket. Torn between the choice of eye contact or entertainment, we went for the flying shrimp and it was a grill show worth every penny. 

On our fourth, hubby surprised me by asking our pilot friend to fly us over Miami during Sunset since we were down in Florida at the time. Thanks Char-Mama!! I secretly think he wanted to check off “airplane” on his dream list of driving every known vehicle, since at one point, Char asked each of us to “take the wheel.” I flew a plane! Terrified at first, I refused, but then she said, “I’m no longer in charge, so start steering or else this baby’s goin down.” Okay, I exaggerate, but not by much. So I gripped on and she coached me how to keep her steady and it turned out to be fun. Almost. The skies were perfectly clear as I felt a little closer to the sun that night and a whole lot closer to the man who planned the adventure. We ended the evening by dining at The Melting Pot, the scrumptious fondue place that leaves your palate tingling and your yum-sensors satisfied.

Year five came along, and we were in California for a friend’s wedding, but hubs still managed to shock me when he worked in an ocean side dining experience followed by a movie night. Eating while watching the tide roll in reminded me of how far we’d come, and how far we had to go. We watched “Holes” that night, not exactly the most romantic flick, but a fun movie nevertheless.

Our sixth year marked the ultimate turn of events, as this was our first year venturing away from our girls (three at the time) for a four day trip. Alone. Just the two of us. I didn’t know if I could do it at first. I thought I’d miss the girls too much and not be able to enjoy myself. And then the opposite happened, within minutes of landing in Utah and driving off in our rental toward Lake Powell. I loved it! It was like our dating days, but even better. We had quite a few crazy mishaps on that trip: almost getting lost in Arch’s National Park, parking our rented boat too close to some rocks, causing minor but costly damage to the bottom, and getting stuck in sand when hubby decided to do some off-roading. On the drive back to the airport. On a road that had little traffic. I actually waved down the one pick-up truck that passed by after twenty minutes of nothing with a white Kleenex, and thank God the guy stopped and had a wench to pull us out. Any longer, and hubby would have permanently lost his finger tips as he was trying to dig the car out with his bare hands while I played the part of lady in distress. We somehow made our flight and returned home to our kids that night. Good times. [Me shaking my head as I recall the madness of it all!]

Year seven we were broke. Literally. Hubby had just finished residency. We had med school loans up the ying-yang. And no pay check was arriving for two months while hubs studied for his boards. We had poured every last penny from savings into a down payment and closing costs of our little house in Locust Valley. So we packed some sandwiches and a Frisbee, took the train into the city, and had an afternoon picnic in Central Park. Which turned out to be an unusually frigid day in May, so after tossing the disc around for a bit and then losing feeling in our fingers [what is it with finger issues and anniversaries!?!], we decided to find a warm place to spend the rest of our day. We strolled over to the Time Warner building and putzed around, only to discover there are couches on the second floor where you can sit and watch episodes of Seinfeld. For free! [I wonder if they still have that?] That worked for our budget that year! Thanks for giving us some hearty laughs Jerry! And thanks Time Warner for a place to warm our toesies!

**Come back on Wednesday to read about years 8 to 13… Just for the fun of it! And DO DO DO share with me an anniversary story/date that you’ll always remember! I love hearing about the adventures of you lovely readers!! 

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“In Search Of Waterfalls”