Three Years!

On our actual anniversary day, we were hanging out with the Hess clan in PA--which was great fun, but didn't seem like our anniversary. So, on an August Saturday we celebrated with a short day-trip--beginning, of course, with breakfast at the Little Grill.

Then we took the scenic route to Staunton to pick up some lunch and continued on another scenic drive (Route 252--highly recommended for very little traffic and beautiful countryside!) down to Raphine, VA. Our first stop here was Wade's Mill, established in 1750 and still operates today. In fact, the owner told us he makes regular deliveries to Harrisonburg!

After our visit at the mill (complete with a purchase of cornmeal and grits and a sweet gift of biscuit mix), we headed over to Pettijohn's Orchard. I had met Karen Pettijohn at the Farmers' Market about a month ago and discovered that they sell a few varieties of ornamental grasses, something my husband keeps talking about wanting to plant. Karen gave us a tour of the place--they have tons of day lilies!--and we may be in touch in early fall about getting some grass.

By now, it was getting pretty hot and moving towards 1:00, so we headed over to St. Mary's Falls in the George Washington National Forest. I had looked up swimming holes in the area, and this one seemed promising. We picnicked by the trail, then headed up. While the hike wasn't difficult, we did lose the trail a few times, having to cross the creek to pick it up again. We were finally about ready to give up, having hiked up the riverbed a ways without noticing any signs of the trail. I sat on a rock and dangled my feet in the cool water while David went ahead to see if he could find the trail again. It began to rain softly. I was feeling very sorry for myself.

BUT, he came back (probably a lot quicker than it felt to me sitting alone on my rock) and motioned me to come along. I tottered up to where he was, and sure enough the trail was right around the corner, through some berry brambles. We continued to hike (did I say it was a two-mile hike to the swimming hole?) and the rain continued to fall, making the swimming hole a little less of a joy to look forward to. Yet, we finally made it to the small falls (I think there were more falls farther up) and enjoyed a brief, icy swim for our troubles.

David also enjoyed a few heart-pumping jumps into the deep, narrow pool from the rock ledge about 20 feet (?) above. I just watched, mind you.

By the time we made it back to our car, it was going on 7:00 pm, so the rest of my plans for the day were scrapped. We moseyed back home along Route 11 north, stopping to pick up this gourmet dinner . . .

You may laugh, but I picked up that pizza right after it came out of the oven, and man did it taste good! We finished off our evening by watching a movie together and going to bed late.

I must say, even though we've had three years to work on it, we still had some of the same adventures as we did on our honeymoon. Anita deciding it would be fun to find some place, then getting kinda lost and frustrated doing it. Laughing at ourselves (then and later). Taking the scenic route. Visiting an old mill and trying to figure out how it all works (we're actually improving our time on this one). And just enjoying being together.

I do think we've improved our communication a bit and can better anticipate each others' desires and frustrations, making our overall experience more laid-back and enjoyable. What do you say, David?