Tuesday, September 17, 2024

Have I Told You Lately . . .

. . . that I love you? 

Thirty-one years ago Sean and I said those words as we knelt across the alter to be sealed for time and all eternity in the Portland Oregon Temple.  

Portland Temple Spring 2021

When selecting our date to be married we did not consider that as a school teacher I would be in the throws of the start of the new year on our anniversary and wouldn't be up for more than a dinner out.  Not much has changed except I'm not teaching, but Sean is still traveling for work.

Portland Temple, June 2023

This year we planned ahead.  Sean arranged his schedule so he was home all week and we decided to do a few things together throughout the week.  



On our anniversary we shared a yummy steak dinner at home with the kids.  We tried our best to mimic our favorite steak dinner at Ringside Steak House.  We celebrated many anniversaries at Ringside and figured if we couldn't eat there we would at least try to make it at home.  I have to say, Sean did an amazing job with the steaks.  We didn't even try to mimic their famous onion rings.  

Like other young girls I had visions of my wedding day.  One of my visions included a delicious white cake with lemon filling from Beaverton Bakery.  They made the best cakes in town and each birthday my favorite cake appeared in time for me to blow out the candles.  

I took Sean on a taste testing trip before we selected our cake and he too fell in love.  So much so that he endured years of trips to the bakery around holidays to get some of their yummy fare.  Beaverton Bakery closed after 93 years and we don't live in Portland any more.  As a substitute I picked up Nothing Bundt Cakes in our favorite flavors, chocolate and lemon.

Before dessert we played a little golf at a 3-par course near our house.  For years I have viewed golf as a crazy game where you try to get a little ball into a little hole among a whole bunch of grass.  Well, I have changed my mind and now own my own clubs.  My shot isn't terrible, when I hit it.

He is much better

A couple of days later we went to the Washington DC Temple.  The temple is always a place of peace and comfort, this visit was no different.  

Attending the temple together on or near our anniversary is extra special.  It is a great reminder of the covenants we have made with the Lord and to each other.  With the Lords help and our commitment to one another anything is possible.  I love being married to Sean and that we are on this journey together.


We spent part of our anniversary weekend exploring parts of Virginia.  Our first stop was at the  Luray Caverns, the largest caverns in the eastern US.  I have never toured caverns, I was not disappointed.  My geekie science teacher side came out loud and proud.  



For many years I taught a "Geology Rocks" unit in science.  It included many pictures and a few videos of stalactites and stalagmites.  We even tried growing our own crystals in the classroom.  Pictures and videos can't even come close to seeing these natural creations in person.  


We took a lot of pictures, but none of them truly captured their beauty or majesty.    Dream Lake was one of those areas we just couldn't capture.  At its deepest the lake is only 18-20 inches, not deep at all.  What makes it so amazing is that it acts as a perfect mirror of the ceiling.  


Around one bend we came upon a fallen stalactite that looked like a fallen redwood tree.  It fell due to a massive earthquake 7,000 years ago.  This was incredible and we felt like we were in a stalactite forest.


It was time to move on and walk through the Toy Town Junction and Car & Carriage Caravan Museum. I enjoyed the toy museum more than the car.  Seeing and reminiscing over the toys you use to play with is so much fun.  Sean enjoyed both as well, but throughly enjoyed the old historic carriages and cars.

Little People

Portuguese Carriage

We did walk around the Shenandoah Heritage Village.  It is a great visit back to the 18th century.  Some of the buildings like the Shenk Farm House are on their original site, while others like the Hamburg Regular School have been moved to this area.  After so much walking and reading we were ready for a little lunch and ice cream.  


Our next adventure took us to the Shenandoah National Park.  It is a beautiful forest that snakes along the ridges of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  What makes this park unique is the 105 mile Skyline Drive with 75 overlooks.  We only drove about a third of Skyline Drive, but were impressed by the views, we have missed the mountains.



The leaves are just starting to change, Shenandoah will be spectacular in about 4-6 weeks.  We can't wait to go back and rent a cabin, check out the trails and waterfalls, visit the lodge and drive the other two-thirds of the park.



On the way home Sean asked if I wanted to stop and see the Manassas Battlefield.  Why not, it was still fairly early.  What a wonderful surprise this was.  We arrived just before sunset.  My photographer hubby refers to this as the "golden hour".  The soft golden light cast beautiful colors on the rolling open grassy fields, cannons and the light coming through the trees was amazing.


 The visitor center had already closed, but we and many others enjoyed an early evening walk (or portrait session) through the battlefield.  Visiting battlefields gives new perspective to wars or battles you may have studied.  I know it changed how I taught about Gettysburg after visiting it.  This visit would have changed how I taught about the first battle of the Civil War.



We read personal accounts of families living in the area, about those who sat on nearby hills to watch the battle, how homes were peppered by cannons and the personal descriptions of Thomas J "Stonewall" Jackson.

It was incredible to walk among a well preserved battlefield.  You could get a sense of what these young men saw that day at Henry Hill on July 21, 1861.  Little did they know then that on that day they would suffer over 5,000 casualties and the war would last for 4 years.


Golden Hour is a beautiful time of evening, in fact its our favorite.  Saturday we enjoyed bright vivid colors as the sun slipped behind trees and mountains.  I remember a Lifesaver Commercial where father and daughter were watching the sunset together.  The most memorable line was the daughter saying, "Do it again Daddy."  Sean and I often share this statement at the end of a beautiful sunset.  

Do it again!




Living with our daughter and her family have provided us with so many treasured opportunities.  We could not have imagined how wonderful it would be to live with our grandsons and to support our daughter and her husband in such a personal way.  But the moments we get to spend together exploring areas we never thought possible has been a true gift.

I love you Hun, and can't wait to visit again.

* I have included links so you can explore on your own virtually or add it to a trip itinerary. 

Shenandoah National Park





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