Happy Real 20th Anniversary to Us!

Yep, that's right. Our anniversary was yesterday. The big 2-0. Pretty big deal. So....we revisited our honeymoon trip...or at least some of it....AND....in 1/2 the time that we spent the first time. Pretty good huh.
We got married July 16, 1988, on one of the hottest days of the summer. I will expound on how we got back together after the disengagement of the year before at another time, and I will also expound on the hotness of our wedding day. But for now I will just say that it was over 100 degrees. Our wedding was in the late afternoon and the reception was on my parents lawn. We had a dance and supper and all the fixin's. It was fun. It was so fun that we didn't leave at a decent hour and we had reservations at the Holiday Inn in North Platte. It was about 90 miles to North Platte and we left about 10 or after. It was dark already. We switched cars in BBow. John had hidden our car so it wouldn't have to be washed before we took off and away we went. I think John might have made it to Merna (10 miles) before he got really sleepy. I drove to the Highway 83 T (which would have been about 40 miles) and he drove rest of the way. We were so exhausted from the day and the heat and everything that goes along with planning and participating in a wedding! We stayed that night in North Platte and went to Cody Go Carts the next day and had some fun. Then we headed for the Black Hills. We had reservations in Hot Springs for the night and we swam at Evan's Plunge. That is where John realized that he had forgotten to pack a swimming suit....the boy REALLY needed a wife ya know? So he purchased Haiwaiin Print trunks in the Gift Store at Evan's Plunge. We actually still have them and Cole will wear them sometimes. While we were at Evan's Plunge a little thunder storm came through and dumped a bunch of hail. It sounded like the end of the world inside that tin building and the people swimming panicked and were climbing over little children to get out of the pool. Rivers of ice (hail) were flooding the sides of all the streets when we got to our car. Crazy.
The next day we went to Wind Cave and toured the cave. We had a cabin reservation at Sylvan Lake in Custer State Park that night.
That is the part we relived this time...20 years later.
Yesterday afternoon we headed out for Custer and though we were not able to reserve a cabin at the lake, we did get a motel room in Custer. We checked in and dressed for dinner....not super fancy but moderately fancy. Neither of us wore jeans - that is sayin' something.
John handed me a gift! It was pearls and they are absolutely beautiful. I don't wear a lot of jewelry but I had actually just been thinking that I would like some pearls. I didn't tell this to my husband so I have no idea how he thought of it but I am sure glad he did. What a nice surprise!
We headed to Hill City to eat at the Alpine Inn. We got there at 5:30 and there was a 45 minute wait so we walked around town and got our picture taken at one of the shops. We got back to the Alpine Inn just at the right time and were seated right away. Deciding what you want at the Alpine Inn is not hard. You can have a 6oz or a 9oz Filet Mignon with that comes a baked potato, Texas Toast and a wedge of lettuce with ranch dressing. That's it. All you have to decide is what you are drinking, what size of filet you want and how you want it cooked. Pretty great. The meal was wonderful. The dessert menu however, is 3 pages long so if you are someone that likes choices and felt cheated out of contemplating your supper entree's....then you are now in heaven. We split a Raspberry Delite. It was delightful.
As we exited the Alpine Inn, we witnessed a shooting in the street.
Calm down.
It was an old time re-enactment....no blood was spilled.
Back to Custer the long way through Sylvan Lake and we stopped at our friend's new house site to check on the progress. Lookin' good! It needs to be done by October 11th so the push is on!

Today we went out to Sylvan Lake and walked the trail all the way around the lake. It was a beautiful morning and lots of people were fishing and hiking. We decided to rent a row boat and rowed all over the lake. Fun. I really really like water and boating and all that goes with it. When our time was up....we got in the van and drove Needles Highway and the Wildlife Loop through Custer State Park. We saw Buffalo, Antelope, and Prairie Dogs. Lots and lots of Prairie Dogs. We got to Hot Springs at lunchtime and stopped to eat, and headed home. It was relaxing and fun and a perfect way to celebrate 20 years. Good job John.