19th Anniversary

On January 19th, Mark and I celebrated our 19th anniversary.  As with all things since Covid, any celebrating was limited to what we could do at home, so we made a great dinner and enjoyed a nice bottle of wine.  We made homemade Bang Bang shrimp for an appetizer then had grilled Ahi tuna steaks with steamed broccoli and coconut rice and finished things off with Barefoot Contessa’s recipe for the very decadent Caramel Sea Salt Brownies.  It was a delicious meal!

 

  

On anniversary fell on a Tuesday, so the Friday that followed we had our day date hike to celebrate.  My mom came over to stay with the girls while they were on virtual school, and Mark, Cayenne, and I drove out to the Shenandoah National Park to hike Mary’s Rock.

 

We had hiked Mary’s Rock once before about five years ago, but we went in July, so this experience of the hike was nothing at all like our first.  It was a somewhat “nice” day for winter when we left our house, but by the time we got up in elevation to the base of the mountain, it was freezing and super windy!  Also, we didn’t have any snow at home, but most of the trail was snow and/or ice covered.  

   

One thing that is nice about hiking in winter is the foliage on the trees often blocks small views on the way up to the summit, but that’s not the case in winter.  As we hiked up the ridge to the top, we saw great views most of the way.

 

   

There were a few stretches where the trail was not ice/snow covered, and on those stretches with the sun shining on us, we actually got quite hot.

   

But once we reached the top, the cold air and wind were back.  We had originally thought we’d eat our lunch at the top, but seeing how cold and windy it was up there, we decided to make our way back down a bit before stopping to eat.

 

We ate lunch in cool little rock cut-out with a nice view of the valley, then make our way back to the car.

  

We finished things off with a stop at Old Bust Head Brewery for a beer and a sit outside under a heat lamp, then it was back home after that.  

   

It was a great day date, and regardless of it being winter, we really both enjoy the chance to get out and hike, so it was a  fun way for us to celebrate our anniversary.  Cayenne was exhausted when we got home.  The poor thing loves coming with us on hikes, and she is the best hiking dog.  She’s off leash but stays with us or comes right back when we call her, but she is so anxious in the car.  She was probably tired even before we started from her anxiety of being in the car for over and hour, but she loves being out there with us, and we love bringing her!