Happy 28th Anniversary to us!
While being empty nesters might be a new stage of life for us, the relationship we have is anything but! We just celebrated our 28th wedding anniversary together! The last two years of anniversaries were a bit limited on what we could do locally… but we made some great memories in Eastern Washington last year and celebrated the year before that at the Anniversary Inn in Boise.
This year it was much easier to celebrate locally… and we did by going to all of our favorite places!
Our anniversary fell on a Saturday, and we decided to start celebrating early with Cruz Contreras at Lake City Pub the Wednesday before. I (Zeek) took Thursday off work, but Denice still had to work (we both work Monday-Thursday). So I got a few chores done during the day, and, once Denice was off work, we resumed the celebration. There wasn’t a lot going on Thursday night, so we took the evening to get some dance practice in at home and enjoy a bottle of our favorite wine.
Friday started with a relaxed pace. Champagne on the patio, a lunch out, and movies at home… A good relaxing way to start a crazy weekend of celebration!
Saturday (our official anniversary) we went to Old Town Wine Skins for some of the incredible food, the fantastic selection of wines, and wonderful discussion of food/wine pairings. After starting with a crisp rose for me (Zeek) and a bold Bordeaux for Denice along with the smoked salmon plate, we spotted the lemon-thyme-white cheddar flatbread on the menu. Well this piqued our curiosity and, after discussing pairing options, determined a glass of Cava would be great companion for the flat bread. What a combination it turned out to be!
The food, the wine, the combination of a well curated collection, expert advice in a warm relaxed, environment, and of course great people make Old Town Wine Skins one of our favorite Tacoma tasting rooms to frequent. This is truly one of the great establishments in the area.
Well after enjoying lunch and wine pairings, we decided that I needed a better shirt for the evening events. We were just a few minutes from the Tacoma Mall, so we stopped by for a quick shopping trip. Denice found some earrings she liked, and I found a shirt worthy of the party ahead.
Next stop, Lake City Pub!
If you’ve read through some of our previous posts, you know that LCP is one of our favorite venues, and especially on Saturday nights for live music. This Saturday (which was our official anniversary) was the birthday party for the official house band, Lew Schmngy, one of our favorites! Add to that, our music following friends, Barb and Milo, had an anniversary just two days before. So of course, we decided to meet to LCP to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, and a great venue.
As expected, Lew Schmengy entertained with song, story, humor, and a stage presence that just makes us feel at home. Our son and daughter came for some of the frivolity as well. We the world famous Patty Melt, Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers, and for the first time we tried the Nachos! Like everything else we’ve had at LCP, the nachos were great.
We danced, ate, ordered the Malbec and a bottle of champagne… and celebrated friends, birthdays and anniversaries. Mid-way through the evening, Billy and Stephen stopped in on their way home to wish Lew a happy birthday and enjoy the celebration. Being at Lake City Pub with friends and family made the anniversary perfect… but we weren’t done yet.
Sunday morning we headed to Immanuel Lutheran Church in Puyallup. What a great place to rest in presence of the Lord and be refreshed. After being filled by the message at ILC, we decided to head to the Bordeaux Wine Bar in Enumclaw for lunch. The food and wine pairings at The Bordeaux Wine Bar are great combinations, and even the most basic is made extraordinary here with attention to detail and flavors that delight. After enjoying the Chicken Pesto Panini, the Brie Cheese, and a good bold red wine, we walked down the road toward the sound of live music. What we found was “Sundays on Cole” in Enumclaw. It was starting to get hot out, so we enjoyed a quick dance and headed for some shade.
As we walked the next block we noticed a sign for wine tasting, and a tasting bar we’d previously overlooked… Leony’s Cellars. We got a great table on the sidewalk in the shade, tried a variety of whites and reds, and thoroughly enjoyed them all…. There’s more about this wine room to come later!
After all of this, it was only 4 O’clock. We realized music at The Spar in Tacoma would be starting in just a few hours, so we stopped by Target for some essentials and headed back to Tacoma… just down the block from Old Town Wine Skins, where things started on Saturday! While the food, music, and friends at The Spar were great, the heat and being tired began to take a toll. We headed home from The Spar after the band’s first set, and got some rest to prepare for the week ahead.