15th anniversary!

our wedding day -- October 9, 2010 -- simultaneously feels like yesterday and a very, very long time ago! we knew that our faith would always be central to our lives, and we hoped to have children, but of course we didn't know that we would have four beautiful girls (and, yes, another baby on the way -- more about that to come in a future post!). we hoped to indulge our mutual wanderlust with international travel but certainly didn't imagine that we would spend two years in Rome after Nick accepted a position as music director for the American seminary there. here are some of my favourite photos from our wedding -- we had the most perfect autumn day!

we were such babies! well, we were 25, but still...

this fall, we celebrated fifteen years of marriage. thanks to Joe and Sabrina watching the kids, we were able to go away for a long weekend to sunny Florida! except the day we arrived wasn't so sunny. I had been stalking the forecast for weeks before we left and it didn't look too promising. we agreed that even if we weren't able to spend hours lounging on the beach, it would still be well worth it to spend dedicated time together away from the chaos of everyday life. 

flying without kids -- a dream! please note, the only reason I don't have grays to match Nick's is because I dye my hair ;)

we stayed at the Lago Mar resort in Fort Lauderdale and it was amazing. I was able to snag discounted corporate room rates through work, otherwise this would not have been in the cards for us. the customer service was top notch and we loved the old school, somewhat kitschy decor. we found out that the resort has a popular social club membership as well, so plenty of people would come to enjoy the amenities who weren't actually staying there. 

the main lobby

detail of the floor mosaic

the changing table in the lobby restroom cracked me up! it looked like something out of the Sopranos

we had a king suite and the room was HUGE

90s-tastic and we are here for it. also loved the kitchenette including the Keurig and mini fridge!

shower and tub, with the toilet in a separate little room (not pictured). there was also a huge double sink

loved this little vanity set up, and I don't know what it is about hotel robes but they are just the best!

our balcony was *technically* an ocean view. we didn't spend much time out here but it was nice to have the outdoor space. 

as the forecast predicted, it absolutely poured rain the afternoon we arrived. fortunately, we had staked out our spot at the covered outdoor bar and made good friends with the bartenders and ordered lunch as well. once the rain really kicked up, two ladies who had been sitting near the perimeter of the bar moved over next to us for more shelter and we exchanged pleasantries with them. we discovered that while they both had lived here for years (and were members of the resort social club rather than overnight guests), one of them had grown up not just in Pittsburgh, but only a few streets over from where we live currently! what a crazy small world. we had a great time talking with them. we offered to pay for their lunch and they adamantly declined. then when they were getting ready to leave, the bartender told us that they had covered our entire bill for the afternoon (which was not small!). so incredibly generous of them and definitely an auspicious start to the weekend!

fish tacos and fries for Nick, conch fritters and coleslaw for me!

our new friends!

the rain finally stopped and we walked down to explore the beach. the resort has a beautiful private beach and the water was the perfect temperature! we decided to put on our bathing suits and swim for a while, which was incredibly fun. we saw so many schools of jumping fish and pelicans swooping down out of the sky. the waves were pretty rough because of the earlier wind and rain but that added to the fun and we were careful to keep tabs on our shore landmarks so as not to get caught in any crazy currents. 

on my bucket list for this trip: drink a Miami Vice (half pina colada, half strawberry daiquiri) in one of the resort's hammocks

back at the beach bar after our ocean swim!

finally we came back up to the room and got ready for dinner. I originally had made secret reservations at a restaurant as a surprise to Nick, but with the bad weather the restaurant called in the afternoon to say they would be closed and they could transfer the reservation to the next night. so that evening, we ate at Coconuts, which is admittedly touristy but has a beautiful view of the intracoastal waterway and we thought the food was good. 

fish empanadas

crab cakes, deviled eggs, and seriously THE best mac'n'cheese I have ever had in my life

okay, I could get used to this life

after dinner, Nick wanted to check out a dive bar in the downtown area and as we were standing outside the restaurant ready to call an Uber, a guy in a golf cart buzzed up and asked where we wanted to go. the golf cart had a sign that said "Beach Taxi" and I remembered seeing several of them lined up outside on a nearby street so it seemed legit. again, something I wouldn't have chanced if we had the kids along, but we hopped on and it was honestly a really fun way to see a little bit of the city, crossing over canals and seeing some of the beautiful homes and yachts on the water. prior to this trip, I didn't know that Fort Lauderdale is called the Venice of America because of all its canals!

 

the dive bar turned out to be a bust. we both like an actual dive (dark, wood paneled, smoky, with old grizzled guys sitting at the bar looking like they've been there since 1972) and this bar was painted black but still brightly lit, with a band setting up to play "some kind of hipster music" (Nick predicted) and huge fans circulating cold air. we both had a Yuengling and then took a taxi back to the hotel, reassuring each other that we're not lame, we're just ... forty.

the next day, we had a delicious breakfast at the buffet downstairs (not included with the room, but not crazy expensive at $20 per person). I love me some eggs hollandaise! while we were eating, I booked last minute tickets for an airboat tour since the weather looked like it was taking a turn for the better. it was so much fun! we saw lots of birds, and managed to see one crocodile even though the guide prepared us that we might not (he said when the weather is cool, they like to stay down deep in the water and rarely come up to the surface). 

we're on a boat!

see that bumpy black line in the center of the picture? that's a crocodile head!

we learned that the crocodiles will just put their heads up out of the water, and their bodies remain suspended under water

Captain Jimmy fished an old beer can out of the water. he said he makes an especial point to clear out cans "that my grandpap probably threw in here fifty years ago"

looking for turtles around the lilypads. sadly, we didn't see any

coming back to shore, where more airboats were ready for the day

we explored the little animal preserve after our tour

that afternoon, we had more of the beach weather I had envisioned and spent more time swimming and walking along the shore. the resort also had a lagoon-style pool and an adults-only pool, but we ended up not swimming in the pools at all -- the ocean was much more fun!

we did not pay for one of these setups, but they are awfully cute!

clouds to the south

clear skies to the north!

Disney cruise ship departing from Port Everglades, right next to our resort!

I was so excited about our dinner reservations for the night. in my research planning the trip, I kept seeing reviews pop up for Cap's Place, a restaurant in the north end of Fort Lauderdale that is accessible only by boat. it's a historic restaurant that was founded in 1928 and served as a speakeasy and front for a rum-running business as well as a gambling hall, and has hosted such notable guests as Winston Churchill and FDR, Joe DiMaggio, Al Capone, Joe Namath, and many more. the current reviews were mixed with some raving about the unique experience of such a historic place, and others complaining about overpriced mediocre food and slow service. Nick and I both love history and, well, sometimes a curmudgeonly waitress adds to the ambience of a place, so I decided to take a chance and just told Nick that I thought he would like the place but didn't tell him any details. 

we took an Uber up to the dock where we would be meeting the boat to ferry us over to the restaurant. when we exited the Uber at the dock, Nick looked at me with wide eyes, and when the boat pulled up and the captain motioned us on board, he was like, "what?! are you serious?!" 

on board the boat. at this point, he still didn't know where we were going

just beautiful!

safely arrived!

then once we disembarked, it just kept getting better and better. we thought the service and food were both good -- not the best restaurant meal I have ever had in my life, but well worth the trip for the atmosphere of the place. 

crab cakes two nights in a row -- don't mind if I do!

the crab cake was almost entirely crab and no filler -- amazing

we were stuffed, but not too stuffed for key lime pie

after dinner, we checked out the bar. the most notable feature is an authentic bowsprit from a Spanish galleon dating to the 16th century. one negative review I read said that "it smells like an old car in there" and, well, for Nick that is a definite selling point! 

peeking at the rest of the restaurant while we were leaving

visiting the bar is like stepping back in time...

not much has changed besides the AC unit and the point of sale system

we headed back to the dock and waited about ten minutes for the boat to ferry us over to the mainland, then caught the last run of the water taxi to take us all the way back down to the south end of the city (about a 40 minute ride). all my photos from the water taxi ride turned out blurry, but it was QUITE the tour of the rich-and-famous with their mansions on the water and boats of all sizes. 

finally, it was our last day of the trip, and as luck would have it, the nicest weather of the weekend. we stuffed ourselves at the breakfast buffet, and I indulged in one of my all-time favourite activities -- reading a book poolside. we had done some research into Sunday mass options for that morning. if we were Presbyterian, we could have gone to Coral Ridge, where world-famous organist Diane Bish used to play (we saw her in recital during our college years). the timing for the Catholic mass services nearby didn't work with our flight back to Pittsburgh, so we decided to go to the 7 pm Sunday mass at one of our local parishes once we arrived back home. 

breakfast of champions, al fresco this time!

looking out over the resort

happy place

happy place made even better (reading a Thursday Murder Club book!)

goodbye, Florida!!

your turn: have you had any noteworthy anniversary celebrations? would you go to a place like Cap's or do you prefer shiny new restaurants? do you like to swim in the ocean?