Faux Anniversary Celebration

I took today off so we could celebrate our anniversary (Meg is going to work on Wednesday, plus it was more convenient to take time off consecutively). Even though we hired the boys' favorite babysitter, Katie (a very distant cousin, actually), Aaron was terribly upset. He ran up to his room and hid under the covers, crying. He normally welcomes a sitter with excitement, so this was strange. He of course quickly recovered once we left, and he was all smiles when we returned home that evening.

While driving downtown, we stopped by a couple of used car lots to find the elusive Celica. I've decided I'd rather have a two-dour faux-sports coupe than a 2wd pickup. I rarely drive as it is, so why not have something fun and economical. I refuse to buy anything fancy or expensive or new, because I can't justify it, but I've thought about older Preludes, Celicas, Integras/RSXs, Civic SIs, and 240SXs, but the Celica best fits my needs and personalities. Alice (our Corolla) still has a lot of life in her, so I may just keep her till she dies. I dunno. But anyhoo, Celicas are hard to find, but we did find one at a very small lot. The car was much more used than I would like, but I just wanted to sit in it and see what it was like. The back seats really are impossible to sit in with me driving (I always have to push the seats all the way to the back, no matter what I'm driving), but they wouldn't be occupied most of the time anyway.

I have always loved looking at fancy buildings, whether new or old, so I next took Meg to the top of Salem's highest structure, the Capital. It was a beautiful day: clear and temperatures in the mid 70's. The one thing that is clear from the view is that South Salem really is quite hilly. Trust me, my body feels it every Saturday as Edward and I hit the roads, but it's amazing how hilly it is, especially when compared to Keizer.

After our workout in the Capital, we crossed over the Willamette to cash in some of our KYKN tough trivia booty--free pie and milk at Chalet. We crossed back to the right side of Salem and bought movie tickets for Pirates of the Caribbean. The movie was longer than it needed to be, and the fight scenes were so overdone. I'm starting to really dislike movies of this nature, and prefer flicks that really try to get inside peoples' minds and document its inner workings and struggles . . .

We finished the day by gorging ourselves at Adam's Rib Smoke House. Again, KYKN footed most of the bill, but I'm sure we'll be back again soon because it was so good. Situated on the other side of the tracks at 12th and State, the building is a little hole in the corner of the Pringle Ward boundries. But for $10, you get 1/3 rack of ribs and two sides--which included the best fries we've ever had. We ate outside on the patio, with Willamette U in view, and trains running along the tracks. The food was great. The eclectic location, coupled with the fact that we had no children to watch, made for fun conversation and good eatin'.

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