Here we are. Anniversary #21! If our marriage were a person, it could drink legally now. It would have been drinking for many years, anyway, but it would just be legal now, lol!
Last year, we had the fantabulous getaway to Williamsburg, where we stayed in one of the Colonial Taverns on Duke of Gloucester Street. The year before that, Russ gave me a Scottish title and 2 square feet of land in a forest in Scotland — never forget that I am LADY CHRISTINA ANDERSON PETERS!
This year, we were a lot more laid-back and just went to hang out in Pigeon Forge for a few days. We stayed at the Comfort Inn and Suites across from Stampede, which was already finished for the season. The night we arrived, we met Tamera at Wild Bear Tavern, the amazing German place near the hotel, and had schnitzel and potato pancakes with applesauce. I love that place and always over-indulge when we go there! And Tam and I split strudel for dessert.
The next day, we braved the outlet malls. Russ was looking specifically for a couple of things. He found some shoes (it’s tough shopping locally for shoes when you wear a size 14), but not a new canvas bag to carry his work stuff in. I struck out at Lane Bryant’s, and we didn’t find a Torrid anywhere. We had a late lunch/early dinner at JT Hannah’s, a place we typically really like, but haven’t been to for quite a while. We both ended up feeling ill afterwards, but think it was a fluke, as Russ went ahead and ate the leftovers for breakfast the next morning and was fine.
Sunday, we finally got around to doing something we’ve said we were going to do for years, but haven’t. We went to the Titanic Museum. It’s still decorated for Christmas, and is spectacularly beautiful — I’m a sucker for a grand staircase. When we first got there, the gentleman giving us our “passports,” said, “How about you get to be a lady and he’s your butler?” For a split second, I was very excited, then I realized that, if he was my butler, that would almost certainly mean that he would die. In actuality, I was a 24-year-old Jewish woman named Jenny Dropkin, traveling alone from the Belarus region of Russia, an area full of unrest (my how history repeats itself over and over), to New York. Russ didn’t bother telling me his name, but he was a fireman on the Titanic. I was a 3rd class passenger. We figured both of us had pretty slim chances of getting out alive. They’re doing a special focus right now on Jewish passengers on the Titanic, which was interesting. I felt like some of it was a bit of a stretch (linking Anne Frank’s father from the concentration camps to the owners of Macy’s twenty-plus years later felt like too much of an historical stretch to me when there is so much actual history about the Titanic and that period itself, for example). In the end, my Jenny Dropkin lived. She made it to New York, married, had four sons, settled in Connecticut, and died at the age of 64 in Brooklyn. Russ’ fireman, however, perished in the accident. We were surprised to learn that 212 of the 908 ship’s crew, mostly men, did make it out alive. Neither of us would have guessed that high a number when we walked into the exhibit. The photo of us from the Grand Staircase that some other sojourners took turned out really well. If we did photo Christmas cards, I would certainly use it for ours in 2023.
That evening, I had corn on the cob from Buddy’s BBQ. I honestly don’t remember what Russ had. Corn on the cob from Buddy’s has become one of my favorites, as there’s one in The Pinnacle, near our house, and it’s so easy to just drive over there and grab an ear for dinner. (It’s really pretty with the purple sea salt on it that my friend Matt and his parents got me for Christmas, too!)
All in all, another wonderful anniversary. I love spending time with Russ. We’re gearing up now for the 80’s Cruise, which launches from LA on March 3. More on that soon!
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