Celebrating our 30th Wedding Anniversary

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We pledged our vows in the backyard of Gerry's brick house in Denver.

Thirty years ago, May 24th, 1986 was the best day of my life, our wedding day.  The day itself was spectacular, but what was most glorious to me, was the pledge we made, our promise to spend the rest of our lives together.  

We enjoyed out 30th wedding anniversary in  L.A. and began our day with a spectacular morning hike in our beloved Griffith Park.  It was the first time we ever walked from the west side of the park to the east.  Gerry had mapped out the route ahead of time.  He chose the most direct route from the west entrance at Wonder View Drive to the east side where we finished at the Ranger Station.

"Wanna make a bet on the  distance?" I asked him  half-way through the hike.  "I bet it's 8 miles."
Gerry responded, "No way. It's 7 miles at tops."  Of course he won the bet.  He was the one who planned the route, and knew the distance!  Silly me. It turned out to be 5.6 miles.  But it was a hike full of steep ups and downs, that followed the ridge line, which made it seem much longer (more like 8 miles.)

We're at the west perimeter, a few feet from the 101 Freeway at Cahuenga, the start of our hike.  

Luckily, we faced ideal weather, with temps in the 60s and overcast skies.  Most of the steep stuff was in the first few miles.  I played it cautiously, and was a bit slow as I made my way along the trail.  (This was the first challenging hike since my bike accident on March 10th  which resulted with a broken arm that required surgery.)    The last thing I needed was another fall!

Is it going to rain?  It looks threatening.

Gerry, taking a photo at a vista about an hour into the hike

Blossoms of the Nevins Barberry, a rare and endangered plant in Griffith Park

We finished our trek in roughly 2 1/2 hours.  I recorded it on my cyclemeter app, which shows the distance, elevation, maps, etc.  Isn't technology awesome?

We had worked up an appetite.  It was a bit of a blast from the past when we ate lunch at India Sweet & Spice on Los Feliz, (a few blocks away from where our business, RaceReady was located for 15 years.)   Their $5.49 veggie lunch special hit the spot.

Not the fanciest joint.  But huge portions of flavorful Indian cuisine at a bargain price.

Fully sated, I was in the mood for a nap when we arrived home, but I fought off the urge and instead I got busy and baked us a Santiago Cake.

I replicated the recipe of this delicious cake, which we discovered last year on our Camino.

We dined at Marino Ristorante later in the evening.  It was a splurge, (maybe a once-in-a-lifetime splurge since the prices were sky high.)  But, I justified it since it was a special occasion.

We started off with wine and a first course of phenomenal appetizers.

A  wonderful bottle of Italian wine. 

Polipo  - grilled octopus, bok choy, butternut squash sauce

Colossal shrimp, butterflied, with arugula and tomatoes

We savored our entrees, grilled halibut for Mary and roasted veal chops for Gerry, but we were so engaged with the dinner and our conversation, I neglected to take photos.   C'est la vie!