Marietta, Ohio
8/09/2013
For our fifth anniversary Laura and I thought nothing
would be betta’ than a trip to Marietta – and in honor of this little marital
milestone we decided to leave the kids at home. (Don’t worry. We left the TV on
for them.)
Since it was second honeymoon time I tried to book the
same room we had at the Lafayette five years ago, but alas, it was booked for a
family reunion. (Who books the honeymoon suite for a family reunion?)
Nonetheless, we got one of the nicer rooms with a great view of the river.
Naturally, our first stop was the awesomely awesome Barking
Dog Bookstore. The owners recognized us and asked about our kids. We felt kind
of guilty not having them with us. It’s kind of weird to be without them.
Next we stopped by The Tin Rabbit antique store. Both of
our regular readers may remember that the last time we were in town the shop
was closed and we feared the worst for the owner. This time it was open, but it
looked completely different – more of a modern art angle to the merchandise,
and a middle-aged man seemed to be in charge. We asked him about what had
happened. He explained that he and his mother (the old lady of visits past) had
started the store years ago. He implied that he had basically lost interest in
it and moved on to selling art out of state. Meanwhile, his mother stayed
behind in Marietta to run the store. She died last year, so he returned to
Marietta to try to keep The Tin Rabbit going, presumably in her memory. I have
to admit, that’s pretty darned noble. We wished him luck and bought what we
could.
After The Tin Rabbit we killed some time at the big Antique
Mall before the annual festival began. I decided not to go in the bouncy castle
this time. For dinner, Austyn’s, which was wasabincredible. We ended the
evening with a night-time stroll along the riverbank.
The next morning we drove over to the Old Harmon Village.
We visited Whipple’s Whimsical Toys again, but also strolled around and
explored some of the little antique shops we’ve never had a chance to see
before. Realizing our second honeymoon was coming to an end we ate lunch at The
Levee House – a restaurant that overlooks the river – before heading home to
the little family we’ve formed in these few but fun-filled years.
Happy anniversary!
