RETURN TRIP - MARIETTA

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!