A Trip Down Memory Lane

Over a decade ago, I met Rick in Springield (not Rick Springfield, but Rick in Springfield, Missouri). At the time, he was living in Joplin, Missouri. We moved here to Oklahoma and got married 10 years ago.

At the end of last week, Rick and I took an overnight trip to Springfield to revisit some places that are special to us.

Rick was excited to rent us a car for our trip. And it wasn't just any car ... it was a Cadillac CTS Coupe. It was beautiful and a nice way to travel!

On our way to Springfield, we stopped for lunch at Summerside Winery in Vinita, Oklahoma. We had the yummiest lunch and purchased some wine and wine accessories. Then we got back on the road.

Our next stop was Joplin. Rick's house was just a block away from the high school which was completely destroyed by the recent tornado. We assumed his house had been hit by the tornado, but was surprised to find it still standing.

That's it in the bottom left hand corner. But just three houses away, you find this ...

and this ...

for blocks and blocks and blocks, both directions. Rick just kept saying, "I don't know where I am right now." He was very affected by the devastation.

We pulled ourselves together and finished the drive to Springfield. Our first two stops? The church where we got married and my old neighborhood and house.

I got nostalgic in a hurry! I lived in a beautiful, aged neighborhood with large lots and beautiful trees! (In fact, Brad Pitt's childhood home was across the street from my house.) The neighborhood was even more beautiful than it was when I left it 10 years ago.

We checked into our hotel, the same hotel we and our families stayed in the night before we got married.

After a short rest, we got dressed up and went to dinner at an Italian restaurant recommended by a dear friend. We also stopped by the park where we went on a walk on our first date.

And it was on this bench that we shared our first kiss.

We made one last stop that night to the parking lot of the restaurant where Rick proposed. I suppose his proposal wasn't the romantic moment he had planned, because I ruined it with my suspicious nature. But I sure am glad he went through with it!!

Being the party animals we are, we were back to the hotel and watching t.v. by 8:00 p.m. I did take a nice bubble jacuzzi bath (because I begged for the upgraded room), but we were crashed early! We slept in the next day and then went to spend a few minutes with a former co-worker and very good friend.

This is "Springfield Pal", who you often see commenting on this blog. She is someone I love and respect greatly!

Our last stop before heading home was Mille's Cafe in downtown Springfield. Rick and I went to lunch there shortly after we started dating, when he was in between jobs and we were unsure of our future together. It is one of my favorite places to eat. We found it funny that we were eating there while Rick was without a job again! He has a new job, starting today, but we thought it was pretty ironic.

When lunch was over we got back on the road to get back to our current life, in Oklahoma with our children, and our less-than-Cadillac automobiles. Thank you, Aunt Krissi, for holding down the fort so we could spend some much-needed time together!

Thank you, babe, for a wonderful couple of days away! While in Springfield, I realized how much I missed it. But I also remembered very well the way I felt when I met you there. And it was so great to revisit that.