Finally, I am ready to give ya'll the details of my birthday celebration last week. (December 8th)

So, without further adieu.....

Ok, so about the birthday... I woke up and decided that I should do a workout even if it was only 20 mins. After, I took a shower and dressed while Ben made breakfast. When I was ready, I walked into the kitchen and he had put roses in a vase on the table (they're orangish in color---a coral of sorts but with less pink). An egg-white omelette made with sauteed onions, garlic, orange peppers as well as tomatoes and a little bit of soy cheese was also waiting for me. It was delicious! After breakfast, we cleaned up the house a bit and got out our Christmas stuff. After going through our inventory, we decided we needed to buy some lights and ornaments. We went to Target and picked up lights, ornaments as well as some lawn decorations. It's festive in here now!!

We got back from Target and set up all the Christmas decorations including our small fiber optic tree. Some Christmases we've had a real tree, but we opted not to have one this year. It's already kind of crowded in our tiny RV. When we finished with the decorations, we both changed into nicer clothing and headed towards Savannah. We parked down at River Street. Ben walked us to the entrance of the Hyatt Hotel. We waited for a few minutes. I did not know what we were waiting for. Finally, Ben turns to me and says, "Your carriage awaits." I looked up and a horse drawn carriage was approaching! I was surprised to say the least. We took a tour through downtown historic Savannah. It was wonderful! There was hot apple cider in a thermos as well as cookies in a metal tray at our feet. (The cookies were one of my faves---the 'butter' cookies that are sprinkled with large sugar crystals.) Our tour guide had the BEST personality! She was originally from Germany. She moved to Savannah 8 months ago with her husband who was transferred here with his job. She explained that in Germany, they are taught English beginning in the 5th grade! Her English was near impeccable and she didn't have much of an accent to be truthful. She was a sweetheart and definitely added to the experience. Not only did she give us history about the various houses and such, but she told us some of the ghost stories that Savannah is known for apparently. I found it quite interesting that the guy who basically started Savannah, John? Oglethorpe, came to this area from England with plans for the city already in hand. Apparently that was unheard of at that time in the 1700s. He began with 4 squares and as time progressed, the squares expanded. It was a lot of fun and romantic. AND, the weather was perfect. It was only slightly cool, but clad in my faux-fur lined leather jacket with apple cider to warm my insides, I was quite comfortable.

After the hour long carriage ride, we decided to get some dinner. We randomly selected a restaurant called the Chart House. The decor was beautiful. The architecture lent itself to the 1800s. When we arrived, the hostess informed us of the 30 minute wait. We were okay with the length of time to wait and in the meantime, we decided to sit on the couch in the waiting area. A waiter came 'round asking if we'd like a drink. I decided to have an apple martini. I told him, "More on the apple, less on the 'tini." Well, that didn't work as planned. I took one sip and I kid you not, it tasted as though I were drinking green tinted rubbing alcohol. Ugh! So, Ben asks the waiter to add more of the apple flavoring. The second go 'round was a little better but it still was quite strong. Ben and I shared the drink. While sipping the martini, we looked at a book that had old photos of Savannah. It was so intresting to see the history of this city in pictures. An HOUR passes before we're finally seated. All the while we were waiting, delicious smells were wafting into my nostrils. I was more than excited to eat and had a feeling that there would be a variety of seafood to choose from on the menu. When we were finally seated, our waiter came and took our order. I ordered a bowl of she-crab soup to start and then was to have Macadamia Nut crusted Covina. (Apparently a fish similar to mahi or halibut.)

One bread basket down, and our waiter brings another. In between the two bread baskets, he brought my soup. It was divine! Huge clusters of lump crab meat....yum!!! Meanwhile, I was feeling the effects of the half of the martini that I had previously consumed. I was slightly buzzed to say the least! I couldn't believe it! Then I realized... Duh! No wonder I was feeling the effects so strongly... we had eaten lunch around 2:30 and only had a bowl of tomato soup. It was 8:30 when I drank the martini. Anyway, we were waiting-- waiting-- waiting for our food. Ben and I were becoming impatient. I looked at my new watch (which by the way was a gift from Ben) and it was 9:15pm and we still did not have any food. (Other than my soup.) Ben had only ordered a plain baked potato because there wasn't anything on the menu that he could eat. (The waiter did not seem very sympathetic to this either.) Finally, we asked the waiter for our check. Keep in mind that during this whole episode, our waiter at no time came to our table to see how we were doing nor to give us an update on our order.) The next thing we know he's heading downstairs instead of over to the register that I see off in the corner. Ben is fed up. He and I agree to throw a $10 on the table and leave. (My soup was $6.50)

When we got downstairs, Ben and I agreed that we wanted to talk to a manager. A manager arrives within seconds and he explains that they had a power outage in the kitchen and just as we were leaving our ticket had finally came up in the kitchen. (I had noticed earlier a flickering of lights several times during our meal but thought nothing of it at the time.) The gentleman was the General Manager for the restaurant. He apologized and gave us his business card and told Ben that when we come back, to call him and he'd take care of us. I did let him know that the soup was delicious while Ben explained how the waiter ignored us and didn't have the courtesy to at least give us an update on our food. We also told the GM that we had already been there for over two hours total. (We arrived shortly after 7:15pm) Again, he apologized.

Ben and I talked about it in the car on the way home and realized that if our ticket had just came up on the screen in the kitchen, then we would have still been waiting for our food for another 20 or so minutes beyond the time we were already there. I think Ben was disappointed that the dinner didn't go well especially because it was the end of our evening together and it was my birthday dinner. So, we'll see what happens if we go back. I really want to give the restaurant another shot because the food smelled so good and the ambiance was wonderful.

In total, I received: a large candle as well as tealights from my friend Dale (he lives in Pensacola), a myriad of homemade cross-stiched items from Nikki, a gorgeous hooded sweater from Alicia, a silver necklace with an "M" pendant from my sister, and a gorgeous new watch from Ben. I had had my other watch for 6 yrs and though it still worked, it was becoming a little "grimy" on the underneath of the band. My sister-in-law, Dani, called and her 5 kids sang happy birthday to me. Another SIL, Teresa, called while we were in the carriage to wish me a happy birthday, as well as later my gfriend Patty called and she and her daughter (who turned four on the fourth) sang to me. My dad and mom each called during the day. I received egreetings from a fellow diarist from Diaryland. Overall, it was a great birthday indeed!!!

Thought Of The Day: "The older I grow the more I distrust the familiar doctrine that age brings wisdom."--H. L. Mencken (1880 - 1956)

Until next time...peace, love, & HEALTH!!!