Welcome to Zimbabwe

If you look on a detailed map of Africa, you'll see that Victoria Falls straddles both the countries of Zambia and Zimbabwe. After that beast of a layover, we proceeded to Victoria Falls on the Zambian side. Our ticket, at least, said Victoria Falls. We'd get off the plane, get our visa, and haggle with some taxi driver to drive us to our hotel. Easy enough, no? Then we could finally collapse.

We had an uneventful two-hour flight, the highlight of which was circling the runway a few times as there were baboons on the runway (!! my favorite only in Africa moment). The plane eventually landed.
And as we materialized at the top of the staircase to disembark, eyes squinting in the afternoon sun, we saw a huge sign reading

Welcome to Victoria Falls

Zimbabwe

That's right. We had booked a flight landing in the country next to the one where we had (paid) reservations to sleep in for the next few nights. Apparently when Steve had done the ticket search and entered Livingstone, Zambia as our destination, he didn't realize the best-priced ticket was now putting us in Zimbabwe.

It was a costly mistake. Zimbabwe visas were now in order. Then a taxi and oh! This taxi driver can't take us into Zambia. He has to stop at the Zimbabwe exit checkpoint. It's now another taxi to get from the ZI to ZA border for yet another set of visas. And then yet another one to get from the Zambian border to our hotel just 1/2 mile away. Nearly $200 later, we were finally able to properly collapse. And shower.

Now I think it's hilarious. At the time, though--remember? eyeglasses, peeling skin, smelling ripe, having just spent the night on two adjacent benches in Terminal A at the Jo'burg airport--all I wanted to do was crawl out of my skin. But if that was to be our one hiccup of the trip (and it was)--then color me thrilled.

+ anniversary cake

Here's my attempt at frosting our pb + j anniversary cake with all the addresses we've lived at since marrying. I should have gotten a bigger cake! All seven addresses didn't fit. And much props to people who are actually good at cake-writing, obviously not the case with me. Oh well. We loved our little cake.

Happy Birthday Marmousch

on our anniversary

I decided to take a soulemama lesson to heart: simple and special.

Welcome to The Littlest Art Gallery in the World. I took the contents of our 'love box' and turned them upside down, making little vignettes of the tangible aspects of our life together -









The Best Things Come in Two's (all the pairs of plane, movie, concert, theater, ballgame, etc. stubs over the years)

I Don't Care if We Get Lost, As Long As I'm With You
(maps from different hiking, camping, urban, and vacation adventures)

It All Began Here

(an embroidered transcription of my first love letter to him, and his to me. Warning, POSSIBLY VOMIT INDUCING from the sappiness of it all. They were work emails, way back when. Ohmygosh, I don't quite know how I feel about posting these. And I think Steve may up and die if he ever sees this.)

Words of Love (all the cards we had written each other, strung up around the room in an off-kilter garland.)

+ then little nerdy things, framed, like the final bill from our honeymoon hotel (lots of room service charges!), and a napkin that Steve had written on during one of the early dates. 

Speaking of husband, he blew me away. First taking me on a geocaching hunt with the words I LOVE YOU leading to the waypoints. Twice the hunt involved going on other peoples' property (! he did get permission first though.). And the caches were bouquets of flowers (lots of daisies as Steve says they're the 5th anni flower? I've never heard this but he's a sweet man, my husband) and a big ole announcement about us, right there for anyone at the intersection of 17th and US-1 to see.

We relaxed and just enjoyed our day, ending our sorry state of being the last two people on Earth to have not seen Up (amazing! I was crying--hard--within the first ten minutes and the end found me sobbing too). Dinner out with anniversary cake back at home. Loving the same Anderson Valley pinot that we discovered last year on our 4th, spent in Mendocino--Steve had surprised me and ordered it.

I love these special days.  

Roberto

February 27, 1964 - November 22, 2008
Always in our hearts.

still celebrating!

I took yesterday and today off from work for our five. Just enjoying being together. 

Happy weekend!

FIVE

Written November 18, 2004:

As I walk down the aisle tomorrow to become your wife, know that the vows I will be taking are the most precious and cherished words I will ever say. 


If we keep this incredible feeling we have between us, everything will always be okay. I love you.


Always yours, 
Tania

Happy anniversary to my best friend. I still love you in that crazy way (crazy passionate not crazy creepy). 

photo by Steve Gold