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Saturday, February 13, 2010

Valentine's Get-Away

Giddy. Excited. Butterflies. Primping. I remember those feelings as a teenager getting ready for a big date. Friday afternoon as I was showering, I was thankful to realize that I still feel all of those things when I am getting ready for a date with my husband of nearly 17 years. I still get excited about going away with him. I am still giddy, even knowing that I got the guy.

Our evening began with a less than stellar event. We were about two blocks from the house when we heard a very loud, "Kerthump," and the car stalled out. I have been through this twice before, both times alone in a mini van full of children on a major highway in Fort Worth. So I say, "Transmission. Crap." My husband throws it into reverse, the only way the suburban would still drive. We returned home by backing down the street, circling the cul-de-sac, and backing into the driveway. I couldn't help laughing about driving in reverse. It struck me as funny. I didn't see Shawn laughing.

We grabbed the keys to the other car and headed out again, determined not to be side tracked from our amazing evening. As we neared Dallas, Shawn let me choose where to eat. I debated about Olive Garden, but finally suggested The Magic Time Machine. We had heard such good things about it from friends. My bad!

1. They seated us in a narrow walkway so that people couldn't get past Shawn, so we had to ask for a different table. Hello- don't seat large people in tiny thorough-fares. It's embarrassing to have to say, "I'm too big to sit here."
2. Our waiter, Prince Charming, was less than charming. He repeatedly told us he was paid crap, his job was crap, and he didn't bother refilling our drinks.
3. The food sucked. My chicken parmesan was rubbery - you know how chicken is when it's been microwaved too long. I had a better chicken parmesan last week in a Lean Cuisine meal. For less than $3. Shawn's shrimp was tough and slightly freezer burnt. The food was bad enough that we could not even manage to finish our food.
4. Shawn mentioned the bad food to our waiter. He rolled his eyes and said, "I get that alot." REALLY!

To fully understand this experience, you have to know that Shawn loves good food. As in, he absolutely adores it. When he eats really good food, he makes rather loud happy noises. (Think "When Harry Met Sally") When he eats bad food, well, it's not pretty. His evening was pretty much ruined at that point. His favorite part of Valentine's Day, by far, is the good food. There was no redemption of the evening for him.

We spent the night at The Westin, a really nice hotel in Dallas. I was excited that it was an improvement over last year's microtel. They were even playing Norah over the speakers in the lobby. I enjoyed staying in the nice hotel, and we had a great breakfast from Panera on the way home this morning. Over all, it was not one of our best getaways (transmission and bad food kind of sucked it up). However, it was still better than last year's WinStar and Microtel. It was good to spend time alone with my husband.

Maybe next year we should just send the kids away and eat our own really good food cooked in our own kitchen and sleep in our own bed.

1 comment:

Shawn said...

OK, let's get a few things straight. I suggested The Time Machine, not you. I just gave you the choice. So, it was my bad. Second, the food is not by far my favorite part of the evening. Not even close. And, no, the evening was definitely not ruined. But, now we know, stick with The Melting Pot or Maggiano's or a really good steak place. And I love that I still make you giddy.