28 Years and Counting

Yesterday, my dear husband and I celebrated our 28th wedding anniversary. We began our celebratory adventure by enjoying a ride through the countryside on the 19th Century Limited, an old steam engine train.

First class tickets promised a cup of coffee and a "ride in Victorian splendor". Hyperbole? Perhaps, but the interior of the train was pretty, and the scenery was beautiful.
The tickets were a bit pricey for a 45-minute ride, but the sting was taken out when the conductor announced that the money goes to a land trust to preserve and protect the surrounding farms. We were glad to hear that, because so much of the open space is being bought up by developers to build yet another hideous shopping center. Historically, this area was one of the original land grants made by William Penn in 1712. Among the settlers in this area, named Paradise, were French Huguenots who had fled the regime of Louis XIV.

"Look out the window, folks," said the conductor. "Three hundred years ago, this was the American frontier".

Later that afternoon, my husband gave me a present!

Yes, some women can be charmed with a rolling pin for an anniversary gift - especially one that looks like this...

So she can make gingerbread that looks like this...

We ended our day with a trip to the theatre to see Jane Campion's Bright Star, the love story of poet John Keats and Fanny Brawne. Each frame of the film was like a 19th century painting, and the story was sad but wonderful. We loved every minute of it.