Baruch Hashem, last Wednesday we celebrated our second English Anniversary. What a milestone! To those of you married for a while, you’re probably laughing at us, but I know we felt like the second year FLEW by (more so than the first one). We wanted to do something to celebrate and Adiel started planning a day and night in the city. But than we looked up hotels, and it was like $300 for a decent one. Plus there’s no parking till after 6 PM so we said forget it, let’s go a little further for a lot less. We tossed ideas backand forth (Atlantic City, Connecticut, Poconos) but we were so busy with work and the baby and also Aharon showed up to spend week with us.
The next thing we know it’s Monday night and we have nothing planned. So we just decided to go with the place that we spent our first Shabbaton and sort of officially decided to date (long story for another time for those who don’t know it). Anyway, that place is Stamford which has a soft spot for both of us and is only about an hour away without traffic. So I pricelined a 3 star hotel anywhere in Fairfield County for $75, came out with nothing, but did one for $85 and our offer was accepted! 
We were going to the Sheraton Stamford, which is one of the nicest hotels we stayed at together and for a decent price. Than I did a search and the only thing giong on in the neck of the woods was a concert and car show in Norwalk, some 15 minutes away. OK, a possibility. Anyway, we packed up stuff and were on our way!
Wednesday morning, June 25, we stopped to get bagels and barbecue food and headed on our anniversary get-a-way. It was a gorgeous (somewhat hot) day that stayed sunny and nice throughout, very different than some of the days before or after it. We headed onto the I-95 toward New Haven and got to Stamford by 12:30. The hotel room wasn’t ready for us (checkin is at 3), so we did some shopping at a nearby mall (Michael’s is VERY cool and I’ve never been to the one 10 minutes from my house), changed Shaina and hung out. Room still wasn’t ready and we’re getting a drop impatient cuz it was hot and we were both tired. We went to a nearby park, called Scalzi Park. WAY COOL. First of all, some bank was giving away FREE ICE CREAM!!! It was a promotional thing and — it was Good Humor. Delicious, nutty cone and best of all — Kosher! Nothing like a little free ice cream on your anniversary to make everything in the world seeem perfect. Anyway, than we looked at some skateboarders. There’s a special place to skateboard there. I haven’t seen this in YEARS but there were a bunch of people skateboarding up and down here. . Some were good, others not so much. When we finished here, we went to the hotel, it was a quarter to 3 and our room was ready! Needless to say we all felt better after air conditioning, showers and naps!
Some photos to show the rest of the day, Notice in the pictures how it goes from broad daylight to slowly becoming later, the sun setting and getting dark:
We took shaina to a gorgeous beach near stamford.
Then we ended up going to Norwalk at about 7:00. At Calf Pasture beach, there was a pretty cool car show and the band. People were sitting around eating, talking, relaxing. Some folks were playing on the playground others were just watching the show. Meir K, you would have loved the car show. Some people were just showing off, others were actually selling their cars right there and the buyers drove off in them! In the concert intermission they gave out awards to some of the cars, not sure for what Here are a few of the cool ones:
We enjoyed Tony Reno playing some classic old songs like ‘New York, New York’, ‘I’m a believer’, ‘Sweet Caroline’ and more. Adiel even sat on the blanket with us and kicked his shoes off too! But Shaina liked it the best 
  About 8:15, when the concert was returning from intermission, I metnioned this would be a good time to start the barbecue. There was a place to grill a few hundred yards down, so Adiel wheeled the baby and I drove the car. During the weekend, you have to pay money for a table but being that it was Wednesday (though it felt like it was Sunday) we got one for free. And we didn’t get there a moment too soon, the sun was setting as we unloaded the car, and as you can see it already started to get dark once we started grilling. And what a barbecue we had!! Shish kebabs, franks and minute steaks plus all the condiments you could want! We enjoyed the food very much especially with the gorgeous view and background music of Tony Reno still singing. Toward the end of our barbecue it was well after 9 and there was no daylight left to see, so we used a little flashlight from Adiel’s tool kit. How romantic 
. Shaina fell asleep and we finished up just as the police were telling everyone we had to leave. In fact, we were in the middle of bentching when the police car made its announcement and actually WAITED for us to finish!!
All in all it was a wonderful day, the weather was gorgeous, and it was so wonderful to spend that time away from day to day life. It was an added bonus that our little Shaina was with us (and we did try to get rid of her, but there were no takers ). We headed back to the hotel and enjoyed being in a nicer hotel than we are used to. Here are some cute shots of Shaina in the morning.
Thanks to all those who remembered our anniversary (I dont remember anyone’s anything) and called / email to wish us well. May all of our readers have happy anniveraries, birthdays, Fathers and Mothers Days and good regular old fashioned weekdays with the ones they love close by.
For more photos, ONLY THOSE WITH FACEBOOK ACCOUNTS, go to http://www.facebook.com/photos.php?id=621261774#/album.php?aid=29755&id=621261774
Almost the same crowd as on Shabbos. BTW, last yahrtzeit, I came home and took a pregnancy test that came out positive. Mamash that night, and here is Shaina Nechama 
