Mrs. K, I am so sorry that I missed your birthday on Monday! Nick reminded me about a month ago, and I forgot to write it down. He claims he said something about it that day, but I *know* I would have remembered if he had told me recently. Hope you had a happy birthday! (I also realized that I don't have any pictures of you or your family... looks like I've got a mission for Thanksgiving.)
Speaking of the K's, I never finished telling you about Nick's visit last weekend. We were watching an episode of The Office when he suddenly got up from the couch and told me to close my eyes and cover my ears. I had no idea what he was doing, and I was anxious to know what was going on! (read: me screaming "eeeee!") A couple of minutes later (it felt like much longer), he let me open my eyes. First, he gave me the sweetest card (last weekend actually marked a year since we met... and yes, he was the one that remembered). I know most guys aren't into cards/notes, but I think Nick knows how much I love them. Then, he gave me a copy of The Prince of Tides, one of his favorite books he's been telling me about for some time. (Note: I was at the bookstore about a month ago looking for a good book to read when Nick called. I asked him for the name of the book he had been telling me about, but he "just couldn't remember" it. I thought nothing of it at the time, but it turns out he had already gotten the book for me.) Then, he had me close my eyes again-- I asked if I was going to get a kitten (wishful thinking!). I opened my eyes to find a small backpack in front of me. Before I even opened it, I had an idea of what was inside... a picnic! (When we were in Mainz, Germany this summer, we saw the most adorable picnic basket that I desperately wanted to take home with me. We still had over a week of travel, and there really wasn't a good way for me to take it back to Indy without spending a fortune on mailing it home. I was absolutely delighted that Nick remembered the picnic basket that I loved.) The backpack had several compartments: an insulated portion for storing food, a pocket for miscellaneous storage, and a large, zipped area that kept plates, silverware, glasses, napkins, a cutting board, a knife, a wine bottle opener, and mini salt and pepper holders (I'm sure I am forgetting something.. Oh yes, there is a side holder for a bottle of wine.) What a great gift!
On Easton Beach in Newport with my new pinic basket!
On Saturday night, Nick and I went into downtwn Providence to see "Waterfire." I am not really going to do it justice by trying to explain it, so here's Wikipedia's version...
"WaterFire is a popular environmental art installation created by Barnaby Evans in Providence, Rhode Island. It consists of a series of up to 100 bonfires that blaze just above the surface of the three rivers that pass through the middle of downtown Providence in Waterplace Park (the Woonasquatucket, Moshassuck, and Providence rivers), with accompanying world and classical music, sometimes with live performances. Started in 1994, events continue to be scheduled on an approximately biweekly basis from April through October. WaterFire is a public art work that uses the urban experience and its attending visitors as an element within the artwork. One impetus for WaterFire is to continue the revitalization efforts in the downtown Providence area by bringing residents out to celebrate in the city's downtown streets and through increased tourism from out of state visitors (60% of viewers are from outside the state). Average attendance is 45,000 a night, ranging from 10,000 to 100,000. WaterFire is presented for free, with twenty percent of the funds needed to cover the expenses provided through governmental means and the remainder coming from on-site donations by visitors, private donors and corporate sponsors."
So, there you have it. When we arrived around 7:30 PM (it was supposed to start at 7:15 PM), there were a ton of people standing around, but nothing was really going on. We decided to stake out a spot just off the main part of the park so that we'd be able to have an unobstructed view. As the sun was setting, the action began. There was a procession of people from that week's sponsor, United Way, carrying torches to the center part of the park and around the lake. Then, several boats full of people all dressed in black came down the river to light the fires. During and after the fires were lit, there were opera singers staged around the park singing songs I couldn't understand but sounded very beautiful (Italian, maybe?). I had *very* different expectations from what it ended up being. I was imagining some type of Indiana Jones student show you'd see in a theme park, complete with blowing fire, loud music, and people swinging from ropes. A little disappointed I didn't have anyone shoot fire at me, but I still liked the event.
Part of the Providence skyline
At Waterplace Park before Waterfire starts
An attempt to photograph fire (it's as hard as it looks)
Another attempt to photograph fire (Better but less than ideal)
I made a promise to myself that no matter what I'm doing, I will take a picture of a group or couple if they ask me (I've asked for more than my share, that's for sure)
After that, we walked around Providence until we decided to eat at Capital Grille. The restaurant is very nice (I've eaten there once before with Deb and Troy), but unfortunately, we didn't have the greatest waiter (I think I may have gotten my mom's restaurant curse!). If there is one pet peeve I have, it is running out of water and having to wait to get more to drink. I mean, I'm not talking I drink all of the water and if they aren't there lickedy split, it's the end of the world. I could probably even do 5 minutes. BUT, I was eating something spicy (calamari with hot cherry peppers), and he was in the general area at least five times before we could get his attention. (And the only reason he brought me water is because Nick stopped him on his way to the bathroom to tell him his girlfriend was dying of thirst!) Despite a slight lack of water, the dinner was wonderful... great food, great scenery (we sat outside, and you could still hear the music from the river), and great timing (we didn't have to wait!).
I would finish, but I need some beauty sleep! More to come tomorrow about our day in Newport.
Looks very fun! :-) Good job Nick!
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