13th Anniversary

I had big plans when we were married that we would do something really special for each anniversary. For starters, I wanted to visit a new temple that we had never attended before each year. We have been blessed to visit many different temples over the years, but very few of those visits have occurred near our anniversary. Sadly, I do not remember how we celebrated a few of our anniversaries, so this year, I decided we would do something memorable. It wasn't anything too exotic or extravagant, but hopefully I will always remember it!

Since our 13th anniversary was on a Sunday, we celebrated Saturday night by doing sealings at the Dallas temple to remind us of the sacred covenants we made at our sealing 13 years prior in the Salt Lake Temple. We did this last year, too, and on several other of our anniversaries.  The restaurant we wanted to go to, Wolfgang Puck's 560, a space-needle-like spinning orb overlooking downtown Dallas, didn't have any reservations available, so we opted for a movie. Blah. :)

560 in the distance, through all the traffic.

 Luckily, an opening came available the following Thursday evening during Restaurant Week, when a less expensive 3 course menu is available for $35 per person (since a meal usually costs about $100 per person here).

Getting closer

Almost there!

Here. It's named 560 because the building is 560 feet tall. Wow!!

 560 features gourmet Asian cuisine, which is definitely not our favorite, but we were here for the views and experience, which were fantastic! The food was great, but I am glad we did not pay the regular prices. It was much spicier and cooled off much too quickly for my general taste.

 This is the view of Dealey Plaza from above. JFK was shot around the area between the black and white cars driving on the left diagonal road. The square brick building in the upper center of the photo is the Book Depository where Lee Harvey Oswald supposedly fired from the 6th story upper right window. The train tracks on the bottom left of the photo are where witnesses reported hearing additional shots. The Grassy Knoll is the top strip of grass and trees. Pretty cool view from here!

 Our appetizers included curried lamb samosas, shrimp and lobster spring rolls, and a surprisingly delicious sushi roll that was our favorite part of the meal--and we don't even like sushi! I forgot to photograph our main courses, but Corey had a filet mignon and I had spicy shrimp with pasta. We also had a disappointing $8 side dish of the most bland asparagus I have ever tasted. At least it wasn't soggy, but a waste of money and room in my tummy! The cuisine was okay, not phenomenal.The views of the city, were, however!

 Our dessert consisted of three miniature concoctions: A sorbet soaking in sake, which I just barely googled and verified that it is indeed an alcoholic beverage-Corey assured me at the time that it was NOT, though we both agreed it tasted funny, as did the wasabi and many other parts of the meal that night. He was totally trying to get me wasted. Good thing it was only a tablespoon or two. No wonder I felt a little queasy afterward! The Chocolate Decadence on the right was okay- too cocoa-tasting for me. We didn't know what the one in the middle was, but it was the winner! Carameley, creme-brulee-ish delight- totally hit the spot!

 Even though our dinner began at 6:30, we were able to see the beginning of the sunset over this crazy new bridge.

I am glad we did something out of the ordinary for our anniversary this year. I am hoping for an exotic trip to Europe or something within the next few years, but for now I'm satisfied with our evening spent dining and spinning atop Dallas! I am so grateful for my amazing, handsome husband, Corey. He is the perfect fit for me. He is an example of patience, selflessness, gentleness, and kindness, which I adore. I feel so very blessed to have the opportunity to spend eternity with this man!