another successful (yet soggy) anniversary

I'd been planning our anniversary getaway for a while, but I learned that even with the most meticulous planning, things will go wrong.  Many a'thing in fact went wrong in the planning and executing of this weekend away, from the weather to the hotel to the bought-on-ebay present being sent back to the owner because he shipped it incorrectly and didn't pay enough postage and ended up having to reship it the day after it was due here.  *trying to be understanding about that...we're all human*

But in the end, we had a great time.  Want to see a few pictures?  :)

We started out with reservations for a private booth at The Melting Pot.  I'd always wanted to go there.  It did not disappoint!  Loved our server, loved the atmosphere, loved the food!  It was so fun to use the fondue method for cooking our vittles.  Definitely something we'll do again some day, even if it's just for dessert.  (cuz yeah, it's a bit pricey)

 

Cheesy fondue to start us out.  MMmmmmm.

 

  Even their caesar salad was delicious.

 

Dan ordered some kind of steak/sea food combo while I played it safe with just chicken.

 

My favorite part, the dessert in the chocolate/peanut butter fondue.  Hello gorgeous!  I'm not crazy about bananas or rice krispy treats, but they were both so good in the chocolate.  The brownies were the best though!

 

Here's our little booth.  We even shut the curtain for some private time.  Til it got too steamy and we had to open 'em back up.  What, the burners cooked the food at like 300 degrees or something!

 

They even brought us a yummy anniversary treat.  :)

Next up, we went to a hotel out in Mesa.  I've admitted here before, I lu-hove staying in hotels.  I don't know what it is, it's just so fun! 

We jumped right into the jacuzzi downstairs, and came back upstairs for more dessert (cuz it had been a full hour and a half since we'd eaten last, ha) then caught up on some shows using our laptop and the free wi-fi.  :)  Beds were very soft.  Breakfast in the morning was huge--and we weren't even planning on dining in, but it was free, so why not?  Man I love food.

Then we drove way out east for the Renaissance Festival.  Now let me clarify that yes, we knew it was supposed to rain. I'd been watching the weather for a week, but there weren't a lot of options.  Plus, the website claimed the fair was open rain or shine, which made it seem that the shows would go on even if it rained.  We figured we'd dress in layers, bring our mittens and umbrella and go for it!

It was really pleasant for the first few hours.  LOL. 

  

This little fairy was just the cutest, and she gave us free sparkly rocks.  Hee hee.

 

These guys were hilarious, and so talented.

 

Juggling knives and flaming torches while balancing on a cylinder and board.  Dude.

Then, the Nun Show.  This was the first time I'd seen Hey Nunnie Nunnie and I'd really recommend it.  They were so very funny!  They did a bunch of silly songs and just had me cracking up the whole time.

 

 

 

Next up was the Torey Steller. . . classic at the Ren-Fes.  He's definitely got a talent.  I couldn't keep up with him at all (which is of course, the point) but it sure is entertaining to listen to!

Then, things started to get a little bit windy. . . and dusty.

We were watching Don Juan and Miguel's act (another of my faves) while eating an ice cream/crepe treat, but really, it was getting a little ridiculous.

These poor guys were doing all these crazy whip tricks, and seriously, we started to wonder how safe it was for them, with the weather the way it was.  And hardly any of us could keep our eyes open because of the sand and wind.

From there, onto the Ded Bob Sho.  Classic.  My favorite part of the festival.

  

Unforunately, this is when it started to rain.  But hey, at least there was no more dirt in my eyes.

We ran out to the car to get our heavier jackets, put our mittens on, and battened down the hatches while 90% of the crowd took off.  Ha.  We refueled on chili in a bread bowl.  Two words:  Yu-ummm!

By this point, our feet and socks were wet but we were not giving up!  The website said rain or shine--unfortunately, that didn't seem to apply to any of the acts.  (wha--?)  The jousts were canceled, as was pretty much everything else we wanted to see that day.  :(  We were on our way to watch the Tortuga Twins show, caught up with one of said twins, told him were were there celebrating our 13 year anniversary.  I think he took pity on us and gave us a free DVD of the show we would have been watching had it not been canceled due to weather.  Very sweet!  Wish I'd have thought to get a picture of him.

On our way out we passed this guy, and I never did catch his name, but I guess he is a Guiness Book of World Records award winner for some of his stunts.  He was really impressive.  And looked really cold--remember, it's totally raining through all of this!

    

We hit the Tory Steller one more time, and then at about 4:30, decided it was time to go thaw out in the car and head back to the west side for--what else--dinner!  It was a really great weekend even though so much went wrong; we had a great time together and ate well.  :)  Many thanks to Grandma for babysitting the hoodlums while were were gone!