Date Night

Grandma and Grandpa Shirley were in town this weekend to visit with us, which meant that Jody and I got to have a date night on Saturday. We already knew exactly where we wanted to go for dinner, Joe's Crab Shack. We had tried to go there once before and the wait for a table was so long we gave up and went somewhere else. And even though that somewhere else was McCormick & Schmick's which is a delicious restaurant choice, it still didn't satisfy our craving for crab. So this time we decided that we needed to just get to Joe's earlier.

Well, those plans to get there earlier didn't happen. And while we were only 30 minutes behind our original schedule to leave the house, it made a difference. We pulled into the parking garage with smiles on our face, got out of the car, crossed the street giving us direct view of the front door to the restaurant, and our smiles disappeared. There were not only a ton of people standing haphazardly in front of the door waiting for their name to be called, there was a huge line you had to stand in just to get your name on the waiting list. But we drove all the way down to Sacramento to specifically go there because they are the only ones around this area that serve crab steampots, so in line is where we stood. After putting our name in to be told it would be an hour and a half, off we went to go walk around Old Town to kill some time. We even had time to grab a beer next door at Rio City Cafe, which was totally empty compared to Joe's.

Upon hearing our name called out in a goofy jingle, we rushed to the front with glee and joyfully followed the hostess to our booth. We came prepared already knowing what we wanted to order so there was no more time wasted waiting to eat some delicious crab. When our order came we clinked crab crackers together and dove in. It was delectable and so worth the wait. I had pieces of crab shells in my lap and all over the table; crab juice covering my hands and dripping down my arm. Thank goodness this wasn't our first date because eating crab in that manner is not the classiest method to eating a meal. We savored every last piece of crab and left with full bellies and satisfied hearts.

It was so nice to have some alone time with my husband. Often times we're so busy with work-life and family-life, we forget to take a moment for just the two of us. Going on dates have so much more meaning now because we don't get to take them as regularly as we once did. I make sure to tell Jody that I love him every day and carry that through in my actions as well, but having date nights are just as important and I thoroughly enjoyed ours!