"Matt, what do you say we stop at the next town we see and grab something to eat. I'm getting famished," my lovely Sofia said. We had been driving for a couple of hours in our new BMW convertible with no particular destination in mind.
Today was the anniversary of our first meeting back in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico where we live permanently. It was exactly one year to the day since Sofi entered my life and made me the happiest man on the face of the earth. We had arrived in Seattle where we have a second, mountainside vacation home a few days before. The Beamer was my present to Sofi, but today she was letting me drive it.
"Great idea, Sofi. I was just thinking the same thing. We're not far from a place I remember from my college days, a little place called Snoqualmie. There's a magnificent water fall there, something we don't see in Mexico, and if I recall, there's some kind of hotel or lodge there that must have a place to eat. Let's see if we can find it."
About twenty minutes later we pulled up to the entrance of the impressive Snoqualmie Falls Lodge. A young attendant came out to our car. "Good morning and welcome to the Lodge," he said cheerily. "Will you be checking in or going to the restaurant?," he asked.
"The restaurant," I said as I handed him the keys. "But we also came to see the falls. I can hear them, but I can't see them," I said to the attendant who seemed to be staring at Sofia, fixated on her beautiful body, not that I could blame him. In honor of our special day, Sofi was wearing the same sheer white sundress she had worn on the day we met. The dress that, frankly, led to our introduction. And as on the morning we met, the sun was shining brightly from behind her, and the attendant was obviously seeing the shape and curve of her long legs through the material. It appeared to be having the same effect on him that it had on me a year ago. "Ahem," I coughed quietly, but enough to get his attention.
"The falls are just over that ridge," the kid who appeared to be of high school age said, pointing to his left. "The restaurant overlooks the falls and has a spectacular view, but there is also a path that you can take that winds up at an observation deck where a lot of people go to take pictures if you're into that," he said, appearing to take his own picture of Sofie with his eyes to tell his buddies about later.
"Thanks," I replied, handing him five dollars as we headed up the steps into the entrance to the lodge. A few minutes later we were seated by a large window in the corner of the restaurant. The parking attendant was correct, the view of the falls was spectacular. Since it was a weekday, the restaurant was practically empty and we enjoyed a leisurely meal, reminiscing about the previous year and discussing plans for the remainder of our vacation time in the States. Before we knew it, we had finished two bottles of wine and were feeling no pain.
