5 Years

The author of this post is Brian Alan Grimaldi, born August 19, 1976 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

For those of you who consider our Ocean City wedding to be the "real" wedding, this Friday was our 5 year anniversary. It seems crazy that we have been married for 5 years already, but at the same time it seems like no big deal. Nina and I have been together for almost 14 years, so the fact that the government has recognized our relationship for 5 is no big deal.

To celebrate our anniversary, we decided to go to Jerome, AZ. Jerome is an old mining town that is perched precariously atop a hill. It's very unique town. It has been taken over by artists, so it's a mix of interesting little restaurants and art galleries, all of which look like they will fall off the mountain at any moment. At the top of the hill is an old hotel, called the Jerome Grand Hotel. This is where we stayed. The hotel was built in the early 1900's. It is supposed to be haunted, but we didn't see any ghosts. We did, however, see the original elevator, that still works. It's pretty sweet, complete with a bench, a lamp, wallpaper, and manually operated doors.

Jerome, AZ

The Jerome Grand Hotel

The Elevator

The place where we had dinner

As our gift to each other, we booked a train ride on the Verde Canyon Railroad. This is a rail line that was built during the mining days. Today it is used for scenic rides. It follows the Verde River, through the Verde Canyon. The scenery is awesome, and there is really no other way to see this part of Arizona. There are no roads through this area. During the 4 hour ride, we saw the following things:
1. Bats swooping around catching bugs
2. A bald eagle
3. A Great Blue Heron
4. A tunnel
5. Some bridges
6. Our love growing stronger

Here are a few pictures.

Passing over a bridge

The Verde River and Verde Canyon

See, you can find green in Arizona

Overall, it was a great anniversary. To all of you who didn't send us cards, we forgive you.

-Brian