Thirty Years!

He who finds a wife finds a good thing

And obtains favor from the Lord.

Proverbs 18:22

Indeed, I found a good wife!  On October 20, 1990 Tricia and I said our vows before God and man in Corpus Christi, Texas.  Yesterday marked 30 years of marriage!  On Sunday we decided to celebrate early and attend a brunch in nearby Breaux Bridge, Louisiana.  The restaurant was formerly Cafe Des Amis, a favorite of ours, but is now named Cafe Sydnie Mae.  We wanted to try it, but most of all, we wanted to spend some quality time with one another.  It has been a crazy year, punctuated with storms and sickness and tumult, but we'll weather those storms.

Here is my bride in front of the restaurant.

The weather was perfect!  Cafe Sydnie Mae had a jazz band playing on the porch of a house across the street with tables set out on the sidewalk.  We almost opted for sitting there to enjoy the music, but we decided it might be a little too warm, so we sat indoors.  We could still hear the music.

We enjoyed spinach and cheese crawfish dip with tortilla chips for a starter.  Tricia had a shrimp, crawfish, and crabmeat omelet with homemade biscuits and strawberry preserves.  I had shrimp and grits with zydeco green beans as a side dish.  Delicious!

After slowly enjoying the meal and conversation, we strolled down Bridge Street and stopped in at a cafe for coffee.  There were musicians playing cajun french music in the cafe, making for a nice atmosphere.  We walked a couple of blocks toward the Bridge for which the town is named.  It is an old drawbridge over Bayou Teche.  The crawfish on the sign is there to celebrate Breaux Bridge being the Crawfish Capitol of the World.  Breaux Bridge is the gateway to the Atchafalaya Swamp and was settled in 1766 by Acadians after their deportation from Nova Scotia.

The Bayou Teche Visitor's Center sits at the foot of the bridge.  Although closed, we walked down a walkway leading to a shady deck where we relaxed and took in the sights and sounds of the morning.  The muddy waters of the bayou flowed slowly toward the Gulf of Mexico, leaves of live oak trees spinning softly in the current, while minnows swam alongside the bank.  It was nice to sit back, relax, and take in a beautiful view.  We had a simple, but very enjoyable anniversary celebration.

But the most beautiful view was my wife, the Belle of the Bayou.  Her smile lights up my life.

This is the face of a blessed man to have been given such a wonderful wife to spend the last 30 years with.

Happy Anniversary, Tricia!  I Love You.