The Old Ball and Chain: Part 2

It was January, and we drove to the coast. Of course, it snowed during our entire road trip (just to piss John off). After much cursing and swerving on ice, we arrived in Baltimore. We stayed in a lovely hotel right in the inner harbor area. After getting settled, we walked to the court house to apply for a marriage license. Thankfully I looked marriage licenses up ahead of time. I was always under the impression that people could just run off and get married. But it turns out that you actually have to apply for a license to get married and then wait 48 hours for the city to process that license. Fun fact - you can marry your cousin in Maryland. Strange, but true.

After visiting the court house, we went on a walk through the city. We were trying to find the perfect spot to get married. We visited all of the shops, went to the local aquarium, and ate at an Afghan restaurant. It was great. We held hands and laughed and aimlessly explored the streets of an unfamiliar city. And we found the spot - the perfect place to have our wedding. We got back to our hotel that night, and confirmed the location with the minister. Our wedding date and time were selected. I remember retrieving the wedding bands from our luggage that night and staring at them. The whole experience just seemed surreal. Were we really going to get married in this strange city?

The next day was January 20th - inauguration day. We decided to hop on a train and go to Washington DC to heckle George W. Bush. This was quite an experience. DC was packed with tourists. Every street was filled with mobs of people. We waited in line for hours, just to go through security. When we were finally allowed onto the parade route, we waited patiently with all of the other anti-Bush people. I don't remember much from the parade, but I do recall that it was freezing outside. At one point, I was certain that I had hypothermia. After much waiting and shivering, our moment finally arrived. As Bush passed by, we booed and cursed and I even flipped him the bird (my grandmother asked me to).

After the parade, we attempted to get on the subway and head over to DuPont Circle. My husband had heard about a vegan bakery in that area, and he wanted to check it out. The subway was packed. People were pushing and shoving to get on the overcrowded trains. It was insanity. I was certain that someone was going to get trampled. We had to wait as several trains came and went, because there were so many people. When we finally managed to push our way onto a train, I was sandwiched between unfamiliar people, unable to move for the entire ride. If there were seats on that train, I never saw them. All I saw were people packed into every square inch of space. I held onto John's hand for dear life. I was convinced that we were going to get separated in all the commotion. Despite my doubts, we made it out alive. And in the right location too!

This was an interesting day to visit Washington DC, because demonstrations and protests were being held all over the city. Right out side of the train station, we watched a group of anarchists demonstrating. Interesting stuff. We walked for a few blocks, and finally found the bakery. I thought we were just going there to get a delicious vegan treat, but it turned out that my husband had actually ordered us a wedding cake. It was adorable - a small two tiered vegan carrot cake. It was such a sweet gesture, that I almost cried. John can be such a sweet heart sometimes.

We purchased our cake and two slices of cheesecake. By this time, it was getting late, so we headed back to the train station. We got there a little early. While waiting for the train to depart back to Baltimore, we decided to eat the cheesecake. It was AMAZING. I have never had cheesecake so delicious in my entire life. I remember eating the cake, sitting next to the man I loved, thinking that my life couldn't get much better.

When we got back to Baltimore, we went straight to bed. We were completely and totally exhausted. I am glad we got a good night's sleep, because the next day was...