Anniversary outing

This was the 3rd year that Troy planned an anniversary outing for the two of us. Each year I am as thankful as the first year for a day together that I didn’t have to plan at all. Well I wouldn’t say at all because each year has gotten a little more loose in plans and I am asked if I have a choice between certain things. Our anniversary seems to sneak up on us both given the summer is so busy before it. So Troy may not make as many concrete or elaborate plans as he would like. But you know what, it doesn’t bother me. This celebration continues to be great because it involves two things: beer and Troy. Totally kidding yet not kidding at all. Of course the anniversary outing better involve beer Troy, but the beer does spark a lot of conversations. Maybe it is even a conversation about beer. Even just a couple sips of beer get the conversation flowing that might not be as plentiful when we’re at home with all the distractions of normal life.

After dropping off 3 of those normal life distractions and getting a quick picture together, we headed out to the first beer stop. Badger Hill Brewery in town was having Flight Club which was just the reason we needed to stop in to try 4 new beers. Two of them were brewed with herbs and we quickly learned that both of us agree we do not like that combo. After Troy graffitied the chalk wall, we quickly moved on to the next stop which was a brewery Troy had read about. They served one particular beer in a bowl because it is said to taste the best this way. Back Channel Brewing in Spring Lake Park was indeed on to something. This IPA was delicious and that is saying a lot from a girl who doesn’t like IPA’s.

Our next stop was for dinner. We did indeed learn our lesson from last year. You can see even at the first stop I snacked on some pretzels. Troy made excellent dinner reservations at Iron Tap in Waconia. I enjoyed a fun drink for the special night and we both loved the meals we got. After dinner we ventured back to Shakopee and ended up at one of our local favorites, the Brew Hall. Our time there was probably the best of the day. I’m sure the sips of beer we had before helped but the book I contributed as an activity to the day was the highlight. It was a book to get to know each other more. It was a very simple format that had two pictures and you decided which you agreed with more. If you both answered the same you got a point. It was simple things like how you eat a Kit Kat bar or which way the toilet paper goes on the holder. After 15 years of marriage and almost 21 years together we knew most of what each other would answer. But the conversations around the questions was so fun. It was a great way to end our day. Just might need to find another book for next year’s outing.