Thirty years together – from Bodega to Baltimore

Thirty years ago today we were married at St. Theresa of Avila Church in Bodega, California. The white, wooden church with a steeple sits on a hilltop above the small, coastal town. Ansel Adams made the church the subject of a black-and-white photograph in 1953, and we have a copy hung on the living room wall.

Today we’re celebrating our anniversary at the Four Seasons Hotel in Baltimore, of all places. Our “room with a view” – on the 16th floor of this glamorous high rise – has a stunning vista of Baltimore Harbor.

Much of the land around us has been redeveloped, with a new Whole Foods Market; this stunning 22-story hotel (where we saw the Boston Red Sox gathering in the lobby last night before an Orioles game); and a waterfront headquarters for sports retailer Under Armour. (Workers get to ride a ferry across the harbor to work).

We are here to visit our son as he finishes his freshman year at Johns Hopkins University. We’ll celebrate together and fly home together.

It’s been a fun trip so far: We’ve walked around, visited some of the city landmarks (Fort McHenry is home to the “Star Spangled Banner”) and enjoyed some good meals (including fresh Maryland crab).

We joked that Baltimore was not the first place we predicted we’d be celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary, but life is one “excellent adventure.”