Valentine's Day 2015

Looking at the picture above, you can probably guess who purchased and wrapped the two sets of presents above. I'll admit that I'm not one for putting a lot of effort into gift presentation. For this Valentine's Day, I had a pretty easy job. Jillian had asked for a specific ring with a gaelic design that she could wear to work instead of her engagement/wedding ring. A few minutes of online shopping did the trick.
She on the other hand put a lot more effort into her gift. For years, while driving down hwy 181 from Daphne to Fairhope, I had pointed out an old wooden house under a giant oak tree that I had always wanted to photograph in some good lighting. As I had never had the motivation to do so and the building has all but collapsed, the time had elapsed for me to do so. Being the wonderful person she is, my wife had actually found a photographer who had taken said picture and bought two prints. One for my man-cave and a smaller version for my office. It was a sweet surprise.
As we had done a few years ago, we decided to brave the Mardi Gras traffic in Mobile and have Valentine's Day dinner at a restaurant downtown called Cafe 615. The traffic getting there wasn't as bad as I remember, but the atmosphere was worse. We ended up seated by a table of about 12 drunk college-aged girls; one of which enjoyed showing off how well she could sing whatever pop song came to mind. Quiet seating was not really an option and it was unreasonable to complain considering half of their patrons had just come off the streets from parades. I was grateful that the food was worth the hassle.
After we ate, we caught the tail-end of the last parade of the night. It was enjoyable even though I don't think we caught anything... at least worth keeping. The traffic getting back across the bay was awful. I could have done without that part. I think next year we'll opt to stay a little closer to home and avoid parades all together.