7 times 7 = 49

8:15 am - Sunday - August 30th - Coupeville, WA - 48° F, 93% humidity, wind 7 mph out of the east by southeast.......clear, blue skies today with a forecast high of 64° F.  On this day in 2015 we had arrived at Cape Blanco Lighthouse (south Oregon coast) to spend the month of September as docents....taking a walk on 'South Beach'........↴

What can one say after 49 years of marriage to The Lovely Elaine?  That I cannot imagine my life without her in it?  Of course, that goes without saying, but it must be said, nonetheless.  We first met in January of 1968, and became friends shortly thereafter.  Our first date was that summer at a pool party hosted by my father's employer.......

......we dated on and off over the next 3+ years, and became romantically involved in January of 1971, engaged by March of that year, and married by August 29, 1971.  We spent almost every Sunday that summer at Manhattan Beach, CA.......

......by 1986 we had five children, and TLE still looked amazing....this picture was taken at a church dance in the late 80's......

......our five children together at Sharon's wedding in 2015.......↴

The Hockwald children left to right: Meredith, Katharine, Sharon, Chris and Tim

.....by 2011 our kids were all adults, and I finally had my girl friend all to myself once again.  We moved into our 1982 Newell to live full time in February of 2011, retired in October of 2011, and by February of 2012 we began our lives as nomads.  Through thick and thin, up and down, and one adventure after another we have now racked up 49 years of marital memories.  She is still the most beautiful woman in the room.  Thank you my lovely Elaine, for choosing me, and making the rest of my life worth living!

We decided early in 2020 that we wanted to spend our 49th wedding anniversary with two of our oldest, and dearest friends.....Bob and Karen....at whose property we currently reside.  I made reservations at Frasers Gourmet Hideway for 7 pm Saturday evening (Yelp gives them 4.5 stars on 162 reviews....we would be at a solid 5 stars).  

I took Saturday off from my projects, relaxed watching a lot of the BMW Championship PGA tour event, and puttered around in the trailer for quite a while.  By 6:15 pm TLE and I had donned our Sunday best, and were waiting for our hosts to join us......

.....as we drove into Oak Harbor with Bob and Karen we reminisced about our lives and long lasting friendship arriving at Frasers a couple of minutes to 7 pm, and were seated shortly thereafter......

.....TLE and I ordered two glasses of champagne to toast each other, and then a great bottle of Pinot Noir to share with Bob and Karen.  We spent the next 2+ hours in non-stop conversation about everything under the sun.  All of the food was exquisite.....I had their Beef Tenderloin (filet mignon), TLE their Duck Breast, Karen their Red Snapper, and Bob their Crab & Shrimp Lasgana....c'est magnifique!

Coffee ice cream filled profiteroles for dessert

We were home by 9:30 pm......more memories made, and many more to come....thank you for stopping by!

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