Remembering my first date with Dan

11 years ago today, Dan and I went on our first date! I was a junior in college, living in an on campus apartment with a friend. It was a Thursday night and Dan was supposed to pick me up at 7 for dinner. On Thursdays, my friends and I would get together to watch "Friends" and the rest of the Thursday night shows. That night we were watching it at our apartment. 7 o'clock came and about 5 of my friends gathered to watch the show. I was dressed and ready to go. Time slowly ticked by. At 7:15 I started wondering. At 7:30 when "Friends" was over, I was thinking I had been stood up, and I think my friends were thinking the same thing. Then, the knock on the door came!

Dan had driven up from Austin and been caught in some traffic, had to get gas, etc. Anyway, the date began. We went to dinner at Giovanni's restaurant in Round Rock. 11 years ago there was not much in the way of restaurants in the area ( compared to now- it is amazing how much that area has grown!) Anyway, Giovanni's was pretty much the only nice restaurant between Georgetown and Austin. We had a really nice italian dinner and great conversation. Neither one of us was old enough to drink so we had water with dinner. We lingered over dinner for a long time. After dinner, we were trying to think of something fun to do- but again, the location did not offer much. We finally decided on going to the park and walking around ( we were trying to pass some time to allow my friends to leave my apartment after the Thursday night line up- remember how great it was ?)

We went back to my apartment and watched tv since both of us were reluctant to have the night end. We ended up talking and watching "Repossessed" (a horrible movie) until about 1:30 am.

After that, we talked on the phone regularly for hours and hours. We would see each other as often as we could- probably 1-2 times per week initially, then working up to daily. There was a definite connection that told us both we had something special.

We went back to Giovanni's restaurant a few years ago for Valentine's Day- Dan surprised me with the location which was very sweet. Unfortunately, they have since closed the restaurant, but we still have our memories.