Well, kiddos, I’ve been married for 25 years. I married one of the most easy going people in the world and this is great because things stay pretty even-keel between the two of us, and if anyone gets sassy, most of the time it’s me. Overall, marriage has been the best decision I ever made, and marrying the one I did, well, that’s where I hit the jackpot.

We were fortunate this year that our anniversary fell around the time that Mike needed to take some continuing ed classes. Looking around at his options we thought New Orleans would be a fun trip. And THEN, it occurred to me that if we took a road trip there, which we both enjoy doing, we could take a small detour on the way and visit Monroeville, Alabama!! It was just ICING ON THE CAKE that Go Set a Watchman would release less than a week before we hit the road. So, I cancelled my pre-order with Amazon, pre-ordered the embossed edition that would come directly from the Ol’ Curiosities and Book Shoppe, the local bookstore in Monroeville, and we had ourselves a plan!

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We arrived and made our first stop to Ol Curiosities so I could go ahead and pick up my book. (First things first, right?) We then took a look around town. We ate dinner at Radley’s Fountain Grille, a Mom and Pop joint named after the awesome Boo Radley.  I ate the Deluxe BLT that apparently is on the list of 100 things to eat in Alabama before you die. (Done!) While we were there, Boo Radley of the Mockingbird Players came over to introduce himself and we chatted for a long time. He totally loves the town and the play and ALL THAT. I can’t believe I didn’t think to get a picture of him.

The Courthouse was closed when we got to town but we knew it would be. That’s why we planned to hit Monroeville on the way TO New Orleans, and on the way BACK. That’s right. I take my bookish road trips seriously.  A week later, after touring The Big Easy, we toured the courthouse museum. There was a Harper Lee exhibit in one room and a Truman Capote exhibit in another. In the center of the upstairs was the courtroom. It was so beautiful! To Kill A Mockingbird was actually filmed in Hollywood but they came to Monroeville to get the feel of the town and they designed the courtroom to be a replica of the original. The gift shop in the museum was pretty mediocre and there were other things in town that weren’t all that amazing but the courtroom was gorgeous. It was worth the trip just for that.

So we had a great time. That husband of mine totally took this trip for me because, well, he loves me. And even though he is not a big book lover, even he recognizes how cool it was to be able to be there, given the timing with the release of Watchman and all. If I were a bold and courageous teenager like Hazel in The Fault in Our Stars, I totally would have hunted Harper Lee down and got myself a conversation and a signing. She still lives in town and you know she would have been happy to oblige.

(At the rate I’m blogging these days, part 2 of this Anniversary post, New Orleans Edition, may not make an appearance until November. Who knows.)