The "Too Many Events To Celebrate!" Story

Dining at the John Wrightsville Restaurant in Wrightsville, PA.

It was an ordinary day.  June 16th and Carol and I are sitting on the outdoor deck at the John Wright Restaurant in Wrights- ville, Pennsyl- vania having dinner to celebrate our 51st wedding anniversary.  We had a grand celebration last year for our 50th, but this year isn't as exciting so we decided to have lunch along the Susquehanna River.  The weather was near perfect with temperatures in the mid-80s with a slight breeze.  

The view from the restaurant looking toward the Veteran's
Memorial Bridge.  In the background, to the left, is Columbia, PA.

The day was beautiful and the scenery was fantastic.  We have eaten at this spot before and always enjoy watching the activity on the river as we dine.  Plenty of boating and fishing taking place today.  We reserved a table closest to the water and weren't disappointed.  Carol had a salmon burger with slaw and a drink and I had a BLT with Cream of Crab/asparagus soup and a drink.  Shared a dessert which for the life of me I can't remember what it was.  Wasn't any good or I would have remembered.  Our wedding anniversary is actually on the 17th, but it happens to fall on Father's Day, so we opted to celebrate our anniversary a day early.  

A young father and his daughter watch the water activity.

The older you get, the more "special days" don't seem to be as special and when a few fall on the same day, you learn to make adjust- ments.  The view from our table is amazing with the bridge to our right being the 1930 Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge, also known as the Veterans Memorial Bridge.  The American Society of Civil Engineers named the bridge an engineering landmark and said it is "a splendid example of the graceful multi-span, reinforced-concrete, arched form popular in the early 29th Century highway bridges in the United States."  Sitting south of the bridge are concrete abutments that at one time held a railroad bridge.  

Off to our left is the Wright's Ferry Bridge or US Rt. 30.
Click to enlarge photographs.

The Veterans Memorial Bridge is the 5th bridge to span the Susque- hanna at this location with the 6th and latest bridge, The Wright's Ferry Bridge, or current Rt. 30, to the left of us.  An earlier bridge where the Veterans Bridge now stands was intentionally burned during the Civil War to stop the South from crossing and heading to Philadelphia.  Instead they retreated to Gettysburg and were defeated there.  The very first bridge was built of wood in 1814.  After our meal we found a place to sit along the water and enjoyed the day while watching the fishermen and boaters as well as the traffic on the bridges on either side of us.  Although our day wasn't as spectacular as last year's anniversary, we still had a chance to share a special moment together.  Anyway, tomorrow being Father's day is another day for celebrating!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.