Dan and Shelley

Again, this is well over due but I suppose the old phrase goes “Better late than never” so here it is.  Our second date took place over the weekend of September 19-21st.  We did actually try to take a picture of the two of us together….but none of them came out so perhaps next time.

Anyways, so I left work around 5 and drove like crazy to get there, arriving probably around 8:30 but quite honestly, time was the last thing on my mind.  I met Shelley at a small parking lot a few minutes from her house.  As I pulled in, I understood how she felt before as I struggled to open the door of my car.  As I stepped out, I was greeted by the most wonderful person in the entire world.  As everything else around us just disappeared, we spent what seemed like hours in each other’s arms, though it was not nearly that long.  From there, I got back in my car and followed Shelley back to her house, where we parked my car and headed to a late dinner.  We ate dinner at a nice little Italian place that was very, very good.  From there we then went back to Shelley’s house and stayed in for the night.

Saturday we slept in until we had to get up to pick up the children from Shelley’s mother’s house.  They had stayed there the night before.  We spend a short while there then headed down to the river for the dragon boat festival.  It was very nice, though the lack of many dragon boats was rather disappointing.  We still had a good time though, and the children seemed to enjoy it as well.  From there we stopped at one of the two inclines along the river, and rode it to the top to get a view of the city.  The view was superb, even during the day, but more on that later.  After that we went to grab a rather late lunch at another Italian where all four of us split a white pizza.  It was quite enjoyable.  We then headed back to Shelley’s place later in the afternoon before Shelley had to drop of the children at so that their biological father could have them for the night.  We spend a short while at home then headed back out after dark to the same incline, this time with a camera.  We rode it back to the top, just the two of us, and shot a number of pictures of the city at night.  We did make an attempt to shoot a picture with the both of us but it didn’t come out well at all.  It was getting quite late by the time we got done, but we made a quick stop at the golf course near her house to see if we could get another view of the city, but it was too far away.  We then headed home for the night.

On Sunday we again woke up a bit later, though not as late as on Saturday.  It was something that neither of us wanted to face, my last day there, but we got ready and decided to make the best of it.  We headed out to “South Park” and spent nearly the whole day there.  We went to the duck pond, looked for buffalo, walked through some flowers, and witnessed a wedding.  As the day started to wind down, it was getting harder and harder to even think about leaving.  I could tell that she didn’t want me to go….and quite honestly I really didn’t want to.  But as we all know too well…time waits for no one.  As it started getting later, we headed back to Shelley’s place to pick up my car.  I then followed her down to a little park right near her house, which also happened to be right across the street from the parking lot where we met Friday night.  We spent just a few short moments before I had to leave.  I can honestly say that it was the hardest thing I have ever done….to watch her car fade away in my mirror.  As I drove around the edge of Pittsburgh and through the two tunnels….it really hit me.  I fought and fought with myself and can’t possibly tell you how hard it was for me not to turn the car around and head back to her.  The drive home was rather un-eventful.  I called her shortly after I arrived home to talk for a little while, where I could tell that I wasn’t the only one that was sad.  The card that she left me though made me smile, and has since be stored in the visor of my car, where I read it at least daily.  But I digress, as perfect as our first weekend was; this one was just as much so.  I found myself falling deeper in love with the most wonderful person in the world.  I eagerly await our next date in less than a week now.  And just in case there was every any doubt, I love you Shelley and I always will.