My husband and I are no longer considered newlyweds. Our 2nd Anniverary passed on the 14th. This was our most romantic anniversary yet. (I know we've only had 2!)

The weather was perfect at Assateague Island in Maryland and we went camping with Rev Kev, the guy who married us, and his wife, Tim's sister, Jackie. This was the 2nd year in a row that I've gone. Tim could not join me last year because his swimming season starts up in full swing. (He coaches the Upper Merion Marlins.)

Even though this year's trip did not coincide with the peak of a meteor shower like last years, the shooting stars were bountiful! We didn't need as many layers at night as last year, and the erosion wasn't as bad, so we could walk down to the beach. It actually was hot during the day, so we swam. Last year Jackie and Kevin were visited by wild ponies in the wee hours of the morning, but my mother and I missed it. This year, those bold ponies went into our cooler and stole all of our carrots. I heard the cooler open and shut and saw that there was an orange line of light on the horizon. Kevin is a morning person, but this hour would have been ridiculous. Our new tent has great windows, so I could see three horses hanging out by our cooler. I woke Tim up to show him. I warned him that the ponies are crafty, but he decided to leave the carrots right on top anyway. We fell back asleep and woke up to orange horse spit all over our cooler.

It was CRAZY swimming in the ocean in the middle of October. The water was gorgeous; it didn't even feel cold. We weren't the only ones staying in for hours, but everyone had their own private idaho. The waves were big and looked intimidating, but they were very gentle. There were no jellyfish or seaweed. There were, however, dolphins.

On Sunday, the 2nd day of our 3 day trip, we saw our neighbors pointing them out. Tim had forgotten to bring his camera, so he ran back to our campsite to grab it, but this very nice woman, named Lois, stopped him on his way back. He missed his photo op.

Sidebar: Lois - man, I hope that when I'm in my 70s or 80s I've got the gumption to search for people to camp with so that I can stay after my friends go home. She did eventually find out that there was a host that she could camp next to and she would keep her safe.

Monday we packed up everything. Kevin and Jackie had to leave, but Tim and I were in no rush. We went for another swim before we showered. The people up on the beach were pointing out at something and I saw fins. At first I started to panic thinking there were sharks, which Tim was just teasing about. Then I saw that they were dolphins - TONS of them and they were swimming right for us. The came within 10 feet of us pair after pair. I was squeeling with excitement. Knowing that dolphins are social creatures, I convinced myself this swim-by was intentional. They wanted to say hello. This encounter lasted around 20 minutes and by the end of it, I felt euphoric.

As Tim and I walked out of the water, off the beach toward the showers, I was in awe of how I felt. I'm not sure if I could attribute this to my adrenaline rush and the resulting endorphins, or was it because the dolphins had an effect on my brain, like some research suggests. I want to replicate it, though.

When Tim and I honeymooned in New Zealand, we spent a couple of hundred dollars on a Swim with the Dolphins tour. These were wild dolphins, not domesticated, however, so they could not guarantee that we would find a "friendly" group to swim with. We found a group of juveniles,with which they would not allow us to get in the water. They swam along with our boat for a while and I laid down on the front deck (I know this has an official name, but I'm ignorant of it) and they were right below me. Then I had to get up and give someone else a turn. This was not quite the experience I had hoped it would be, but I was happy.

The anniversary experience was so much different and better in so many ways. Number one, it was completely free. It was unexpected, and we only had to go a hundred and sixty miles instead of to the compete opposite side of the world. Tim wished he had captured it on camera, but I would have much rather been swimming with them than have pictures of them from the shore.

Thank you, God, for that experience. I'm sure it was a gift and we feel very blessed.