I married an addict.
Not the type of addict that should be a featured episode of "Intervention," but an addict just the same -- of anything related to the Civil War.
So when we started seeing previews for "Lincoln," I knew this was going to be a movie theater movie. By that, I mean that we would spend the $20 to actually go to the movie theater to see it, rather than waiting for it to hit Netflix.
So in an effort to make my husband happy and show him how much I love him, I planned a themed date night around "Lincoln." And as much as he hates surprises, my husband went along with it.
The day started at the Job Carr Cabin Museum in Tacoma. The cabin was small so the tour didn't take long, but the Tacoma history lesson was fantastic. The home is a replica of the one Job Carr built in 1865 on the Tacoma waterfront. Hearing that President Lincoln had announced the western extension of the railroad, Carr packed up and headed west, hoping to buy up some land before the railroad did, planning to sell it to the railroad for a hefty profit. He found a few miles of land along what is now called Ruston Way and snatched it up quickly.
However, he was just a few miles off, and the railroad line ended up closer to where the Port of Tacoma is located now, so his plan didn't quite pan out. But he ended up becoming the first postmaster and mayor of Tacoma, so not a bad trade.
Next, we grabbed a bite to eat in the Lincoln International District of Tacoma. We both love Asian food and supporting small businesses, so we found a great little pho restaurant there and had some warm and yummy noodle soup. At this point, my husband was a little thrown off, since we had just come from an 1860s cabin. But as we were driving away from the restaurant, he spotted Lincoln High School, which has a large statue of Abraham Lincoln out front. I wasn't even aware that the high school was there (but like every good wife does, I pretended that I did), and as we stopped to admire the statue, my husband began to make the connections.
Last stop was the Grand Cinema in Tacoma. I thought this vintage, non-profit downtown theater was the perfect spot to see a Civil War-era movie -- and apparently so did all of Tacoma. Luckily, I had purchased tickets online, and when we got to the theater about ten minutes before the movie started, we were informed that the showing was sold out and the only seats left were in the front row. Oh, well. At least we were REALLY going to see the movie.
And what a movie it was. Daniel Day Lewis was a great Lincoln, and we were both fascinated by the entire film. There was drama, humor, and even romance. The American slave struggle for freedom reminded me so much of the present-day struggle for gay rights. Families lost children to war, just as they do today. So much was relevant to the time we live in now. Go see this movie.
So our Lincoln-themed night was over and my husband was very grateful. We both came away knowing a little more about our country's history -- and Tacoma's history -- than we did before. And we didn't break the bank -- $20 for movie tickets and $14 for dinner. I'd say that was the best $34 I'd spent in a while.
Not the type of addict that should be a featured episode of "Intervention," but an addict just the same -- of anything related to the Civil War.
So when we started seeing previews for "Lincoln," I knew this was going to be a movie theater movie. By that, I mean that we would spend the $20 to actually go to the movie theater to see it, rather than waiting for it to hit Netflix.
So in an effort to make my husband happy and show him how much I love him, I planned a themed date night around "Lincoln." And as much as he hates surprises, my husband went along with it.
The day started at the Job Carr Cabin Museum in Tacoma. The cabin was small so the tour didn't take long, but the Tacoma history lesson was fantastic. The home is a replica of the one Job Carr built in 1865 on the Tacoma waterfront. Hearing that President Lincoln had announced the western extension of the railroad, Carr packed up and headed west, hoping to buy up some land before the railroad did, planning to sell it to the railroad for a hefty profit. He found a few miles of land along what is now called Ruston Way and snatched it up quickly.
However, he was just a few miles off, and the railroad line ended up closer to where the Port of Tacoma is located now, so his plan didn't quite pan out. But he ended up becoming the first postmaster and mayor of Tacoma, so not a bad trade.
Next, we grabbed a bite to eat in the Lincoln International District of Tacoma. We both love Asian food and supporting small businesses, so we found a great little pho restaurant there and had some warm and yummy noodle soup. At this point, my husband was a little thrown off, since we had just come from an 1860s cabin. But as we were driving away from the restaurant, he spotted Lincoln High School, which has a large statue of Abraham Lincoln out front. I wasn't even aware that the high school was there (but like every good wife does, I pretended that I did), and as we stopped to admire the statue, my husband began to make the connections.
Last stop was the Grand Cinema in Tacoma. I thought this vintage, non-profit downtown theater was the perfect spot to see a Civil War-era movie -- and apparently so did all of Tacoma. Luckily, I had purchased tickets online, and when we got to the theater about ten minutes before the movie started, we were informed that the showing was sold out and the only seats left were in the front row. Oh, well. At least we were REALLY going to see the movie.
And what a movie it was. Daniel Day Lewis was a great Lincoln, and we were both fascinated by the entire film. There was drama, humor, and even romance. The American slave struggle for freedom reminded me so much of the present-day struggle for gay rights. Families lost children to war, just as they do today. So much was relevant to the time we live in now. Go see this movie.
So our Lincoln-themed night was over and my husband was very grateful. We both came away knowing a little more about our country's history -- and Tacoma's history -- than we did before. And we didn't break the bank -- $20 for movie tickets and $14 for dinner. I'd say that was the best $34 I'd spent in a while.