The Kemah Boardwalk

I was the new girl in school. It was my senior year and I was less than thrilled to be spending it thousands of miles from my closest friends and my nationally recognized dance team. There seemed to be no apparent way to salvage what was supposed to be the best year of my high school career. I sat alone in the back of my classes. I ate lunch in my car to avoid the awkwardness of trying to make new friends. I went to straight to school and straight home every day--I had no where else to go.
Luckily, this bleak period of self-pitying was interrupted by a small sparkle of happiness a few weeks later when a cute guy from my seminary class asked me out on a date. He was "Mr. Popular" of the group and seemed to really have a lot going for him. I was flattered ( I think I might have actually blushed) and agreed. For the first time in a month, I smiled as I drove home.
We went on a double date to a football game and then to a place called the Kemah Boardwalk. There were little carnival type games, some bigger rides, restaurants, and of course a spectacular view of the ocean. We had a fantastic time on our date, despite the fact he totally soaked me in a dancing fountain, and I was excited to get to know him better, and hoped he felt the same way.
Many dates came to follow that fateful first one, and the majority of them were spent right there on the waterfront. We went there for homecoming dinner, where he first held my hand. We went there when we needed to have a serious talk, or just wanted some fantastic ice cream and enjoy one another's company. It was here, on the ferris wheel a few years later, that he finally proposed to me.
Every time I go to visit Houston I stop by for a walk down the boardwalk. It's only about 10 minutes from my parent's house, so I always make a point of going for a little stroll down memory lane. Here is where it all started--our friendship, our future, and the rest of my life.