Valentines Memory

A Valentines Memory that will live on, as perhaps the greatest one ever for us. I actually really can't remember how I spent valentines any other year except for this one, so it's definitely notable...

February 14th, 2003. It was the first Valentine's Brian and I had spent together, and we were engaged...and planning a wedding. A few grander ideas for an evening were thrown around, but we decided, in an effort to save money towards the wedding, we would go cheap...

I had heard about a neat little authentic Jamaican restaurant downtown (Toronto), from a co-worker, and it was very reasonably priced. So we would eat dinner there, and then meet up with my brother Jared and his girlfriend (now wife) Liana, for a homemade ice cream cake for dessert.

We arrived, were very pleased with the cost of the items on the menu (around $10 per person), and were enjoying the awesome atmosphere of the place and trying to decide on which dishes to try (we are by no means experts in Jamaican cuisine!). From our table I had a view of the street...

Um..."Where is my car?", I asked Brian. It's right over...there...where is your car? My car is gone!! A glance down the once car lined street revealed almost ALL the cars were gone. Slightly panic stricken, I asked the waiter, where is my car, it was parked right out front...? Oh, she explained. This happens all the time. There is no parking on this street after 7pm. You've been towed.

WHAT! You would think a friendly Jamaican reminder upon our entrance into the restaurant at 6:45 would have been in order. Then perhaps, this would not happen "all the time".


We had only just put our order in for the food. They brought us out a complimentary appetizer for our trouble, and a phone book. We wolfed down our meals with no particular air of romance. We located the tow yard and confirmed my car was there. We called Jared and Liana and told them to enjoy the dessert without us...we'd be very late.

We walked to find an ATM and got cash out. We called a cab. We paid $40 for a cab ride way across the city to retrieve my car. Lamenting at how our cheap date was ending up being very expensive!

At one point during our cab ride Brian says "oh my goodness!! It's Jane St Clair!" What are you talking about? "It's Jane St Clair, from the song! That's cool" Wow. Glad to put a little happiness and excitement in your night there buddy. Like we didn't have enough of it already. But yes, Jane St Clair, (from the song Jane, by the Barenaked Ladies) is named after an intersection...the intersection of Jane and St Clair. It's somewhere in Toronto, in between the Jamaican restaurant and the car compound.

Upon our arrival at the compound, I believe the total tally for car retrieval and parking ticket was $230.00.(Putting the evenings total around $300). I actually think that is THE most expensive date we've EVER had! We didn't get home until 11pm or so, and Jared had already left to take Liana home. Evening basically ruined. Memory forever created.

We actually have another awesome story about driving downtown which resulted in a less-than-perfect day. I'll have to share it some time. It's the story of going to pick out our wedding bands.