50th Anniversary in Lima!

Burt and Evelyn Johnson were married on December 16, 1972 on skis at Kirkwood Meadows, California, 50 years ago

We reached our golden 50th wedding anniversary–a milestone we never thought we would achieve! Rather than celebrate it with friends in a local restaurant, we decided that this landmark deserved something a bit bigger. We decided to celebrate in Lima, Peru — a city known as the Culinary Capital of South America and one of the foodie paradises in the world. Not just that, but we chose Central Restaurant, which is ranked as the #1 Restaurant in all of South America. We invited several close friends to join us, and eight of them made the trek here to enjoy the most unique dinner you can imagine with us. Several other friends plan to celebrate with us when we return to Cuenca.

Above are some of the friends that made the effort to celebrate our special meal with us. Included are Alla and Michael, Rick and Lin, Kris and Peter, Lorena, Janda, Evelyn and Burt.

This was truly a unique meal in every regard. It consisted of 12 courses, with South American wine pairing for each course. A wine steward would present each wine, and tell us a bit about it (upper-left). Each course had its own utensils, and each was carefully crafted and presented for us (upper-right). A server would present each course and tell us about each one, including where it came from and what to expect (middle-left). For example, the piranha in the middle image were the basis for a course all originating in the Amazon rivers at 190 meters (about 600 feet) above sea level. At the end of the meal, a special dessert was served in honor of our anniversary, shown in the lower-right.

The orientation of the menu was by elevation above sea level, all within Peru. Each course consisted entirely of ingredients that grew natively at a specific altitude above sea level.

Alla Parsons is a painting buddy of Evelyn’s and created the above caricature of us, which was presented when we were back at the AirBnb that we all shared for the week.

Lorena Duca wrote a limerick for our anniversary, as seen above, also presented that evening. The text is below:

There once was a young man named Burt
With a cute little co'ed he'd flirt
From my Cessna I can offer you the stars above
A life full of adventure and my undying LOVE
So five decades later we're gathered today
In a city, in a country far, far away.
We are witness to their undying passion adventure
and travel and the latest cuisine in fashion.
So we thank you Evelyn,
We thank you Burt
for accepting the offer of
that tireless flirt.

Happy 50th Anniversary!

After toasting with sufficient champaign, Lin Berke read the fantastic poem she wrote for us too. You can watch her read it to our group above, while following along with the text below:

Encomuim Hail all Seraphim and Cherubim
Join in this brief encomium: 
Shout joy to our friends, Burt and Evelyn’s 
Fifty years of Love continuum.
 
They’ve managed half a century
To employ a workable strategy
Of work, art, friendship and some frivolity.
We raise a glass in solidarity:
They’ve reached their golden anniversary.
 
They kindly host us for festivities,
Conjoint and separate activities,
Encouraging our own proclivities 
For adventure, art, joy and civilities.
 
Marriage, open or traditional
Needs more than spice to keep it flavorful:
A partner steady and compatible,
Neither singular, nor conditional;
An effort that must be collateral.
 
Never dull and never drearisome,
Traveling round the earth and then some,
They strive to keep it all adventuresome, 
This footloose, intrepid, happy twosome.
 
Young couples think it a simplicity
To maintain strength and synchronicity.
Not so! It’s forbearance and complicity.
They’re the champs of indefatigability,
And we praise their laudable felicity.
 
Three cheers!  Hail to Burt and Evelyn,
And raise your glass to heaven: While
Your Golden’s deserving of satisfaction,
We pray you celebrate your Platinum.

While traveling in Bali this past summer, we found this statue in a woodwork gallery, and both fell in love with it. We bought out the entire shop supply, and gave one to each of our guests, as a memento of our time together this year.

We want to thank all those who came down to Lima, Peru to share our 50th anniversary, and all the people along the years who have helped us in both big and little ways, to reach this point in our lives.

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