With little fanfare, my husband and I celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary Friday night. Just dinner at a local steakhouse since our regular anniversary plans were hindered by our daughter’s softball schedule this year.

We normally go on a trip as our gift to each other. Last year was Riviera Maya, Mexico. The year before was Niagara Falls, Canada. A few times we’ve gone to Aruba to revisit our honeymoon spot. While Mexico was amazing and Aruba is always sure to please, I must say Niagara Falls is the most sentimental for me.

We have gone there to celebrate several anniversaries over the years. The first time was when we were newlyweds with little money for a first anniversary getaway. Canada was perfect for us at the time because the U.S. dollar was worth much more than the Canadian dollar, so we knew we could get more bang for our buck!

I also thought it would be fun since my parents often spoke of the time they went there as newlyweds many years before. We’ve done most of the tourist attractions — got soaked on the Maid of the Mist boat up to the falls, explored the Journey Behind the Falls, ate at the Skyline Tower’s revolving restaurant with a spectacular view above the Falls and tried our luck at a casino. And it was in Niagara Falls we tasted our first Gewürztraminer wine — years before we could properly pronounce ga-VERTZ-trah-mee-ner.

My husband loves to recall the anniversary when I was pregnant and had my heart set on getting a photo of the falls lit up at night. But my feet and back were sore, and I was disappointed I wasn’t up for a walk to the falls that night. But my wonderful husband couldn’t let his pregnant (and very hormonal) wife down on their anniversary, so he ventured down to the falls by himself just to snap a quick photo for me. Oh, and did I mention it was snowing, and he had to walk down and back up a REALLY big hill to get the photo? Because, even 15 years after that trip, he likes to point that fact out, too!

All these things were fun and memorable, but it is the littlest thing that stuck with us both . . .  wood-fired pizza! On our first trip, we stayed at the Holiday Inn Niagara Falls by the Falls, which had a restaurant called Coco’s Pizza Bar and Lounge. They had a wood-fired oven that permeated the most amazing smell throughout the first floor of the hotel and also outside, where they had patio dining. As we laid in bed one night, one of us — not even sure who said it — remarked, “Boy that pizza sure did smell good!” And before we knew it, we were scrambling out of our pajamas and heading to the restaurant for a late-night snack. It was the best pizza we ever ate!

Now, whenever we go back to Niagara Falls, we make sure to walk past the Holiday Inn Niagara Falls by the Falls, even when we’re staying elsewhere, just so we can be drawn in by the aroma of that delicious wood-fired pizza at Coco’s! Isn’t it funny how you never know which experience on a trip will be the one that stands out the most?

I’m sure we’ll get back to our tradition of an anniversary trip next year, and who knows, maybe we’ll make a new memory even better than the wood-fired pizza!

— Tracey Cullen, art director