This post is written by guest blogger, Tara Mills.

Let's rewind almost five years. It's spring in Cape Girardeau and you can feel it in the air. The flowers are blooming, birds are chirping, and the air is softening. But for one girl, everything is as bleak as winter. Her heart has been broken, you see. So, where to go and what to do to somewhat mend that heart? Why, Ragsdale's is just the ticket! It certainly helps that her friend is bar tending that night. After a while, after a few tears and lamentations, in strolls a vaguely familiar guy.

"Don't I know you?"

"I'm talking to my friend right now," is the sweet response.

The girl on the barstool was me and the vaguely familiar guy? He's now my husband. Now, now, don't let your mind wander - it was a night of visiting and storytelling. Josh and I first met when we were sixteen. He was friends with my cousin and I visited Cape for a couple of weeks that summer. But we had only seen each other a few times since then, the majority of those conversations sounding something like this:

"Hey, aren't you Jill's cousin?"

"Yeah, I am. Aren't you Jill's friend? The one with the blue truck?"

"Yeah! Good to see you."

"Good to see you too."

That fateful night he was living in Indiana and I was moving away from Cape in a month. Not a great start to a romance, to be sure, but it all worked out. I eventually moved back to Cape to start graduate school. When Josh visited, our nights would begin or end (and sometimes both) at a downtown establishment - whether for food, drinks, dancing, or all three! After Josh moved back to Cape, our relationship grew and we began to see all of the other great things that downtown Cape has to offer - furniture, antiques, clothes, events like Tunes at Twilight and the Cape Riverfront Market, and jewelry. Oops, I just gave you a hint as to how this story ends!

Ok, now fast forward to the night before Thanksgiving of 2012. After dinner at Broussard's, we walked to the river. As we meandered by Ragsdale's, this conversation sparked: what would our lives be like if we hadn't run into each other that one night? We continued to walk, talk, and watch the water whoosh by. As I headed back to the car, Josh called my name and I turned around to find him on one knee with a stunning ring from Jayson Jewelers.

Our story doesn't end there. I said yes, and just a little over a month ago, we were married. When looking for locations for the ceremony, the answer seemed obvious. Downtown Cape had been such a big part of our lives and relationship that it was the perfect place to begin our new journey together. We were lucky enough to be one of the first weddings allowed in the beautiful Old St. Vincent's Catholic Church since the 1970s! The church's downtown location also allowed us to use the unique views and vistas, resulting in amazing pictures and memories that we'll hang on our walls and cherish forever.

With all that downtown Cape has been to and done for us, it's exciting to think about what's next. Our relationship began and blossomed downtown, developed into a serious something, then changed into a marriage, a real man-and-wife something. Thank you, downtown Cape, for your charm and opportunities both new and old, and all of the good times that you offer. Personally, I thank you for my hubby!

I have never intentionally watched a sunrise. I told some friends this over frozen yogurt this summer, and they were all astonished. Apparently it’s a must, and shameful to have not participated in this activity after twenty-seven years of inhabiting the Earth. So we went on bantering about how we would all watch one together soon.

Well… life as it does, passed by quickly and plans were never made; that is until yesterday when I had the bright idea to watch my first sunrise in the deep cold of winter. I convinced my friend, Jessica, to get up with me this morning, and when she agreed I told her she just earned the Friend of the Year Award.

I picked Jessica up at 6:15 this morning. She met me at my car with two thermoses full of fresh hot tea called “Comfort & Joy”. How cute (and needed for 7 degree weather)! We drove towards downtown, so we could watch the sunrise come up over the Mississippi River and decided the top of the county courthouse stairs would be perfect. We hopped out of the car around 6:20, and the freezing began.
 
At first I was so excited to be outside waiting for the sun. There was a line of orange on the horizon, but aside from that it was still a dark, blue-black outside and all of the streetlights were still twinkling. As minutes passed, the sky became lighter and brighter, but still no sun. After 15 minutes the truth set in: 7 degree weather is COLD. Our spirits were still high though. We ran around to stay warm and enjoyed the sounds of a band practicing for the Slapowitz party in a bar below for a KFVS12 Breakfast Show segment.

Come 7:00 we were ready for the sun. I was yelling, “Come out sun” with some serious authority and almost thought it would listen. Our fingers were starting to hurt from the cold, and when 7:03 passed (the time Google said the sun would come up) we decided to go watch the sunrise from the car.

As soon as the decision was made we started sprinting for the car – frozen fingers and all. On the way, Jess dropped her phone and when she picked it up she accidentally pressed something and her phone began playing, “Your Love is a Song” by Switchfoot. We turned around a couple of seconds later (before we reached my car), and the sun was rising. We rushed back to our original spot to get photos, and Jess let the song play on through the sunrise. At the time, I thought she played it on purpose because it was so perfect, but later she told me it was a total accident.

We scurried around, listening to the perfect song on accident and captured some beautiful photos from the tippy top of downtown. It was the perfect way to start the morning, and the perfect place to do so. We stood with a courthouse that had seen many beautiful sunrises, and for the first time I enjoyed one with it.