I had taken Thursday off of work. Jeremy was working at home that day and asked if I wanted to go for a lunch-time hike so we headed up to Redwood Park, our usual hiking spot in the Oakland hills. Once there we decided to embark on a different path and quickly deemed it to be our new favorite as we meandered down a valley along a creek shaded with redwoods. It was so still and peaceful that we stopped to listen to dragonflies flutter on the water and I found myself thinking that getting married in the woods would be nice.
Eventually, we came to this wooden bench in a clearing (pictured here). I was surprised to see Jeremy walk over to sit because he usually isn't the one who stops to take breaks when we're hiking. We sat for a few moments in silence until suddenly with great purpose he grabbed my hand. I remember thinking, 'Holy &#&@^&#, is he gonna do what I think he's gonna do?!!?' And he did! He moved in front of me, got down on his knee and proposed. I burst into happy tears and we sat there for a long while before beginning the trek out of the valley and back to our car. It was warm by then and near impossible for me to walk as I was alternating between crying and laughing, panting from physical exhaustion and wanting to scream, "I just got engaged!"Â Each time we passed hikers on the way out I would turn to their backs flailing my ring around while whisper-screaming to them, "I just got engaged!"
Once we got back in cell phone range we made a million phone calls to family and friends and began celebrating over lunch at La Mediterranee in Berkeley. Since we had the day we visited a few jewelry stores on College Avenue trying to find a permanent setting for the diamond. I found "the one" right away, but decided to think on it overnight.
Since we were in the area we spontaneously stopped by Citron where we found our friend Jon working behind the bar. And even though they weren't officially open he was able to serve us some champagne with fresh peaches. After that we went to the liquor store and bought a bottle of champagne and a couple bridal magazines and stopped by Shannon and Jill's house to surprise them with the news. After much joyous hugs and a tearful phone call to Mary we went home and got ready for dinner. We decided to finish our celebratory champagne and culinary tour of the East Bay with dinner at our favorite little restaurant in Oakland, called JoJo's.
August 25th was a superbly great day and one that I'll remember forever. :)
Eventually, we came to this wooden bench in a clearing (pictured here). I was surprised to see Jeremy walk over to sit because he usually isn't the one who stops to take breaks when we're hiking. We sat for a few moments in silence until suddenly with great purpose he grabbed my hand. I remember thinking, 'Holy &#&@^&#, is he gonna do what I think he's gonna do?!!?' And he did! He moved in front of me, got down on his knee and proposed. I burst into happy tears and we sat there for a long while before beginning the trek out of the valley and back to our car. It was warm by then and near impossible for me to walk as I was alternating between crying and laughing, panting from physical exhaustion and wanting to scream, "I just got engaged!"Â Each time we passed hikers on the way out I would turn to their backs flailing my ring around while whisper-screaming to them, "I just got engaged!"
Once we got back in cell phone range we made a million phone calls to family and friends and began celebrating over lunch at La Mediterranee in Berkeley. Since we had the day we visited a few jewelry stores on College Avenue trying to find a permanent setting for the diamond. I found "the one" right away, but decided to think on it overnight.
Since we were in the area we spontaneously stopped by Citron where we found our friend Jon working behind the bar. And even though they weren't officially open he was able to serve us some champagne with fresh peaches. After that we went to the liquor store and bought a bottle of champagne and a couple bridal magazines and stopped by Shannon and Jill's house to surprise them with the news. After much joyous hugs and a tearful phone call to Mary we went home and got ready for dinner. We decided to finish our celebratory champagne and culinary tour of the East Bay with dinner at our favorite little restaurant in Oakland, called JoJo's.
August 25th was a superbly great day and one that I'll remember forever. :)
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