(please bear with me.. this is a LONG post!)
i will preface this story with this. On Friday, April 8th, I was supposed to fly to Dallas with my boss (Claudia). A day trip. to go shopping. for clients.
Boy was I wrong.
I get to Claudia's house early (8:30am to be exact) to go over a few things.. like where we were going, what we were looking for, etc. "Our flight" didn't leave until noon-ish so we had some time before we left. Claudia's mom came over to watch Henry and we all chatted and talked about Dallas before we left for the airport. We park, and go stand in line for security. I never asked for my boarding pass (random) and we just chatted as we stood in line. It was our turn to give the check-point lady our IDs and boarding passes when Claudia turned and looked at me while handing me a sealed envelope and said, "This is where I leave you, Colby is waiting for you".
Wait, WHAT?
we hug it out and i start crying (there is a lot of crying) and the woman stuffs the boarding pass back into the envelope and all I hear is 'gate 15'. I make it through security and head to the bathroom where i proceeded to cry some more, then went to find CL. As soon as I saw him I started crying again (see told you, more tears!) he was like 'SURPRISE! we are going to San Francisco for the weekend'. I didn't pack anything-- he assured me that everything was okay, that i had luggage (he with the help of my mom, his mom, and Claudia got me packed perfectly!), and that my mom was on her way to austin for the weekend to watch the dogs. Im absolutley and utterly stunned. CL proceeded to tell me we just needed a weekend away, to de-stress, and to relax. Sure, okay.
At this point im confused, panicked (I hate flying and had a week to mentally prepare for a 50 min flight, not a 3.5 hour one!) and overwhelmed. we grab a drink, board with our snacks (snickers and chex mix-- healthy i know) and are on our way. The entire flight im like 'I don't know how they all pulled this off'' and my bff lives in San Fran and how can i go there for 4 days and not tell her?! (I secretly texted Carmen and Brittany to let them know i wasn't going to Dallas) On the flight CL tells me that we have no plans except dinner friday and brunch on saturday. the rest of the weekend was for us to enjoy. we arrive at SFO and hop on BART and head to the hotel (The Hyatt Regency) where i still am not sure what i am doing there. we unpack (i have everything except deodorant) and grab a snack (thanks Taco Bell) before we relax.. He promised no more surprises except for one more.. that we were meeting our friends (and newlyweds!) Kelly and Andy & Andy's brother for drinks and dinner! I was so relieved and happy that there were no more surprises (my heart was bursting!). we met them at the hotel and headed to dinner at the Thirsty Bear (how appropriate!) We drank and ate and laughed and had a great time and called it an early night.
Saturday morning we get up early (like 7:30am early) and decide to hit the farmers market across the street at the ferry building before heading to brunch. we walked the aisles of the market while we sipped our coffee. the produce and flowers are so beautiful. i don't suspect a thing. we decide to head over to brunch early so we can enjoy the neighborhood before we eat. i didn't have a camera charger so we stopped in at good 'ole radio shack where they ripped me off for a charger that doesn't even work (that i will be returning!). we have a lovely brunch at Farmer Brown.. an eclectic, home cooking eatery. I didn't eat much as i was experiencing travel funny tummy, but CL enjoyed a little extra for me. Their homemade granola and yogurt was SO good. its making my mouth water. CL had been wanting to head over to Haight/Ashbury to go to Amoeba Music so we headed over there first.
He browsed the aisles like a kid in a candy shop. We then head to the park. It was SO pretty out that all i wanted to do was be outside. We stroll through the soccer fields, past the impromptu drum circle and over to the Conservatory of Flowers. They had a 'Wicked Plants' exhibit that we read about on the plane and checked it out. When we finished walking the conservatory we hung out in the park for a while before heading over to the DeYoung Museum.. he kept telling me 'lets go over there and take pictures' which i found weird seeing as he really doesn't like getting his picture taken. at this point he tries talking me into a 3.2 mile "walk" to the beach. i decline and we take a bus 20 blocks farther than what we should have. we arrive at baker beach and walk down to the water before he points at a log and goes, lets go sit over there.
its at this point where he starts texting someone and checking his watch. we chat, talk about the ocean and how cold the water probably is, and watch a bird glide above our heads. we take some pictures and just sit in silence. at one point i thought to myself.. this is an opportune time to do something and if it doesnt happen now, its not happening on this trip. the texting/ watch checking is getting a little annoying at this point and i actually said to him 'why do you keep checking your watch? is something magical going to happen at 4pm?" Apparently.
a few moments later he looks at me while standing up. "You know how I said no more surprises? I lied" As he says this I start saying "are you serious?!" about 1,000 times and he gets down on his knees (yes, both!) looks at me and goes "I have something to ask you".. ARE YOU SERIOUS?! "will you marry me?!" im bawling. he's smiling from ear to ear. of course I said yes! (apparently before he even finished asking!) he pulls out the most beautiful ring out of his pocket and puts it on my finger.. its a perfect fit and my dream ring. we hug and kiss and i made sure he was serious ;)
i turn around to see some people walking over.. one who looks mysteriously like carmen's dad.. and carmen.. with cameras! (and serena!) he had them in on the surprise too! i cry some more and we take a bunch of photos. im in shock, and couldnt have been happier. I called my mom (there is a video) and she asks me what happened in which i replied "what happenend? he asked me to marry him!" we took a few more pictures before heading our separate ways for the afternoon.
We celebrated by calling everyone (you special people know who you are!) and grabbing dinner at Gotts.. cheeseburgers and champagne. hells yes. we met Carmen and her bf, Jared, after dinner for more champagne (!)
sunday was our day to be tourists. i of course couldn't stop staring at my ring from breakfast at the pier til dinner. i think i told CL that we were getting married (in case he didn't know) about a million times that day and couldn't stop smiling. we headed to the wharf and leisurely walked around. we went to ghiradelli square and hiked up to lombard street. we took a tour of the bay on a boat packed with nothing but Asians. i've never felt so outnumbered! we watched street performers and just relished in the moment. my uncle garry (who lives in los gatos) picked us up and took us to lunch at the most adorable restaurant- netties crab shack. it was SO good. it was good to see him and catch up! he dropped us off at Carmen's dad's place for dinner. Carmen is the best-- she had a little dinner party planned for us and a couple of her friends (who were also in on this whole mission!) it was so nice to meet her friends, enjoy delicious food and wine and recap the whole weekend.
monday we packed and grabbed a quick bite at yank sing (yummy dim sum!) before heading back to austin. my mom and brother picked us up at the airport, fed us, and we even celebrated with champagne (in the car. what open container law?) we got home and the doggies greeted us with pink bows with engagement rings dangling off of them! and my mom had a few presents for us.
we couldn't be more excited and cant wait to start planning in the near future.. for now we are just going to enjoy the moment!
