The Proposal

The last leg of our trip was perhaps the most memorable. As I posted previously, we camped in Monteray and visited Carmel before driving through Big Sur. We had a brilliant day finished off by a stunning sunset along the coast. We stopped at several view points along the way and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. I came to find out later that Richie had hoped to propose at one of these lovely spots. But it wasn't meant to be. Our privacy was constantly inturrupted by other travelers who also wished to enjoy the view. There was still time left in the evening and there would be other spots along the way, Richie thought. (I was unaware at this point.) We continued to drive when it became clear that our car was overheating. We were forced to stop on the side of the road while this car that had been so faithful to us throughout the entire trip took a much needed break. After cooling down, we were able to pull into a gas station. I ate a dinner of convenience store nachos on the curb while Richie burried his head under the hood, trying to determine the problem. The town we landed in was very small and neither of us had cell reception. We made friends with some people at the gas station who tried to diagnose our problem. We then decided to have the car towed and stay in the small town of Cambria for the night. We later learned that the car's water pump was faulty and needed to be replalced.

The tow truck driver, an experienced surfer named Brett, picked us up and took us to a hotel where we would stay until we could get our car fixed. Once we got settled in our room, we were very tired and glad to rest for a bit. Durring the whole ordeal, Richie seemed especially anxious and stressed. He had planned on a romantic proposal but our story was meant to be unique and a bit adventurous. As we were settling in, Richie got on one knee and asked me to marry him. It wasn't exactly what he had planned, but he knew he wanted to ask me. I think the fact that I didn't get upset about the car breaking down may have sealed the deal for him. I of course said YES.

Here we are after a long day of sight seeing, an exciting evening of car difficulties, and, of course the exciting event of getting engaged. We were tired, but very happy.