After dating for 8 years, finishing college, and both of us having full-time jobs, I was expecting a proposal to happen sooner rather than later. But Ryan knew that I would be waiting for it and half-expecting it to happen any day… he knows me too well. Anytime we would go out to dinner or do anything out of the ordinary, I would, of course, get my hopes up and Ryan would sense that and he would quickly tell me that this was not the right time and that an engagement was way out in the future. He knew that in order to surprise me (which was his goal), he would have to play it very casual and not create any suspicion.

The weekend before Thanksgiving 2005, we were driving home (to Oregon from Southern California) in the Volvo, as we always did for the holidays, when Ryan made the suggestion that we stop in Napa Valley to visit some wineries, do some sight-seeing and wine tasting, since that's always something we had wanted to do on one of our drives. But since we got a late start (late as in 7am versus 4am) and it would have added 4-5 hours onto our trip, I said no because I just wanted to get home. A few hours later, Ryan said that he wanted to pull off of I-5 near Shasta Lake and take some pictures that we could frame and put up in our apartment (something we like to do). I agreed and eventually we pulled off on exit 692 (Turntable Bay Road), which happened to be a gravel road through the trees that led down to Shasta Lake. The road was really windy and dark and no one was around, which was starting to worry me a little and I suggested that we turn around. Ryan convinced me to keep going and we finally found an opening in the trees and a nice little area where we could get out and take some pictures. So, we took pictures of the lake, of us with the lake in the background, and of the Volvo with the lake in the background. Then, right before we’re about to head back to the car, Ryan grabs my hands and says “I have a surprise for you!” He got down on one knee and grabbed something out of his jacket pocket. Because he was so sneaky and I was not expecting this at all, I was in complete shock and I don’t remember anything else that he said. All I remember is that I kept asking him if he was serious and he said, “Yes, of course I’m serious!” After what probably seemed like an eternity for Ryan, I finally realized what he had asked me and that I hadn’t answered him yet, so I finally said “Yes, of course!” We took a few more pictures and then got in the car and finished our trip to Eugene to share the news with our families.

What I didn't know before this all happened was that Ryan was hoping to take me to a winery in Napa Valley to propose to me. He also was not very happy with me when I almost made him turn around when we were driving down to Shasta Lake. But, he knew that if he pushed too hard for me to do anything that I didn't want to do, I would have figured it out, which was the last thing that he wanted to happen. After 8 years together and expecting it pretty much every moment I could imagine, he did a great job of surprising me, which I loved!

 

updated 12/30/08