California Engagement

California Engagement

It's true! Meghan and I are getting married! Click the photo link above and follow our trip through California. For those that want details of the day James proposed read on:

We decided to go to California after Meg bought tickets to the Dead show in the Bay Area. Since we were driving that far we thought we should make a longer trip of it and see other parts of my home state. Yosemite was put on the list and my wheels started turning, Yosemite IS pretty romantic. Meg doesn't wear a lot of jewelry and I wasn't receiving much in the way of hints. So I took a ring from her jewelry box with us.

I told Meg before we left there was a hike I really wanted to do while we were in Yosemite. No red flags for her, we hike all the time. We got up early that morning and began our hike, but I found myself short of breath early on...it was correlating to the rehearsal I was doing in my head and subsequent increase of heart rate. It was a beautiful day, no clouds in the sky, a perfect trail, and minimal (by Yosemite standards) foot traffic. We stopped in several places to take pictures. And while I wanted to just run up the trail and ask her, I did my best to play it cool.

We got to the top of Yosemite Falls and decided to stop for lunch there. At this point I was in agony and had to make a conscious effort to conceal the inner turmoil. After about half an hour we hiked the final mile to Yosemite Point. On the way down was another hiker and I asked if it was a good day to view Half Dome. He said "you can't really see it from there, it's around the corner". I seized up a little because in pictures I had seen, in planning this whole thing out, Half Dome was supposed to be in the background! As we crested the trail the expansive view revealed itself, the Valley, Sentinel Rock, and Half Dome plain as day! Maybe he was thinking of the other half dome?

This is a great place to take pictures up there so we dawdled a bit. Meg took some pictures of me from above then came down to join me. She asked if I wanted to sit. I said "We have to take care of something else first" and I took her hand and got on my left knee. "Meghan Nicolle Moore, you are the love of my life and always will be. Will you marry me?" "Of course!" she said and grasped around my neck as I knelt and gave me the most loving kiss I have ever known. We got a little misty, and she admitted total surprise.

I had hoped there would be someone else at the Point when we got there so I could have them take pictures of the whole event. However, there was nary a soul other than us for half an hour. It actually worked out best that way, as we had the Yosemite Cathedral all to ourselves to revel in the following moments.

After a few more pictures and dreamy eyes we headed back down the trail. All either of us remember is floating down the steps, passing other people like they were standing still. We didn't have anywhere to be, but couldn't restrain the rush we were feeling. We probably could have hiked that trail five more times that day before it burned off.

The next morning we went to the gift shop in Yosemite Village and found a ring similar to what I now know she is looking for in an engagement ring, old timey with filigree. We will do some more serious shopping in the weeks to come.


What comes next is the wedding. And for this we are going to Belize in February of 2010. All of our friends and family are invited, however, we cannot pay for plane tickets or accomodations for our guests. It will be a simple ceremony, and a lot of vacation fun! Our plan is to hang out with friends and family for a week, then go on our own honeymoon for another week. We certainly don't expect many of you to make it, and we are okay with that. We realize we have made it somewhat inconvenient to attend. If, however, you were thinking of the Yucatan Peninsula for your next vacation, we would love to have you join us!

Thank you all for supporting us in our journey. We are excited and curious and nervous, but most of all, very much in love. So there it is. And here we go! Into a new world full of surprise and safety. Everything we are looking for we have found in one another and can't wait to see what comes next.