I am going to start this blog post out with; I have the most wonderful man in life. He is full of so many surprises and constantly keeps me on my toes! The plan was to travel to Vegas for my birthday and hang out there for a week; going to shows, eating good food, having cocktails, maybe a little gambling.... You know all the fun Vegas stuff!
The plan started out as that, going to Vegas, driving straight to In-N-Out from the airport (tradition to indulge right away), hitting up Freemont Street, and picking out shows to watch. I have to say Jackie is great at playing along. Back to the hotel exhausted from travel, he breaks the news. We aren't staying in Vegas for the week, we are going to California, LA specifically. Shocked, I was so excited. As much travel as we have done, I still haven't made it to Cali. In LA we do the tour of the stars homes, the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame, a nice lunch, and we then we are off again to Santa Barbara for the night, where we had my actual birthday dinner (I was jealous of how good Jackie's dinner was).
The plan started out as that, going to Vegas, driving straight to In-N-Out from the airport (tradition to indulge right away), hitting up Freemont Street, and picking out shows to watch. I have to say Jackie is great at playing along. Back to the hotel exhausted from travel, he breaks the news. We aren't staying in Vegas for the week, we are going to California, LA specifically. Shocked, I was so excited. As much travel as we have done, I still haven't made it to Cali. In LA we do the tour of the stars homes, the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame, a nice lunch, and we then we are off again to Santa Barbara for the night, where we had my actual birthday dinner (I was jealous of how good Jackie's dinner was).
Waking up in Santa Barbara, he brings on another surprise! We are leaving and doing the beautiful Big Sur California Coastal drive. Driving the coast was incredibly relaxing. We stopped off at couple of view points, saw thousands of elephant seals (that just had babies), sang along to a few songs, and had a wonderful lunch with the most spectacular view. While eating lunch, Jackie told me we were going whale watching right after. I was so excited because the whole day we had been seeing the whales off the coast blowing thier spouts. Sometimes we would see a group of 5 doing it all at the same time. It was breath taking.
Arriving to the whale watching location, we get out of the car, grab our sweaters (its now freezing cold out) and our camera gear. Oh yea about that- all I had was my cell phone this whole trip for photos.... Jackie didn't think I needed my nice camera & tripod (I'm still mad about it). Luckily he had his go pros considering it was the best view we had seen ALL day, which is hard to say since every sight we saw was amazing!
Walking the pathway down to where we will be whale watching, we stop, snap some photos, keep walking, take some couple selfies, pass another girl taking photos of the scenery and then it happens. Jackie grabs my hands and tells me that this isn't just a birthday trip. My heart drops.... "So I ask him what do you mean?" He replies "I have been planning this for a long time" and I reply "planning what?".... Before I know it in front of me I have the man I love on one knee asking me to marry him. My first thought, was this was a joke, and a mean one. After 9 years is he really finally asking me to marry him? Of course I say yes, and then kept asking myself is this for real? I have never felt so much joy in my life than in that very moment. Remember the girl taking scenery photos? She was the hired photographer to capture the proposal...
Here are a few self photos and some from the photographer.
Walking the pathway down to where we will be whale watching, we stop, snap some photos, keep walking, take some couple selfies, pass another girl taking photos of the scenery and then it happens. Jackie grabs my hands and tells me that this isn't just a birthday trip. My heart drops.... "So I ask him what do you mean?" He replies "I have been planning this for a long time" and I reply "planning what?".... Before I know it in front of me I have the man I love on one knee asking me to marry him. My first thought, was this was a joke, and a mean one. After 9 years is he really finally asking me to marry him? Of course I say yes, and then kept asking myself is this for real? I have never felt so much joy in my life than in that very moment. Remember the girl taking scenery photos? She was the hired photographer to capture the proposal...
Here are a few self photos and some from the photographer.
The birthday now engagement trip surprises did not stop there. He really had every day planned out (down to where we were going, when, and what we were eating). We spent the next two days celebrating in Sonoma and Napa Valley just hopping around some amazing vineyards. The wine was incredible, and although the grapes had been harvested and it is still "winter" time there, the scenery was nothing less than just stunning!
With one last surprise left, we leave Napa and head over to San Francisco... There we visit Pier 39 (trying out 2 sourdough bowls of clam chowder), Alcatraz (what a great learning experience), see the Golden Gate Bridge upclose, and the run into the pretty Ashley Edwards for an evening drink before driving 8 hours back to Vegas to end our trip.
This was the BEST birthday trip ever, more than that, a very romantic engagement. What girl doesn't love to be swept off her feet for a complete surprise trip?
With one last surprise left, we leave Napa and head over to San Francisco... There we visit Pier 39 (trying out 2 sourdough bowls of clam chowder), Alcatraz (what a great learning experience), see the Golden Gate Bridge upclose, and the run into the pretty Ashley Edwards for an evening drink before driving 8 hours back to Vegas to end our trip.
This was the BEST birthday trip ever, more than that, a very romantic engagement. What girl doesn't love to be swept off her feet for a complete surprise trip?