We had been talking about taking another road trip out west, to visit the old stomping grounds and see some old friends. I was certainly homesick for California, and luckily, it's California, so Mandy was up for the trip. The new car was still shiny and clean. Gas was getting a bit cheaper. And I had an ulterior motive.
Mandy and I had been talking about taking our relationship to the next level. We had been looking at what kind of rings would look great on her left hand, fourth digit. Turns out they all do, but we narrowed it down to a couple of options. After many trips to the jewelers, I selected the stone, but had to have the ring custom made (her fingers are unusually elegant). So I had the stone set in a temporary setting and stuffed it ceremoniously inside the spare tire in the hidden compartment within the trunk. And we headed west.
My mind raced through potential places to pop the question. I wanted it to be beautiful place with kinetic surroundings. It had to be a place to bridge the past to the unwritten future. The ocean! But where? Just down the Street of the Golden Lantern where I had lived most of my 20s is Dana Point Harbor. The old three masted ship, The Pilgrim, of my sixth grade pseudo-maritime adventure is berthed there. And there is a long jetty built of large granite boulders protecting the harbor. The tide was at its highest. The cement staircase that would usually lead you to the beach and tide pools instead led to the absolute edge of the Pacific.
I had previously tossed my jacket into the trunk to give me an excuse to fish out the ring in its shiny mahogany box. I managed to get it to fit in the inside pocket of the jacket, but not without creating a large bump that had to be carefully hidden.
After waving hello to The Pilgrim, we headed toward the Jetty of Fate. At this point, my heart was pumping so loudly, I thought she might hear it over the waves and give me away. After about 50 yards of rock hopping, we found a nice spot perched between the wild, surging Pacific and the glass-like harbor. I went to her, we took each other into our arms. After a moment of basking in the serenity of it all, I dropped to one knee, pulled the red box from my jacket, opened it and asked if she would marry me. Apparently she liked it and me and said "yes".
After that, we drove to the top of the bluffs overlooking the harbor and ocean. The sun was threatening to set! We raced to Laguna Beach and watch the setting sun punch through the low clouds as the earth rotated away as it always does.
We enjoyed some tasty sushi at the great Gen Kai and then headed to our hotel for that night in Anaheim. The next two days were spent at Disneyland with my sister Jenny and her now fiancé Casey.
