Exciting news from Eric and Ashley!

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          Dear friends and family!!

Ashley and I have some very exciting news that we wish to share with everyone - on Tuesday August 24th 2010, at approximately 7:30pm I got engaged to the woman of my dreams!

Two years, two months and three days earlier on August 22nd, it was a typical beautiful Sunday afternoon in sunny Southern California -  and I was more excited than normal.  I had just met an amazing girl the week before, and was excited to get to see her again.  We had been out together a couple times during the week, but it had always been with friends, so I was happy to go with her on our first real "date".  Packing her and her furry little friend Ferrah into my car we headed out to a trail that she knew of in Palos Verdes that she enjoyed hiking on.  

I remember that day very well, I did not venture to Palos Verdes much at that time, having done more hikes around the Santa Monica region, so I was happy to meet a girl who would show me a new area to explore.  We drove down along the ocean, sun shining off the waves, and down through Redondo Beach, briefly going around in circles as I got us stuck at the fish market.  She led me down the streets of Redondo and onto Palos Verdes drive, curving through the hills - all the while we were talking away and just really enjoying that sensation of meeting someone that you feel immediately comfortable with.  I must admit, I was nervous.  She gave me butterflies from the moment I met her and that feeling has never really stopped.  I was so transfixed on her and our conversations that I didn't realize I was driving well under the speed limit, annoying the drivers around me, but I didn't care.  I felt on my own planet.

Driving through the tree covered streets of PV, we arrived atop a cliff that overlooked the ocean and Catalina island.  The scene was really spectacular - much better than the views of Los Angeles I got from the Santa Monica mountains.  We parked the car on the street away from the adjoined Del Cerro Park, and made our way to the trail head.  As we hiked down through the brush, her energy just encapsulated me - I could tell that there was something drawing me towards this woman.  Even as I led us astray and into the thick, thorny bush of the Palos Verdes hillside - she followed, and remained excited and happy to be on our adventure together.  I could feel myself falling in love even after only a week - and somewhere inside I guess I knew that she would become the one for me.

Returning to the top of the park, we bumped into one of her neighbors, Marco, his son and their dog - all of whom seemed just as delighted to see Ashley as I was to be with her.  Her love and her spirit just makes me want to be around her, and now I am happy to say, I will be able to for the rest of my life!

The years passed through, and our adventures continued, and our love blossomed.  From vacations in Puerto Rico and New Zealand to road trips through California, the South East and the North East, from adventure to mis-adventure, we reveled in each others company.

Now, 2 years later, with another upcoming adventure in Hawaii upcoming, I knew in my heart that I could not wait to announce my love for her any longer.

I told Ashley on Sunday that the weekend had been so beautiful, and that we've been having such an off summer, that I wanted to come home early on Tuesday and go for a hike to enjoy the sun, afterwards we could go to our new favorite dog-friendly restaurant in PV at the Terranea resort.  I was really hoping that she would agree to this suggestion off the bat, so I wouldn't have to try to press the issue and raise her suspicions, which fortunately for me she did.  Initially she had also suggested inviting our friends Jeremy & Karen to come with us on the hike, to which I downplayed my enthusiasm, preparing to email them asking them to respectfully decline for me if necessary.

I spent Monday and Tuesday preparing - calling the resort to make reservations and get flowers sent to the table to wait for us on arrival, packing us a change of clothes for the post-hike, sneaking the wine bottle carrier out of the house so I could bring a bottle of champagne with me for when she said 'yes'.  Two of the more pivotal parts of my plan: acquiring my new iPhone, and getting my car washed.

Normally, since Ashley is the photographer, she brings the cameras and sets up the shots - but I wanted to be the one to do that this time, and I figured the best way to do it without suspicion would be to use my iPhone.  I had been on the waiting list for months - my original one broke back in February - so I had been calling all week to see when it was in stock, and finally after an hour of waiting in line on Monday, was able to get one.  The other aspect to the plan, was for me to set up all the things in my trunk, I had to come up with a good reason why we should take my car (Ash has an SUV, so we normally take her car on hiking outings) - so I took my car to get washed and used that as an excuse - my plan was to tell her (jokingly - since my car has a big dent on the side) that I wanted to see if the valet would park it up front with the Ferraris and Lamborghini's now that it was clean.  I don't think I got that part out, but that was the plan.

At any rate, puzzle pieces in place, I was ready to go.  Unfortunately, planning the perfect surprise sometimes requires quick thinking as plans can oft go astray - that morning we found out that our shower began leaking into the apartment below us and they were going to need to stay into the late afternoon fixing it.  This pushed our ability to get down to the trail for our hike out the window, and since we had mentioned we were both hungry, Ash suggested we just go to the resort for dinner and skip the hike/trail.

Thinking on my feet - I told her that I really wanted to go up there to use my new phone to test the panoramic features - I ended up quickly downloading some apps to do panoramics and timed camera shots to really sell the story.  While I did my best to alleviate suspicion that something was up, her intuition was turned on when I arrived home unable to stop smiling from ear to ear at her.  I ultimately had to stop looking and talking to her, and talked to her through the dog....instead of asking Ashley if she was ready to go, I had to ask Ferrah so she couldn't see me and my excitement.

On the ride down to Palos Verdes, Ashley reiterated the idea that we go to the resort first - it was already late, so we wouldn't do the hike, and the views at the resort were just as good - plus it had food.  This time to throw her off, I told her I was taking her to a new trailhead a friend of mine had just told me about - pretending that I had actually forgotten that she had taken me there 2 years earlier.  "Its supposed to have really good views, its up by the Del Cerro Park, he was telling me we'd really like it".  She immediately reminded me that we actually had been there before and couldn't believe that I had forgotten - so we actually chatted for a while about that, the whole while I was feigning my memory "Hmm, no...sounds familiar...but I thought that was at a different area...."  I didn't want her to catch on that I wanted that specific park, specifically because it took me back to that first date, to that early moment in our relationship when I first felt the spark that would keep me in love through the years.

When we arrived, I did let her know that "Oh yeaaahh, this does seem vaguely familiar...."  In all honesty, we had not been back to this park since that first date.  But it stands out as a very lasting memory for me of Ashley nonetheless, and remained the location that I wanted to propose.  I wanted to surprise her, I wanted it to be some place ever lasting (not a building that gets changed or destroyed), and a place that carries with it a piece of love for us.  It was the perfect area.

We arrived as the sun was setting, fog lying low over the ocean, with Catalina staring back at us from the clouds as it had 2 years earlier.  Every time I see that island, I remember the song - "26 miles across the sea, Santa Catalina is a waiting for me, Santa Catalina, the island of...romance...romance, romance."  It was a very fitting backdrop. The view was still spectacular - the clouds and island tips seeming as something ethereal - a magical floating mass behind us.  I became instantly aware of the box containing the ring in my pocket and nervous that Ash might see or feel it so I moved it to my back pocket, and made sure every movement I made, my front faced her so she could not catch a glimpse of the outline through my pocket.

I posed her and Ferrah in a couple of different ways - mostly trying to get a feel for the camera and how it looked, and how it would handle the moment when I asked her to marry me.  I was also waiting for a particular location to be vacated by another sightseer - at the top of the cliff there is a stone bench that would serve as the perfect location to setup a timed photograph to cap the evening.  When the area was clear, I suggested it was time for dinner and that we should take off, but before we left, I wanted on last photo of both of us (and Ferrah).  As I began to pose Ashley in an area that would catch my on my knee, she pointed out that the sun was going to be behind us and the picture wouldn't show, so I moved her over behind the wall - not as perfect, but still good enough to catch me.  I told her I was setting it up on a timer, and then switched it over to video.

I quickly ran around the wall and took my position in the photo - letting her keep looking into the lens, and waiting for her to ask when the picture was going to take so that I could catch her off guard when I told her that it wouldn't.  I turned to face her, and at that moment became extremely excited and nervous.  So much so that the speech I had prepared the night before and rehearsed through the day instantly disappeared from my memory.  I told her that I had a confession to make - and that of course I had remembered that we had come up to this trailhead.  It was in fact my plan to bring her up there that night, to this specific location, because I had a question that I wanted to ask her.  I got down on one knee and showed her the ring that had been carefully hidden in my pocket, and I asked her to marry me.

And, to both of our delight, she said yes.

The rest of the night was a surreal experience of amazement.  We had just gotten engaged!  My brain was overwhelmed with excitement, I actually stood up forgetting to give her the ring.  I told her that I had made reservations for us at a different restaurant than our normal one and that champagne awaited us in my car.  We went and got it and enjoyed our first glass as an engaged couple as the sun set into the first warm evening all summer behind the pacific.  Once the champagne was gone and the sun was down, we drove down the cliff to the awaiting resort below.  Ashley was glowing, and eager to share the good news!  It seemed everyone we spoke to the first words she could manage were "We just got engaged!" - which delighted everyone around us as much as ourselves it seemed.  The resort staff were beyond excited and took our photo for us, and as we reached the restaurant we were surprised to discover Ferrah could join us at this new one as well (we had planned to cancel the reservation and go to the dog-friendly one at the other side when we picked up the flowers).  So we chose to stay, and sit beside a roaring fire, full moon glowing overhead.

The couples around us were also in love - the first couple was celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary and the second couple celebrating their 21st wedding anniversary. They commented on how in love we seemed and wished us the best, and it felt right being in the presence of such long lasting love - picturing myself with my wife celebrating our anniversary in 25 years.  It filled us with such excitement that we are getting ready to enter this next stage of life.

The restaurant itself was amazing, the food was delicious and everyone was so excited for us.  The chef prepared us gifts, including a custom desert with congratulations written in chocolate.  Even Ferrah got a gift of chicken on her very own plate to share in the moment!  We were beside ourselves all evening - almost unable to contain the excitement - looking into her eyes and seeing the joy and love that will last us for the rest of our lives.

It was a moment that I want to share, because it is a moment that will never fade.

Much love!

Eric & Ash