The proposal (part two)

My apologies…it was not my intent to keep you in suspense this long. But funny thing after you get engaged: you actually start to plan the wedding. With a desired wedding date about six months away, and an impending trip to Florida for me, we wanted to get a venue nailed down as soon as possible. And then there’s a little thing called Christmas, which thanks to a weekend getaway to Seattle, we’re now mostly prepared for. But enough of the excuses; let’s get back to the story.

Stop two of the day was another significant location for the two of us. Icicle Ridge is a winery located a little ways outside Leavenworth in the countryside {random sidenote: do people say in the countryside in America? I was just reading through this and can’t for the life of me figure out if this is terminology I picked up from my students in China or standard English}. Last January, while in Leavenworth Jeff and I had happened to strike up a conversation with their winemaker during a visit to their tasting room. He was so impressed by our unlikely story that he gave us a bottle of wine graced with a special note and the date. In addition, he suggested we come out to the actual winery the following day for a tasting. We decided to follow his advice, and were delighted to enjoy a bottle of wine in a beautiful log home with a huge stone fireplace. The entire time we were the only ones there, and when the winemaker happened to drop in we struck up a conversation once again.

When Jeff found out that the ring would indeed be ready for a weekend proposal, he set to tracking down the winemaker. He thought meeting up with him would be the perfect addition to this special day. Alas, Jeff was never able to get a hold of him during the week. However, compared to the crowds of Leavenworth, Jeff thought the peacefulness…and significance…of the log home might just be the perfect place to turn the tides of the day and perhaps even propose.

Any glimmering hope of such things was dashed upon arrival in the parking lot. The place was packed with cars and even a large stretch limo. It appeared there would be no getting away from crowds on this day. A bit disconcerted about his rapidly derailing plans, we headed in and managed to find the last two seats available in the crowded room. Jeff immediately ordered our favorite wine. And was promptly told that it was sold out. We settled on another bottle and made the most of the time. I could tell he was stressed about how the day was going, and I was now wondering when…and if…he was going to propose.

After finishing about half the bottle of wine, and packaging the rest to go, we hit the road once more. Our next stop was the one part of the day that went according to plan. We drove up between the mountain peaks along the rushing rapids of a mountain river to a little fudge shop set in a stunning location. After sampling various selections of fudge we made our choices and posed for a quick picture.

And then it was time to return to Leavenworth. Knowing parking would be an issue, Jeff dropped me off by Starbucks with instructions to grab a hot drink while I waited for him to join me shortly. I hopped out into the frigid late afternoon air, and promptly joined a line that stretched about thirty yards outside of Starbucks. Cold, and wary of the crowds that were (though it seemed impossible) larger than earlier in the day, I mused on the direction the day would take next. Would he actually ask in the midst of all these foiled plans?

The remaining events of the day, and the ring, will be revealed soon…