Last weekend Luke and I attended a wedding in Oregon so while we were there we decided to sight-see. We went shopping in a huge outlet mall and saw Salem, the capitol. Then we saw Portland, which was on the way home, and stopped to visit a Chinese garden that was smack in the middle of the city. I was amazed at how beautiful the garden was with all the traffic and industry surrounding it. It really was a little oasis in the hustle and bustle of Portland. Our tour guide was wonderful! She told us all about how the garden came to be, the symbolism of individual plants, the layout of the garden and its rooms, and the history behind the decor. Luke and I had a wonderful time - we even stopped to have a pot of tea at the garden tea shop!
After such a busy weekend, by the time Sunday night rolled around we were both exhausted. Luke asked if I wanted to go for a walk with him before he worked out. Of course I was game for that - I like exploring the neighborhood trails with Luke. We walked to a place about 2 miles from the house where you can see the Puget Sound. Instead of stopping where we usually do, Luke wanted to keep walking to a place he'd seen last summer. We had to climb down to the shore which required some basic mountain climbing gear I'm sure, but somehow we made it down - all the while Luke was barefoot because flip flops weren't working for him. We made it half way down where it levels out for the train tracks. After walking along the tracks for a few minutes we thought we could hear something. A yellow light came on behind us and we guessed a train was on its way. We climbed down from the tracks in time to duck behind a bush as the train rolled past. I looked over at Luke there, kneeling beside me in the thorns and dirt, smiling at me like a little kid and I felt like a kid too. We were playing in the dirt, exploring in the woods, hiding from the adults, possibly trespassing, and loving every minute of it.
We continued on for a few more minutes until we reached the place where most people climb down to the shore. There's a small little beach area where others have been, so you'd think the well-path would have been easy, but it was not. Luke slipped and slid all the way down while I stood at the top refusing to continue. He coaxed me into coming down, but it took a while, because I was not ok with sliding down the whole way. I did however slip - both legs right out from under me, and I have a rather painful bruise now to prove it.
We finally reached the bottom as I was on the verge of tears because now we had to turn around and make it back to the top - in the dark. I walked to the water to wash off my hands and rinse the dirt of my scratched legs. We sat for a minute and when I stood to find our way back up, I heard Luke behind me say "Hey Jackie..." I turned around to see Luke on one knee with the most beautiful ring I've ever seen. It was getting dark so I could barely see, but the ring still sparkled in the sunset.
We sat for a few minutes in the sand while I cried from happiness and dread of the hike back up. At that point, I was content to stay on the beach until help arrived, but we decided to hike back up before it got too dark. The hike up was much easier since we found a rope and then an easier trail with massive tree roots to use in climbing. We finally made it to the top and walked the sidewalk to his house hand in hand.
So now it's official. I have a ring, a dress, a wedding date, and a groom. I can't wait for November 20th!
