Pacific Highway Roadtrip: Tenitive Itinerary

Friday, Aug 26
- Oceanside and San Clemente for some surfing
- dinner and drinks with Garcia's aunt and uncle in Los Angeles

Saturday, Aug 27
- Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica Pier
- surfing in Malibu
- dinner and exploring in Santa Barbara
- night in Santa Barbara hostel

Sunday, Aug 28
- ATV riding in Pismo Beach
- San Luis Obispo
- surf and camp out in the beach at Morro Strand Beach

Monday, Aug 29
- Cambria for a hike and brunch
- Hearst Castle in San Simeon
- Elephant Seals at Piedras Blancas Beach
- McWay Falls and the Big Sur
- dinner at Nepenthe
- moonlight baths/springs
- camp in the Big Sur

Tuesday, Aug 30
- Bixby Bridge
- lunch in Carmel-by-the-Sea
- 17 mile drive past Pebbles Beach
- Canary Row in Monterey
- hostel in Monterey

Wednesday, Aug 31
- Monterey Bay Aquarium
- Santa Cruz and Boardwalk
- San Francisco

Thursday- Friday, Sept 1-2
- San Francisco touring and sightseeing (Golden Gate bridge, Golden Gate Park, Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39, China town, Nob Hill, Alamo Square, Lombard Street)
- Salsa dancing
- City Lights Cruise
- Muir Woods hiking

Saturday, Sept 3
- Napa Valley for wine tasting at a few vineyards... still open to suggestions!!
- night at RiverPointe in Napa

Sunday, Sept 4
-drive back to San Diego, CA

We are Engaged!

Yup!  We are engaged!  After dating for 7 months, he popped the question!  Here's the story...

Garcia came to Columbus for 4th of July weekend.  On Saturday, we went on a hiking/camping trip at Hocking Hills State Park.  He suggested we take Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream and took me to Ash Cave.  (Our story begins at Jeni's Ice Cream.  After working together for 15 months, we went to Jeni's Ice Cream in the Short North, where he confessed his feelings for me.  The first and only time I let the amazingness of Jeni's go uneaten.) When we got to the waterfall, he found a perfect spot to sit and enjoy the scenery, the ice cream, and the music on his laptop.  He had a wonderful playlist, and little did I know that he was waiting for the right song to come on...

Right before Marry Me by Train came on, he suggested we take a picture, so he propped the camera on a rock and pressed the "10 second delay" button, or so I thought.  He climbed back up on the rock with me for the "picture."  When the flash didn't go off, I noticed he was facing me and reaching for my hands.  He looked nervous and I could sense his heart was racing.  He started saying all the wonderful things that a girl loves to hear, and I'll spare you on what he said- mostly because I couldn't concentrate on what he was saying.  I kept thinking "oh my God, oh my God..."  Then he got down on one knee.  He'll tell you that I started saying yes as he was going to his knee and that I didn't even wait for him to pop the question.  He asked me to marry him, and when I shouted out "YES!" I realized by my shaky voice that I was crying.  We both were.

He placed the ring on my finger. I couldn't believe how beautiful it was.  Someone at the base of the waterfall yelled up "What did she say?", followed by cheers from below.  I don't really remember that part, because I was too focused on staring at the ring and keeping my knees from buckling and falling off the ledge.  But, we can watch the whole thing over again because instead of pushing the 10-second-delay, he pressed the video option on the camera.  Sneaky Garcia.

We are planning a destination wedding in October of 2012.

But more pressing, is my decision and announcement to move to San Diego this October.  I will miss my life, my job, my coworkers, my home, my friends, and most of all, my family here in Ohio.  But I'm so excited about starting the next chapter of my life in San Diego with the man I'm going to spend the rest of my life with.
 Before I leave, we have some adventures planned.  Including Rachel's wedding and Garcia's last visit to Columbus.  However, I'll just keep you informed on the big adventures...

Next up: Pacific Coast Highway Roadtrip, August 26-Sept 5.