The Engagement Story

Fernando had decided to take me on a romantic getaway because our schedules are so different and it feels as if we never see each other. I also had had one of those crazy weeks, my best friend’s bachelorette party was really becoming something unbelievable with a bunch of selfish you-know-whats making the party about their needs and making my best bud MISERABLE, to say the least. To top it off, I had made quite a few mistakes at work which seemed to occur all at once, you know when you keep making stupid mistakes on top of each other and it never ends? SO, we left Hermosa Beach and headed to Santa Barbara…here’s the Ventura Freeway along the coast:

That Saturday night, Aug. 22nd, after we arrived in Santa Barbara, we decided to go to dinner. Well, ladies, you know that he didn’t make reservations for a restaurant…I love him but, he is a man in the planning category LOL. So, we decided on Cava in Montecito- a wonderful Spanish restaurant. As we drove along the ocean on our way to the restaurant, we saw a courtyard with Renaissance arches lit up and fell in love. “That is where we should have our reception,” we both said. Let me explain about how I knew he was going to propose soon….he had asked my parents' permission two months ahead of time when we were visiting with my mom up in the Redwoods of Northern California.
So, we went to Cava- where I had the most delicious paella with a couple of Pisco Sours and Fernando had a chicken dish with a Mojito. Here we are in front of the beautiful mosaic fountain:

At dinner, Fernando was like, “Hey, let’s go back to that courtyard and take a stroll around. That looked like a really cool place.” ”OK, no problem and I want to check it out up close!” So, we finished our wonderful dinner and headed back along the ocean to Fess Parker’s Double Tree Resort. We got out of the car and as we walked up, it was breathtaking. I mean…LOOK AT IT! Well, it’s a little blurry because I was getting used to my new camera LOL….

So, we decided to climb some winding stairs to the upstairs Rotunda which overlooked the moon on the sea, gave you unobstructed views of the clear and starry night sky and gave me a bird’s eye view of the courtyard and it took my breath away.

Isn’t that the most perfect place to have a reception? It doesn’t have a ceiling so you can dine/dance under the stars. So, after I took this photo, I turned around and there was Fernando on his knee with the 3-carat diamond ring that was my great-grand aunt's wedding ring from 1902 and he asked me to marry him. Obviously, I said yes! Here’s us after he popped the question and as we embark on this new journey together:

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