The Ultimate Surprise

I have known the departure date for our trip for a long while.  July 3rd has been set in stone as the big day and leading up to that date there was a lot that had to be done.  Right up until the beginning of July we had supplies rolling in.  There was one extremely important piece of equipment I needed for the trip and that was an engagement ring.  Lea and I have talked about the whole marriage thing and it was time that I ask her if she wanted to spend not only seven weeks with me but the rest of our lives together.

Ideas on how to propose have been jumping through my head for a long while and I eventually settled on the location (Indian Ladders Waterfall on Hornbecks Creek in the Delaware Water Gap).  It is Lea's favorite waterfall and I now had to get all the other moving pieces together.  The first part was the ring itself.

Lea is unique and she wanted an engagement ring to be unique as well.  I was told only a very brief descriptor for the ring; a raw emerald.  I went to a local jeweler and told them I was looking for a raw emerald ring and they proceeded to ask me what that was.  This was not the experience I was looking for.  I eventually found a small custom jeweler and the process couldn't have been more painless.  I had a lot of input into the design of the ring and overall I was thoroughly pleased.

        

So now to the big day! I was under the gun for the timeline.  The ring was finalized on June 29th and I planned to propose on July 1st. I couldn't risk having the ring in the car during the trip because I figured Lea would find it and I would be so stressed out hoping for the perfect moment.   The back story was set in that my mom was going to be showing me how to use a new lens for the camera and eventually she would ask Lea and I to take a picture together in front of the falls and I would eventually go to a knee and ask the all important question.  In addition to my mother being there, my father came along to help Lea move out and Lea's mother was going to be there as well, hiding among the trees waiting for me to ask the question and then she would pop out.

Well, long story short, we are now engaged and couldn't be happier.