well, i'm sure you are dying to hear...
...about the weekend. First of all, let me just say that I began planning quite some time in advance. But here's how it went down:
*warning: this will have more run-on sentences than you can possibly imagine*
Friday
First off, Alex had gotten here thursday night, and I gave her this awesome north face fleece that I knew she'd love and look great in. And guess what? she loved it an looked great in it! it is incredibly light, and green (her favorite color) and apparently very warm in cool weather but cool and breathable in warm weather. friday morning we got up and got ready, then packed up our stuff and drove about 2.5 hours up to mackinaw city. mackinaw city is the mainland portion of mackinaw island, which I imagine to be somewhat like martha's vineyard. it is the quaint, historical, touristy, people-who-are-super-rich-and-own-the-detroit-pistons-live-there type island for michigan. so we got up to mackinaw city where we were camping, and went to our campsite, which I had reserved a month in advance to get a spot right on the lake. the view was excellent; there was a beach-ish thing, and a long coastline, and wildflowers, and a view of the island, and a view of the bridge, and on and on... so we set up our stuff real quick, then went into mackinaw city to (what else) find the irish pub! we did find it and it was absolutely awesome. we got lunch there and I had the best reuben yet on my nationwide quest to find the best reuben, and alex has some fish that actually tasted like fish and fell apart when you tried to eat it. being close to 2 great lakes is an excellent place for fish! overall, an excellent beginning. then we wondered the little downtown and i bought some fudge, then we went to an outdoor outfitters and almost accidentally bought a full size rope hammock because it was only $20. after that we went back to the campsite to relax for a while, then we had dinner and came back to camp. this was our night for the campfire, so we got it started, and alex fetched things for s'mores. after we enjoyed a few, I brought out alex's second present: funky flames. they were these things I found that you throw into your campfire and they turn the flames colors. we had shenanigans. after that we went to bed and I had the best night's sleep I've ever had on the ground. It was actually very comparable to sleeping in my bed here in saginaw.
saturday
the next morning I really had to pee, but I wanted alex to walk with me to the bathrooms, plus we had to shower and leave pretty early. except she was all groggy and didn't want to get up. so to wake her up I decided to give her the 3rd present: a pink xbox controller. she had been wanting one for quite some time, and I thought it was silly. so after that she perked up and we got ready, then drove into the city to take the ferry to mackinac island! it was really really foggy, and i was cold with my huge sweatshirt, but alex was fine in her tiny fleece. the ride was fun. when we got there it was very quaint. automobiles have been banned since 1898, so everything is transported with horses. they have carriages all over the place, and shipping horses, and garbage horses, and even street cleaning horses (kind of a big deal). we sought out somewhere to eat a quick breakfast, and by recommendation of a local, we found this diner-style place called jessi's chuckwagon. it was really cheap and pretty good and a nice size. after that we explored the little strip of shops, then went up near all the historical stuff. there is an old french/british/american fort there, but it cost a bunch to get in. so instead we hiked around the little back roads and saw some stuff and went into the forest a bit. after a while we headed back to downtown for lunch. at this point all the fog had cleared up and it was sunny and probably 75 degrees, just like always. for lunch we went to this place that had caught our eyes called the pink pony. it was a bar and grill. the bar portion looked pretty sweet, but we ate out on the dock with a good view of the fancy houses. the meal was decent, and I actually saw someone there that I knew from work, which was strange. After lunch we strolled a bit, and then i managed to find a bakery. We got some pastries of some sort, and I got a ginger cookie for later. With our pastries in hand, we went off to find a quiet, peaceful place to enjoy them. we started to walk on the nice wooden boardwalk that is next to the road that goes all the way around the island (about 7 miles). there are tons of people and families riding bikes around because that's what you do there, it's all very joyful. a couple of minutes down the road I saw this great little secluded spot off the sidewalk that was surrounded by small trees. another cute old couple had found the spot too and were sitting about 25 feet away in some shade and being cute and friendly. so we sat in the sun for a bit and enjoyed our pastries and the view of an island, 2 lighthouses, a cute beach with many types of wildflowers, and the mackinac bridge. after we were done with our pastries, alex wanted to move into the shade which happened to be in a super cozy little spot under a tree arch. after a couple of minutes of contemplation, I decided that there probably wasn't going to be an opportunity better than this, because the sunset options were not looking too good (i.e., all the good places faced east, plus it ended up getting cloudy later on). so I told alex that I was going to give her the last present, and that she needed to close her eyes. then I got out the scrapbook that I made, and I secretly got out the ring. Let me tell you about the scrapbook. I collected a whole bunch of picture of alex and I together, then sorted through them all and boiled it down to about 30 that were really special. then I put together this scrapbook that showed the beginning of our relationship, then all of the things we have shared over the years like hobbies and new experiences and traveling and whatnot. then it said the most important thing that we share is our future, and on the next page it said "alex, will you marry me." so we looked through it together and alex made comments but I don't know what they were because I was freaking out too much to listen. Then she got to the last page and I showed her the ring (that I had been hiding), and she of course said yes, and then I put it on her finger and accidentally cried. and we had a happy moment and basically just sat there for probably another hour just being really happy and close and taking in how perfect everything was and how beautiful our special spot was. we also documented it extensively if you want to see. after that we strolled back to the ferry place, and headed back to mackinaw city. then we lounged at camp, and I called my mom and told her and she cried too, then alex and I took a really great nap together and cuddled a lot. after that we had some dinner, burned the last of our firewood, and went to sleep.
sunday
we got ready and left pretty early in the morning. on the drive home, however, it started to storm pretty bad. alex (who always drives when we're together) started to get really stressed out because of her hydroplaning incident a while back. so in order to support her, I suggested we get off the interstate and take a break. we ended up deciding that I should drive, and although it was really tough, alex felt a ton better and it made it worth it for sure. it is, of course, my duty to protect her, physically and emotionally. so I drove the rest of the way home and she was distracting in a hilarious way, and she commented that the weather definitely owed us a rainbow. when we got back it had stopped raining, and we celebrated our return with taco bell. it was excellent. alex was supposed to leave by 3 ish in order to get back to champaign by around 9. but we just couldn't seem to say goodbye and she ended up staying until 6 (and didn't get home until 12:30). it was a very happy time. after she left I did some stuff, and then we had a little severe thunderstorm like we seemingly always do up here, but afterwards I looked out the window and saw the hugest, most defined, brightest, most complete rainbow I have ever seen in my life. It was enormous and actually connected all the way across and was really really bright. It made me extremely happy, so I immediately called alex to tell her that the weather gave us our rainbow. it was extremely symbolic and a perfect ending to a perfect weekend.
so that's what happened. you can now begin being jealous that your future husband will probably not do anything nearly as kick ass as that.
*warning: this will have more run-on sentences than you can possibly imagine*
Friday
First off, Alex had gotten here thursday night, and I gave her this awesome north face fleece that I knew she'd love and look great in. And guess what? she loved it an looked great in it! it is incredibly light, and green (her favorite color) and apparently very warm in cool weather but cool and breathable in warm weather. friday morning we got up and got ready, then packed up our stuff and drove about 2.5 hours up to mackinaw city. mackinaw city is the mainland portion of mackinaw island, which I imagine to be somewhat like martha's vineyard. it is the quaint, historical, touristy, people-who-are-super-rich-and-own-the-detroit-pistons-live-there type island for michigan. so we got up to mackinaw city where we were camping, and went to our campsite, which I had reserved a month in advance to get a spot right on the lake. the view was excellent; there was a beach-ish thing, and a long coastline, and wildflowers, and a view of the island, and a view of the bridge, and on and on... so we set up our stuff real quick, then went into mackinaw city to (what else) find the irish pub! we did find it and it was absolutely awesome. we got lunch there and I had the best reuben yet on my nationwide quest to find the best reuben, and alex has some fish that actually tasted like fish and fell apart when you tried to eat it. being close to 2 great lakes is an excellent place for fish! overall, an excellent beginning. then we wondered the little downtown and i bought some fudge, then we went to an outdoor outfitters and almost accidentally bought a full size rope hammock because it was only $20. after that we went back to the campsite to relax for a while, then we had dinner and came back to camp. this was our night for the campfire, so we got it started, and alex fetched things for s'mores. after we enjoyed a few, I brought out alex's second present: funky flames. they were these things I found that you throw into your campfire and they turn the flames colors. we had shenanigans. after that we went to bed and I had the best night's sleep I've ever had on the ground. It was actually very comparable to sleeping in my bed here in saginaw.
saturday
the next morning I really had to pee, but I wanted alex to walk with me to the bathrooms, plus we had to shower and leave pretty early. except she was all groggy and didn't want to get up. so to wake her up I decided to give her the 3rd present: a pink xbox controller. she had been wanting one for quite some time, and I thought it was silly. so after that she perked up and we got ready, then drove into the city to take the ferry to mackinac island! it was really really foggy, and i was cold with my huge sweatshirt, but alex was fine in her tiny fleece. the ride was fun. when we got there it was very quaint. automobiles have been banned since 1898, so everything is transported with horses. they have carriages all over the place, and shipping horses, and garbage horses, and even street cleaning horses (kind of a big deal). we sought out somewhere to eat a quick breakfast, and by recommendation of a local, we found this diner-style place called jessi's chuckwagon. it was really cheap and pretty good and a nice size. after that we explored the little strip of shops, then went up near all the historical stuff. there is an old french/british/american fort there, but it cost a bunch to get in. so instead we hiked around the little back roads and saw some stuff and went into the forest a bit. after a while we headed back to downtown for lunch. at this point all the fog had cleared up and it was sunny and probably 75 degrees, just like always. for lunch we went to this place that had caught our eyes called the pink pony. it was a bar and grill. the bar portion looked pretty sweet, but we ate out on the dock with a good view of the fancy houses. the meal was decent, and I actually saw someone there that I knew from work, which was strange. After lunch we strolled a bit, and then i managed to find a bakery. We got some pastries of some sort, and I got a ginger cookie for later. With our pastries in hand, we went off to find a quiet, peaceful place to enjoy them. we started to walk on the nice wooden boardwalk that is next to the road that goes all the way around the island (about 7 miles). there are tons of people and families riding bikes around because that's what you do there, it's all very joyful. a couple of minutes down the road I saw this great little secluded spot off the sidewalk that was surrounded by small trees. another cute old couple had found the spot too and were sitting about 25 feet away in some shade and being cute and friendly. so we sat in the sun for a bit and enjoyed our pastries and the view of an island, 2 lighthouses, a cute beach with many types of wildflowers, and the mackinac bridge. after we were done with our pastries, alex wanted to move into the shade which happened to be in a super cozy little spot under a tree arch. after a couple of minutes of contemplation, I decided that there probably wasn't going to be an opportunity better than this, because the sunset options were not looking too good (i.e., all the good places faced east, plus it ended up getting cloudy later on). so I told alex that I was going to give her the last present, and that she needed to close her eyes. then I got out the scrapbook that I made, and I secretly got out the ring. Let me tell you about the scrapbook. I collected a whole bunch of picture of alex and I together, then sorted through them all and boiled it down to about 30 that were really special. then I put together this scrapbook that showed the beginning of our relationship, then all of the things we have shared over the years like hobbies and new experiences and traveling and whatnot. then it said the most important thing that we share is our future, and on the next page it said "alex, will you marry me." so we looked through it together and alex made comments but I don't know what they were because I was freaking out too much to listen. Then she got to the last page and I showed her the ring (that I had been hiding), and she of course said yes, and then I put it on her finger and accidentally cried. and we had a happy moment and basically just sat there for probably another hour just being really happy and close and taking in how perfect everything was and how beautiful our special spot was. we also documented it extensively if you want to see. after that we strolled back to the ferry place, and headed back to mackinaw city. then we lounged at camp, and I called my mom and told her and she cried too, then alex and I took a really great nap together and cuddled a lot. after that we had some dinner, burned the last of our firewood, and went to sleep.
sunday
we got ready and left pretty early in the morning. on the drive home, however, it started to storm pretty bad. alex (who always drives when we're together) started to get really stressed out because of her hydroplaning incident a while back. so in order to support her, I suggested we get off the interstate and take a break. we ended up deciding that I should drive, and although it was really tough, alex felt a ton better and it made it worth it for sure. it is, of course, my duty to protect her, physically and emotionally. so I drove the rest of the way home and she was distracting in a hilarious way, and she commented that the weather definitely owed us a rainbow. when we got back it had stopped raining, and we celebrated our return with taco bell. it was excellent. alex was supposed to leave by 3 ish in order to get back to champaign by around 9. but we just couldn't seem to say goodbye and she ended up staying until 6 (and didn't get home until 12:30). it was a very happy time. after she left I did some stuff, and then we had a little severe thunderstorm like we seemingly always do up here, but afterwards I looked out the window and saw the hugest, most defined, brightest, most complete rainbow I have ever seen in my life. It was enormous and actually connected all the way across and was really really bright. It made me extremely happy, so I immediately called alex to tell her that the weather gave us our rainbow. it was extremely symbolic and a perfect ending to a perfect weekend.
so that's what happened. you can now begin being jealous that your future husband will probably not do anything nearly as kick ass as that.