a love story...

my husband and i are coming up on our one year wedding anniversary, and today i was thinking back on our engagement trip, which was sort of a honeymoon part 1. we flew to portland, oregon for a friend's wedding and spent the next few days driving down the pacific coast highway, ending in san francisco.

at the end of the first day of our drive, jay pulled off at a cozy northern california beach town called trinidad.  i had wanted to stop at every sign that advertised a scenic lookout, while jay was trying to hurry to get to this town by sunset!  we walked a little on the beach and sat on a rock (i was so nervous - by this time i knew what was coming) and jay pulled a ring out of his pocket.  he had successfully hidden it all weekend, carrying his little messenger bag everywhere and never letting me near it!  we managed to snap a few photos of the spot before our camera and phone batteries died!

it was the most exciting thing that ever happened to us.

the view from our rock

a view of the beach from a nearby hill.  our camera died literally right after this!

the next day we drove through the redwood forest and managed to get this decent photo of the two of us.  i think jay spent about an hour trying to get the camera perched just right on top of the car, press the button, run over, and pose just in time before the camera clicked.  normally, i would be impatient with this sort of nonsense, but i remember sitting in the haunting, spiritual silence of those giant trees and feeling totally relaxed while he fiddled with the camera.

we were like giddy little children on that trip, and i hope that never goes away.

we spent the end of our trip in san francisco, traipsing all over the city, usually ending up in north beach for coffee, food, and late night beverages.

we got married april 17, 2010, after which we continued our journey down the pacific coast highway from san francisco to los angeles...part 2.

i will reserve wedding photos for another post, but i should say that is how i met fellow slow life blogger, juli, our wedding photographer!  juli and her buddy tim snapped some unbelievable photos, and now she is my treasured friend.  here is a preview...