I finished photographing my last wedding of 2024. I was outta here. I booked an Airbnb for a month in Washington to take a break from it all. Road tripping with my dog Rocky, reflecting on life.
Week one, it rained & rained. Bomb cyclone off the coast forced Rocky and I inside by the wood fireplace binging more Netflix I’d like to admit. Nevertheless, it was exactly what I needed.
Week two it rained some more. We made it outside for a few hikes, but always needed to bring a rain jacket. I had thanksgiving alone. The neighbor offered me some pumpkin pie and firewood, priceless. I truly was enjoying my own company with Rocky snuggles.
Week three my boyfriend flew out. We had such a fun weekend planned – hiking, skiing, Pikes Marketplace, macaroons, crab. He landed at the airport, we checked the weather, still rain. Oh well, we’ll check tomorrow and see if we could still go on the hike I wanted to go on.
Woke up, sun shining.
No rain.
We off-roaded up a mountain, praying my truck would make it up the dirt road in one piece. Golden sun shining between the mountain peaks. The crisp, perfect 40 degree air filling our lungs. No wind.
Just us for miles. Us against the world.
Mission: get to the lake that the trail map said there was at the bottom.
There was a fire in this area not too long ago, but new growth, wildlife, and new beginnings surrounded us.
We made it! Trust me, the lake looks big, but only because I took the picture with a wide angle lens on. We thought there was still some hiking left to go, I check the map. nope. That was it, oh well, it was still gorgeous. We decided to turn back and have some snacks back at the stream passing through the trail.
Once there, Rocky decided to randomly dart off, I turn to run and call after him. He slinks back, knowing he’s in trouble, but I just give him some pets and turn back around.
“I want to spend the rest of my life with you, will you marry me?”
He’s on his knee.
I’m immediately in shock.
The jeans while hiking make sense.
The golden sun was too perfect.
Blue skies and no rain.
God was there with us.
I can’t even say yes I just blurt out “when did you do all this??” and shake my head up and down yes. Not the phrase I had in mind, but it’s just the raw reality of life.
The ring barely fits, oh no. Must just be the adrenaline and blood flowing from hiking (it was).
I of course put my camera on a tripod and take a family photo for the mems. Priceless.
We hike back up the mountain.
Fiancés?
We’re Fiancés?
We’re gonna get married??
It’s still settling in. I finally shed a tear or two in the car once it all sunk in.
Us against the world. Forever. The rest of our lives start now.
There’s so much to do! So many adventures to go on! Memories to make!
I call my parents, they’ve been waiting for my call ever since he took them out for dinner a few days before he flew out.
The rest of the weekend we found ourselves skiing, snowboarding, watching football and TV on the lake with lasagna, eggs & bacon with some homemade coffee in the morning.
Bliss. Peace. Everything just felt right.
