Engagement Story

This is an e-mail I sent my family from our Cruise to Alaska when Wade and I got engaged almost two years ago. If you are looking for a LONG read, I thought you might like this!




Hey everybody! Well, yesterday was one of the best days of my life! We went with Wade's whole family on an excursion in Juneau. It was a gorgeous day, clear and warm (well, warm for them, it was 65). It was the first day it had not rained in the last 32 days! We were taken from the ship to a boat where we went all along the shores and the different islands through Juneau and we saw about 10 hump back whales, along with sea lions, seals, and 4 bald eagles! We watched the crew catch salmon off the back of our boat, and by the end of the tour they had roasted it and passed it out to everyone on ritz crackers. It was so exciting! We then boarded back on the bus to go to one of the largest glaciers in the world, the Mendenhall Glacier! We were warned greatly about large (1,200) pound brown bears and were given lessons on what to do when we encounter them. Luckily for Wade and I being loud mouths helped us, because they are less likely to attack you when they can hear your voice, and are not startled. They can recognize a human voice and they won't attack you. They were everywhere by the glacier because all of the pink salmon had swam north towards the glacier, and the bears are there to eat! The glacier itself is magnificent, I have never seen anything like it in my life. As soon as you get a glimpse of it your breath is taken away. I would suggest that you google the Mendenhall glaciers you might be able to find some photos of it. Well, I was in a very adventurous mood, I wanted to explore all the mountains and waterfalls and everything around the glacier. Wade and I sort of broke away from his family and started exploring. The whole day Wade had been especially sweet. He would stop and tell me how beautiful I am, how much he loves me. I thought nothing of it though, because he is this sweet often to me...I just thought he was in a great mood, and overwhelmed by the beauty of the scenery! We hiked up to this one point through a trail where we had a gorgeous view of the glacier, and we were covered in trees, everything was so green, and the glacier itself was peaking through the leaves on this tiny trail that we happened to discover. I wanted to keep exploring so I kept saying, "let's keep going"! Finally as we reached this point, Wade stopped me and turned around and started telling me how much he loved me, and how he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. He also says THESE things quite often, so it wasn't until he got down on one knee that I realized what was going on! I screamed "no you're not!" as I was in shock. I can't quite remember all that he said, because of my shock but I do remember the end. He said "I want to spend the rest of my life with you, will you marry me, Carrington, my love?" I was screaming with joy. He took off my glove and placed the ring on my finger. It looked magnificient in the natural light, with the glacier right behind us. It was the most special moment that we have ever shared, just the two of us! He was so nervous! After we hugged and kissed for what seemed like forever, we made our way back down towards where the tour bus was because it was about to leave! I took a leaf and a photo in my head to hold a memory of that special place. We ran down the trail and we ran into a little club house they have at the base where you can buy things about the glacier and it tells you how it was formed and things like that! We bought post cards, a book, a dvd, all to remember that gorgeous place! We then ran down to the bus, where his family was waiting! Told them, and got a big congratulations (they had no idea what he was doing)! As we boarded the bus, people were saying "Where you been?" And Ginger said, "We have a good excuse, our son just got engaged!" And everyone on the bus was cheering for us, and wanted to see the ring, it was so fun! On the way back Wade began to tell me all the little stories about all his ideas and how he came to the decision to do it in Alaska (he went around and searched forever with his friend Brian at hotels in AZ, and decided it wasn't special enough), and his decision to make it spontanteous (which for those of you who know Wade, being the analyst he is, not planning was a HUGE thing!) The ring is gorgous! We have pictures taken in front of the glacier right before, and we have pictures taken right afterward before we got on the bus! I can't wait to tell you all the more little details (like how I was convinced he WAS NOT going to propose in Alaska) and so much more! I am being charged by the minute here, so PLEASE pass this on to everyone that you know, or can! I am off to get a manicure on the ship because I have this gorgous ring I have to show off! I love you all so much, wish you were here, and I wish I could share this moment with all of you! I will send pictures as soon as I can! I love you! Carrington