Gold at the end of the rainbow

Following a previous post where I tell the story of how I started dating Sandy, I thought I would continue and talk about how I proposed.

Last February, I was visiting my parents in Oregon with Sandy, and I knew the time was right to propose. Mostly I knew because I had been planning it for a while and I finally acquired the ring which I was going to give her. We were in Oregon for Presidents Day weekend, which included Valentines day. I didn’t want to propose on Friday the 13th (maybe a little superstitious) and Sandy said it would be too cheesy to propose on Valentines day (so instead we visited the Tillamook cheese factory).

I needed to “ask her father’s permission” before proposing, but I had a hard time getting a hold of him on Sunday. When I finally did begin speaking with him on the phone, I told him that I was Jacob Brunson and he asked, “Do I know you?” to which I responded, “I hope so, I’ve been dating your daughter.”

Sandy knew all of this was going on, and she really wanted me to propose, even it if was just casual like in my parents living room. I wanted it to be a little more special, so I thought and thought about one last activity in Oregon on Monday, February 16. Going to bed Sunday night, all I knew is that I wanted it to be a little scenic.

The first thought in my mind waking up Monday morning was that I should propose on a bridge. I got on the Internet, and started researching the most romantic bridges in Portland. I found one in Portland’s Japanese Gardens, and I thought it would be the perfect place. The Japanese are right next to the Rose Garden park, so I told Sandy that I thought we should go up to see the rose gardens, which overlook downtown Portland, and have a great view.

I proposed on the other side of the bridge, right behind where Sandy is standing

As we are driving past the Oregon Zoo to the Rose Gardens, Sandy sees the sign for the Japanese gardens and asks if we can go there. I responded that I thought it was a great idea, but didn’t lead on that it was my plan all along. When we get to the entrance of the gardens I found out that they normally open at noon on Mondays, except that they had a free admission day for President’s Day and that it was going to open in twenty minutes. With the ring burning a hole in my pocket, I was thinking, “Sweet, I don’t have to spend $20 in admissions!”

The whole way home, Sandy couldn't stop looking at the ring.

We enter the garden and wander around for a little bit, as we near the bridge, I realize that there were so many people taking advantage of the free-admission holiday that it wasn’t really the private setting I had hoped for. But I found a little secluded spot with a view of the bridge, and there gave Sandy a letter which I wrote her earlier that morning. The letter had pictures of us during our time in Oregon. After she was finished with reading the letter, I knelt down on one knee and pulled out the ring. She grabbed the ring faster than I could put it on her finger, and I’m like, “So you answer is yes?”

We bought some egg rolls from Costco on the way home to share with my family to celebrate.