Day two in Maui: Our Engagement Story

There are two sides to every story.  Here are both Chris and Kate's view of their engagement.


Chris:  Waking up knowing that "today's the day" made getting up at the crack of dawn the easy part of my day.  Getting everything ready to go in a one-room hotel room was harder and finding the right time and place in an unfamiliar locale was more challenging.

The plan was to propose shortly after the sunrise on the top of the volcano and then come back down to a breakfast of pastries and Veuve Cliquot champagne waiting in the room.  I had badly mis-calculated. 

First, the top of the volcano is cold.  As much as I should have expected this, I did not.  It's hard to be romantic when you're wrapped in a hotel towel and wearing 3 layers of t-shirts.

Second, it's crowded up there.  I figured - 1) it's the crack of dawn, how many people could there possibly be up there? and; 2) it's a mountain, surely there are plenty of desolate places to have a private moment.  I was wrong on both counts.  There are literally hundreds of people up there, and they have the entire place barricaded off to protect the park so there are only a few places accessible to tourists.

Even so, the "equipment" was burning its way through my pocket so I was desperately trying to figure out how to salvage this deteriorating scenario.  I would linger around a picturesque location waiting for other tourists to vacate.  This lasted no more than a few moments before Kate would point out that we had already taken all our pictures, it was cold outside and she was going back to the bus. 

I resigned myself to the reality that I wasn't going to be able to force the moment and I would just have to manage the situation at the hotel when we returned.

Kate: I noticed at the hotel that morning when we were packing up our bag of extra clothes that Chris was acting weird, a little anxious.  I honestly thought that he was tired and feeling rushed to get out the door. 

On top of the volcano when Chris was lingering - this was not usual behavior.  Chris is the one who has to read every plaque at the museums, asks the guides additional questions, and take lots of photos. 

I also didn't notice that Chris was nervous or "up to something" because we both slept on the bus on the way up and down the volcano.  I did not know what was supposed to or about to happen.

Chris: Returning from the trip to the hotel made my day no easier.  We returned a full 2 hours earlier than the trip was supposed to.  The champagne would be arriving at the room literally any minute. The worst possible scenario was that we were there when it arrived, but I hadn't had the opportunity to pop the question.  Two words kept going through my head:  "Epic Fail"

I was able to rush her through a quick clothes change and get her down the hotel restaurant for breakfast.  While were were waiting at the omlet bar, I rushed over the concierge to confirm the status of the champagne, only to discover that it had just been put in the room.  Now I have only a couple hour window before the champagne is no longer good.  Eating breakfast was the day's biggest challenge so far.

Kate: I had already mentioned to Chris on the bus that I was starving and ready for breakfast.  So there wasn't much he had to do to rush me to change clothes and head to breakfast.

Chris: After breakfast ended, we started heading down the shoreline to find a place to lay down.  I suggested taking a walk, hoping to find a secluded section of beach, but exhaustion was setting in for Kate (mine was tempered by anxiety) so she emphatically wanted to find some lounge chairs.  I agreed, but only if we could find some away from people as "I would probably pass out the moment we laid down." 

We found the perfect spot just a few yards down the shore at a small covered cabana with two chairs overlooking a volcanic cliff into the ocean.  We sat down and I immediately realized this was the spot. 

Kate: We had only just gotten seated when Chris started proposing to me.  I didn't realize what was happening until he reached into his pocket. 

After the question was asked, the answer "yes" was exclaimed, and we embraced, I didn't really know what to do next. Do you snuggle closer in your lounge chairs or leave the beach and start celebrating aloud?  I was really glad when Chris suggested we go back to the room but I couldn't believe there were more surprises to come.  The Veuve Cliquot, my favorite champange, on the balcony of our hotel room was the perfect private celebration. 

We then proceeded to call our families to share the news before returning to the beach with huge smiles on our faces.  Despite waking up at 2:30am, we didn't need naps.  We were too excited about being engaged to sleep... that is until about 8pm when we both passed out without dinner.

The cabana where Chris proposed:

Our view:

The ring:

The celebratory champange-filled breakfast: