Photo Gallery: The Proposal

Considering all the work I did to get the perfect ring, I figured that I would need to make the proposal extra special – or at the very least a surprise. Now, if this were about me, I’d have gone NASCAR-themed all the way. But since it wasn’t, I wanted to do something Nadia would enjoy. I started kicking around ideas.

Nadia had to go to Missouri the weekend of July 31st. So, I tried to make an appointment to get the ring appraised while she was out of town. That way, I wouldn’t have to explain where I was going. But, the appraiser didn’t have any appointments until August 7th. I took it, figuring I’d come up with a story why I had to run an errand and she couldn’t come.

About 40 minutes later, he called me and said he had a last-minute cancellation and that he could fit me in on Saturday, July 31st. Knowing that everything was going to be complete with the ring, I started to think about when and where I wanted to propose.

One of my first ideas was to plan a trip to New York City. Nadia loves NYC, so I thought it would be a great place to propose. I considered several different ways to do it, but I didn’t really like any of them. Most, if not all, of the ideas I came up with were terribly clichéd: hansom cab ride with champagne, top of the Empire State Building, Top of the Rock, etc.

Out of the ideas, I liked the hansom cab ride the best, but Nadia would’ve suspected something if I suggested it. (Riding behind horses is not our usual pastime.) For a standard 20-minute ride, I couldn’t make a reservation. So, we would’ve had to walk up and wait. I’m good… but how would I have explained the champagne bottle? It was going to be hard enough to conceal the ring without a jacket.

To reserve a cab ride, we would’ve had to pay for a 41-minute tour. That’s almost as long as two episodes of Seinfeld. And, it was considerably more expensive. Plus, I’d be screwed if it rained, or if it was above 87 degrees because the carriages don’t operate when it is that hot.  If I was going to spend the extra money to reserve the cab, I would’ve insisted that we ride it rain or shine, which would have made Nadia suspicious. So that was out.

My next idea was to look into wineries because Nadia is always up for visiting them. But, which one? And, how would I suggest it in a way that wouldn’t seem suspicious? So I kept thinking about it.

Nadia’s mom was out of town, and wasn’t coming back until August 9th. I was picking her up from the airport that day, so I thought that it would be a good time to ask for her blessing. Talking to her before I proposed was important, so Saturday, August 14th was shaping up to be the best day to pop the question, even though I didn’t know where I was going to do it.

The appraisal went smoothly, and I was happy with it. With the ring complete, and insured, I now turned my attention to the location of the proposal.

I looked into Virginia wineries, but there were only a handful with which I was familiar, and none that Nadia has mentioned as places she wanted to go. Matter of fact, there’s only one winery she has mentioned wanting to visit a few times: Horton Vineyards. It was perfect! It was far enough away that we wouldn’t just go there on a whim, but close enough that we could go there and back in a day without it being a hassle. Also, Nadia really likes a few of their wines so it made sense.

But, if I just asked her if she wanted to go to Horton out of the blue, she would be suspicious. If Nadia and I are going somewhere – anywhere – and I don’t tell her exactly where we’re going, she keeps asking and asking because she needs to know what’s going on. There was no way I’d be able to trick her into a two-hour car ride without her calling me “shady” and being annoying.

So, I needed another destination close by. Google Maps showed me that Shenandoah National Park is about 20 miles from the winery. Nadia has mentioned hiking around the park a few times, so I figured that would be a good way to get down there without her being too suspicious.

On Sunday, August 1st, I decided that on Monday, I would drive to the park and the vineyard. It was the first Monday in a while that I had free, despite having had Mondays off for more than a month, so it was the perfect day to go.

I wanted to time the trip and make sure the GPS had the correct directions. (In retrospect, I took a pretty big gamble that Nadia wouldn’t look at the previous destinations list on the GPS before we visited the winery. Fortunately, she didn’t.)

I drove to the park and checked it out. It was easy to find. I verified the price-per-car and then headed to the winery. The winery and park are located on the same road, 20 miles apart so I didn’t think it would be too hard to find. But, the GPS had the winery in the wrong location. It was 1.5 miles farther down the road. Not a big deal, but if it was the day I was going to propose, I might have freaked out.

I spoke to a woman at the winery and told her of my plans. She told me that I could propose in their private tasting room, but on weekends, they have the red wine tastings there, so there would be people around. She showed me around. The private tasting room wasn’t very private so I asked if there was anywhere else.

She suggested proposing in the vineyard, which seemed like a better idea. Horton has a sizeable vineyard in front of the building, and it was very pretty so I decided that it would be better to propose there than in the tasting room. I asked her if there was a tour. Unfortunately, tours are for parties of 16 or more. How they came up with 16 people is beyond me, but whatever. She said that we could walk around the vineyard, and that she thought it would be a great place to do it.

I spoke with the woman for a little while longer. She told me about their sparkling viognier wine, which is like champagne, and said it would be perfect. I confirmed the hours, and then headed out. The plan was set.

On Friday, August 6th, Nadia told me that one of her relatives from Egypt was still in New York (Nadia thought she already went back to Egypt) and that she was going to visit her on… wait… for… it… August 14th. #$@%^!  I couldn’t tell her not to go, since she’s not likely to see this family member for a while. But, come on! Had I not planned the proposal, she wouldn’t have had to go – I’m sure of it.

I was frustrated and defeated. When I found out, my mood changed. Nadia kept asking if everything was alright. I gave monosyllabic answers – I was annoyed. I kept trying to tell myself not to blame her because she didn’t know. But, blame her I did.

I rarely, if ever, plan anything. And the few times I do, she finds a way to unknowingly ruin those plans. Why did I expect this time to be different? I don’t know.

Anyway, once I calmed down, I figured I’d do it on the 15th. But, I need to make sure that I told her something so she wouldn’t make plans for that Sunday.

Since she was out of town the weekend before, and I currently had Nyah, I told her that we hadn’t spent much time together the last few weeks. So, I wanted to do something the 15th. I mentioned going to Shenandoah. She said okay, and didn’t suspect anything.  

That night, I talked to Nyah about my plans to propose. At first she said I couldn’t marry Nadia because she was going to marry her. I then explained to her what marriage was. I showed her the ring and told her it was a secret. She liked it and gave her approval.

Saturday night, Nyah, Nadia and I were hanging out, when Nyah came over to me and loudly whispered, “Can I tell her about the ring?” Fortunately, Nadia didn’t hear her, and I was able to reiterate that it was a secret without Nadia hearing. Whew.

On Monday, I spoke with her mom. I don’t remember exactly what I said – it was a blur – but it went well and I her mom gave me her blessing.

The next few days were spent sorting out the minor details: how I’d hide the ring, what I would say, how I’d present the ring, etc. The plan was to load up my backpack with water for the hike, that way I could also hide the ring in there.

Before I knew it, Sunday was here. It was raining, so I didn’t know if Nadia would still want to go to Shenandoah. She left it up to me, and I said let’s go. Normally, rain will prevent me from walking, so I thought by being so gung-ho about it might make her think something was going on, but I took my chances.

It sporadically rained all the way to the park. But, once we got there, the skies cleared and it was sunny and breezy. I thought this was a good sign.

We drove up to the park entrance and were informed that it was a “Fee Free Day,” meaning we got into the park free. This was also a good sign.

We drove up Skyline Drive, stopping at the scenic overlooks to take pictures. We also stopped and hiked up a steep trail. Nadia wanted to keep going but I convinced her to turn around because rock climbing was not on the agenda.

We stopped by the visitor’s center, which is where I suggested visiting Horton, since it “was close by.” Nadia liked that idea so we headed back down Skyline. We stopped for a couple more pictures and then headed to Horton. We stopped at Subway on the way so we could have lunch at the winery.

When we arrived, I suggested that we eat at one of the picnic tables. While she walked over, I got the ring and put it in my pocket. Obviously, the box created a huge, odd-looking bulge but I didn’t want to take it out and get finger prints on it. So, I had to cover the bulge with my hand as I walked, which made it look like I was doing an awkward pimp walk. She didn’t notice, though.

After we ate, we decided to walk through the vineyard. Nadia wasn’t sure we could, though, and wanted to ask to make sure it was allowed. I couldn’t tell her that I knew we could because as far as she knew, I’d never been there before. So, we went in and confirmed it was okay.

We took some pictures in the vineyard (we were the only ones out there because it was wet). We came up on row 32, which prompted me to tell Nadia how I liked the number 32 and that it was my favorite number.

She said that must mean that this was going to be the best year of my life, since I’m 32, and that it’s all downhill after this. I grabbed her hand and said that my life was going to get better as long as she was in it. I pulled out the ring and got on one knee.

She started breathing heavy and shaking.  She exclaimed, “Oh my God” a few times before saying, “Of course… yes.” We embraced for a few minutes, enjoying the moment. Then, I asked if she wanted to taste some wines.

As I turned to walk away, she still stood there. It appeared she was having difficulty walking – I guess she was still in shock and surprised. I asked if she was okay, since she wasn’t moving. We hugged and kissed again, then started heading back to the Horton building.

We took a couple of pictures of the ring, and then went inside to taste some wines. We never got around to tasting their sparkling viognier, but we did taste several of their other wines.

From there we met her mom and sister for dinner at Red Lobster. Surprisingly enough, they had champagne so we toasted this momentous occasion there.

Photo Gallery: The Proposal