Was that a "Yes"?

First off, let me just say, I had no idea it was coming. Mr. Goodlaff was sneaky like that.

In the beginning of 2010, I heard that the Broadway musical "Wicked" was playing in San Francisco, and Mr. Goodlaff bought us some tickets for a March show--a belated Valentine's Day of sorts. I was beyond excited to finally see the show that had been playing on my iPod non-stop since I'd seen "Defying Gravity" performed on the Tony's in 2004 (have I mentioned my love of musicals?). We talked about things to do, places to see, and made a general plan for our trip. At one point Mr. Goodlaff told me, "this is not an engagement trip." And I believed him. I can honestly say that it never even crossed my mind that he would propose that weekend.

San Francisco holds a special place in our hearts--it was there that we took our first trip together. That first trip was one of the most perfect trips imaginable.  An accident of overbooking meant that Expedia moved us to the W hotel; we went to Hyde Street Pier, and the boats that you usually have to pay to see were free; we happened to pass by Rasputin Records and popped in, only to see Less Than Jake giving a free, in-store concert;  we had one of the best meals I've ever eaten at Ame;  and after all of that, we figured out that we wouldn't kill each other after being together 24/7. One evening, while wandering the city, Mr. Goodlaff and I ended up right in front of City Hall in the United Nations Plaza, which is gorgeous when it's all lit up. It really was a perfect trip.

Personal Photo

Our second trip to San Francisco was shaping up to be just as good: we had a fabulous room at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis that Mr. Goodlaff's brother was able to hook us up with.

 

Friday we explored Alcatraz,

and Saturday we took advantage of the Cable Cars, riding them all over the city during the day, first to Chinatown, then to Nob Hill to see Grace Cathedral.

Finally we came back to the hotel and got ready for dinner and Wicked. Dinner was amazing (Lark Creek Steakhouse), and Wicked was everything I had imagined and more.  

As we left the theatre, I was on a high that only comes from witnessing or being a part of total awesomeness. Now, I don't know how many of you are familiar with the Mean Streets of SF, but as with any city, there are some not-so-nice areas, and we had to walk through a sketchy area (and that was when there was daylight) to get to the Orpheum for the show. Naturally, being cute and a tourist, I was concerned for the safety of my purse on our jaunt through the area and coupled with the cold, was eager to make the journey back to the hotel with as little delay as possible. Mr. Goodlaff had other ideas. As it turned out, we were right in front of City Hall at the UN Plaza, looking at the spot we'd been enchanted with a few years earlier. Mr. Goodlaff somehow managed to convince me to walk in the plaza, while I looked wistfully after the protective group of retreating theatre goers headed in the direction of our hotel.

We were looking at City Hall all lit up, and Mr. Goodlaff started babbling a little bit and seemed nervous, so I told him to calm down and spit it out, not realizing until a few seconds later that all his nervousness was due to the fact that he was proposing. Well, he said lovely things, and I started crying, and he showed me the ring, and I put it on even though my hands were shaking. What was said and what I replied is still a little fuzzy to both of us, but after we were done, he asked me, "was that a yes?" Of course it was a yes.

So we stood there, hugging and kissing and me sniffling a little, both of us overwhelmed with emotion. As we were canoodling, a homeless hippie girl with a gigantic vintage army backpack and dreads walked by, and putting two and two together, said "Oh my God, did you guys just get engaged?  That's so cool!   That's so cool! Congratulations!  Really.  That's Cool.  Congratulations,"  and then kept meandering on her way.  She was officially our first well-wisher.

We called our families to tell them the good news, and we survived the walk back up Market Street over to our hotel (though this time I had my cuteness, my purse, and a diamond ring to worry about).  We texted the requisite blurry ring picture to all our friends, and spent the next day making googly eyes at each other, trying to adjust to our new found status of engaged.

All in all, I'm really glad that I didn't know the proposal was coming, and I loved that Mr. Goodlaff was able  to so thoroughly surprise me.  What a perfect trip in the City by the Bay!

Was your proposal a surprise, or did you know it was coming?

*All photos are personal photos