Gee, Think.

Mom and I were stranded in an ethereal mist near the top of Cadillac
mountain on Mount Dessert Island last week. We started the hike with
Kitty’s parents and Lloyd as well. We had to stop on the way down
because of an aching knee.
The sky was overcast when we were at the bottom of the north trail.
Soon after we started up the mountain the temperature began to rise. I
was sweating like crazy. We drank our water quickly anticipating the
water fountains at the top.
Before we knew it a thick fog had rolled in all around us. The
temperature began to drop down to about 60 from 80 and the light breeze
becamre a strong wind. The winds must have been blowing at around 40
mph. Humidity was near 100% as we watched thick billowing gusts of fog
streak between us and the trees.
When we finally reached the summit I could not see more than 100 feet
ahead. It felt like twilight. I went from shirtless to sweatshirt in
about 2 minutes. The strength of the gusts doubled as we stepped out
from below the granite boulders.
It was the walk down the mountain that started the knee ache. Mom had
to stop and I volunteered to stay with her. This was mostly because I
didn’t wan’t to hike back day in the atrocious weather.
Lloyd and Kitty raved ahead to the rescue vehicle. I think Mom and I
were sitting on the side of the road waiting for about an hour, but the
time passed quickly. We had a lot to talk about and the unusual weather
conditions created an excellent environment for the meeting of the
minds.
Speaking of meeting, a strange man pulled over on his way down the
mountain in his dodge stratus. He was clearly derranged and I thought I
might have had to kung fu him. Thankfully he drove off after some
disorganized and slurred comments.
What a day for a hike!

“Let’s relive that picture from two years ago!!” Kitty said, walking
right into my trap. I was planning to relive the famous waterfall shot
and use that moment to pop the question. She still didn’t suspect
anything, even though her sister had figurred it out at this point.
We hiked slowly down through the glen. It is such a beautiful place.
The forest is old, and has been protected for generations. There is no
sign of civilazation and the only sounds are bird songs and waterfalls.
We took our time, pausing to look and the plants, rushing water, and
take a few pictures.
When we finally got to the waterfall there was hardky an icicle to be
seen. There was just enough ice to indicate that trhe falls could have
been frozen a couple weeks ago.
I hopped across the rocks in the stream to get in position for the
photo. I checked that I still had the ring in my pocket. Trust that it
was not the first time I checked on that ring during the hike. I was
starting to get a little nervous. I could feel the butterflies in my
stomach.
I knew we would need two takes to gwt the poicture. Last time Kitty
didn’t come close to getting in the shot, and it was the same in 2006.
I look kind of funny in the first picture. You can tell from my body
language that I’m planning on taking a second shot.
While Kitty went back to set the camera up a second time I turned to
face the rock wall. I took the box out of my pocket, and opened the
hinge bur kept it out of site until she set the timer. As she was
skipping from rock to rock I took the ring our amd got down on one
knee.
She was stunned. “Shut up…” She said softly. “For real?” she asked.
I nodded and she said yes. Then I asked her to marry me and she said
yes again.
And that’s our story. Stay tuned for more happy endings.

For a while I was stumped. I didn’t know where we could go. Not to mention that we hadn’t had a good snow for the past three weeks! I looked like my plans were about to fall apart. I knew though, that I would make the proposal either way, but I still wanted it to be a memorable weekend. I had already picked the date, January 21st. It was a saturday. I had been talking about our “snow shoeing trip in jeff’s spot” everyday for the past month. Kitty related that to me after the proposal. I was so eager for the trip that I didn’t realize how often I mentioned it.

The perfect solution came to me during dinner at Kitty’s parents house. Ricketts Glen! This was the site of our first date. It was our first outing together, and a fantastic one at that. We went in March of 2004 and were amazed at the frozen waterfalls, majestic pines, and quietude. There was mother nature in all her beauty just waiting for us. Ricketts is an amazing place. It is located on the top of a hill, about 1000 feet higher in elevation than the surrounding area. The road to the glen is quite steep. Once you get to the top you can feel that the air is about ten degrees cooler. You notice that there’s a bit more snow on the ground as well. As you move down into the glen, sun streams through the boughs of old growth pine trees who dont have a single branch lower than 30 feet above the ground. This was the site of our first outdoor excursion. The beauty, the significance to our relationship, all the right reasons were there. It had to be Ricketts. The location was set.

So after deciding that the time was right to pop the question I had to think of how and when to do it. I didn’t think that she would go for the fancy dinner thing, and I knew it had to be just the two of us. I heard mother nature calling my name. The woods, I thought, would be the perfect setting. Solitude, peace, quiet, and privacy. The scene would be intimate and beautiful.

Shortly after I had firmly decided that the proposal was on the way we invested in a new outdoor sport, Snow-Shoeing! Since we were deep into December, I thought I would have no problem finding a snow laden weekend for snow-shoeing to a romantic overlook. The only question was where to find this overlook. I had never gone snow shoeing, but luckily I knew somebody that knew somebody that knew where to snow shoe. So I set the plan in motion and asked my coworker Jeff, who had a friend, to ask his friend to recommend a proposal worthy hike.

I thought the plan was perfect. All I had to do was wait to hear back from my coworker, Jeff, and I would have my best laid plans. So on the next monday I asked him about the snow-shoeing location. He said that his friend still hadn’t gotten back to him. “All right, Okay.” I thought, “Everything’s still good, I’ve got three weeks ahead. No Worries.” Next week I asked Jeff again. “Oh, I’m really swamped up there.” He tells me. Apparently its that time of the month for his department, lots and lots of work. I’m an easy going guy though, “Whatever” I think, confident that I’ll hear back soon. Next monday, still no answer. There’s only one week to go now, and that’s a little too close for comfort. I need to get a plan together pronto and decide that I’ll just have to pick the spot myself.

So I had been planning our engagement for about a month. I started thinking about asking Kitty to marry me long before that. Marriage was on my mind almost everyday after I moved down to Jersey to be with her. I’m pretty sure it was on her mind too, but we didn’t talk about it. It was like the elephant in the room, but a wonderful elephant that was amazing to look at. An elephant that left a smile on your face whenever you remembered it, whether you were on the train, in the office, or sitting down to dinner.

I think my family, and hers too, were wondering when I would ask her. My grandmother, for instance, had us married off from the moment she met Kitty during our visit to the camp in Hancock. I was subjected to a few eager questions each time I came home, but I think there was a lot of wondering going on between the women in my family that I never heard about. My younger sister Stephanie even went so far as to grill Kitty with a series of questions about our wedding during the Chirstmas holiday, about a month before our engagement.

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Originally uploaded by garrettwilkin.

Hey Y’all. It’s a picture of me and my baby enjoying the winter weather. we spent the day in labrador unique area, walking around until the ice formed right on our faces. Dang it was cold and snowy!