The story of our engagement...

James and I are engaged!
Here is the story of our engagement.... James told me ahead of time he had a special day planned for us on Saturday. James came over early that morning and made pancakes with berries for breakfast and then drove us up to Big Basin. We hiked the Skyline to the Sea trail, which is a beautiful 12 mile hike from the ranger station all the way to Waddell Beach, just north of Santa Cruz. I guess we got a later start than he had planned on, so we ended up speed walking the last half of it because he said we had to get to the beach by 1pm.

When we got to Waddell, my car was waiting for us there (THANKS Jeremiah and Jess!). There were even clothes for us to change into. James did a good job of discreetly picking out an outfit for me and sneaking the clothes out of my house the day before so they could be waiting in the car. Next he drove us to the Santa Cruz Harbor, where we met up with the captain who was taking us sailing! I love to sail! James had chartered a boat and captain for 2 hours for just us. The captain taught us a little bit about sailing and let us steer the boat a bit. Then we just sat at the front and enjoyed the sea life. James even brought wine and chocolates for us. We got to see the pelicans up close, which are Jame's favorite bird.

Sailing...

Sailing...

The Swing

We went back to my house afterwards and James suggested going on a walk to settle his stomach before the next thing he had planned for us. We walked the loop that we usually walk at Mission Springs and walked up a trail that leads to a swing in a little clearing. When we got to the clearing, there were rose petals all over the ground under the swing, flowers wrapped around the tree branches and on the swing. It was so beautiful! He had me sit in the swing, and then he got down on one knee in front of me and began to propose!!!! I said yes!! Then he pulled out the ring that he had had custom made by a Santa Cruz Jeweler. It is gorgeous! It has a blue sapphire surrounded by diamonds.

The whole time at the swing was very special and perfect. After a little bit though, he said "we better get going, we're going to be late for our engagement party!" I was really excited about that part! Our engagement party was down the street at Peter and Jana's house. They are the couple who set us up, so it was even more meaningful.

The Proposal

ENGAGEMENT PARTY!

We had such an amazing engagement party! First we toasted with some champagne and had appetizers, tuna ceviche and tomatoes with mozarella and basil. For dinner we had salmon grilled on a cedar plank (cool!) and tri-tip and funny long beans, beet salad and a "hearty" green salad (among other amazing foods!). The party lasted long into the night and ended with 6 of us die hards watching "The Office." It meant so much to us to spend the evening with such dear friends to celebrate our next step!

Engagement photos...memories to last a lifetime!

These were taken on Peter and Jana's back deck.

the RING

BEAUTIFUL! it's a SAPPHIRE!

MARRIOT

Video clips and a few last pics from the trip...

CUY! This is a Peruvian favorite, grilled Guinea Pig. We didn't order one ourselves, but we met a girl in a restaurant who had, so I (Hollie) had a bite. That'll be the last bite of rodent I plan on ever having!

















This is the 4th floor of our hostel, Albergue Churup, which was a dining room/living room with a fireplace, amazing views and mellow music....







Views from Albergue Churup





Here is the 360 degree view from the top of PISCO. Breathtaking huh?


This is a parade in Cusco at the beginning of their winter solstice celebration.


Along the trek to Machu Picchu little children from the villages came to meet us, hoping for some candy or treats. They were so adorable, and a little grabby sometimes!


There are llamas everywhere in Peru. These two were so cute and playful!

Summitting Pisco

The ride down from the bus station to our camp in an 8 passenger van with 20 people in it was steep and windy, SCARY! The van stopped at this view point and the guide showed us which peak we would be climbing in the next couple days.
Here´s PISCO!
James and I camped here one night with our cook, Rosebell. In the morning our new guide, Julio, and 2 more climbers, Tomas and Marco from Germany, met up with us and we hiked 2 hours up to the base camp for Pisco.

I tried to pull out the study cards occasionally!
The closer we got to Pisco, the more intimidating it looked to me (Hollie)

Here´s base camp the night before the big climb. There was an Italian Refugio (hostel) there, and the thought of splurging for a room and a hot shower was tempting, but there just wouldn´t be the same sense of accomplishment if I didn´t make it the whole 7 days without a shower or a bed. Will Power!

We woke at 2 am and got our gear together and drank some hot tea, and then set out. We hiked 2 1/2 hours in the moraine, which James taught me is the name for the huge rocks and boulders that are deposited by a glacier. It was tricky in the dark and not knowing which rocks were secure and which ones would slip under your weight.
We welcomed the first light, which turned the mountains and the sky different shades.
Gorgeous!
When we finally reached the base of the snow we had a quick rest and got our gear on. The rest of the way would require cramp-ons, harnesses, rope and ice axes.

The side of the mountain that we were climbing to the peak on was not the same side that we approached the mountain on, so it wasn´t until we had been up in the snow for a while when we could see just how far or steep it was to the summit.
My face was really cold!

There were some pretty crazy crevasses, but no touching the void for us!
Lactic acid!!! About an hour into the snow, one of the German guys decided he couldn´t go any further, so he and 1 of our 2 guides turned back, and the remaining 4 of us roped together and carried on. I was a little nervous that I wouldn´t be able to make it to the summit, and now that we only had 1 guide with us, he said that we either all had to make it, or all turn back! Pressure!!


We were really fortunate to have such great weather, just the week before it was snowing on Pisco. It was still super cold though, and an occasional wind whipped snow in your face.

Incredible views!
Last stretch....This was one of the steepest stretches where our ice axes came in real handy. It was 4 hours from where we started on the snow to the summit.
At the summit of Pisco. Elevation: 5758 meters/ 18,892 feet! (we started at 15,000 ft that morning)

Us with our guide Julio.
A little rest before the long hike back.
James was still not feeling great, he´d had a bad stomach ache for a few days.
Almost back down to the moraine. A little glacial lake in the background.





We arrived back at base camp around 3 that afternoon and were exhausted! And of course, dinner was another dish of rice, pasta, potatoes and questionable meat (not the kind of celeratory meal I would have liked, and not the kind that James´ stomach could handle)

Summiting Pisco was a pretty big accomplishment for me. Definitely one of the best parts of our whole trip for me.

The next morning was typical Peruvian experience though. We were told that we´d hike down 2 hours to the road to meet the van at 10 am, then a 2 hour ride back to Huaraz, the town we were staying in. But of course, once we get to the road, they tell us, oh, the van is now coming at 12. So we play cards and nap on the donkey poop trail, until the van finally arrived at 2!!! By then one of our guides had started to walk down the road to the next town to call for a ride for us, so then we are looking for him as we drive for almost the whole first hour, finally find him, and the ride is still another 2 1/2 bumpy hours. By the time we got to Huaraz we were just wiped out. Then James lost his ATM card to top it all off. We were staying in our nicest hostel so far though, so it was a treat to get back and have really hot showers and an incredible living room with a fireplace to relax in.