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I had dated my girlfriend for several years
and finally all of my excuses not to get married were gone.
I was financially stable, I finally had my life together,
and of course I loved her more than I ever knew I could
love. It was time to buy her a ring and ask her to marry
me. I recruited her best friend to help me pick out a ring
and when I had a very traditional one-caret diamond with
a gold band selected I started thinking about where to ask
her. What about the top of the highest mountain in North
Georgia? No, not high enough, but I did like the
idea of finding the biggest or farthest or most extreme
place to propose. I grabbed a map and scanned for a suitable
location. Alaska is beautiful, but it is way to cold and
she is a warm beach type girl. Where would I do it? Hmmm,
there is was – Key
West.
I planned our trip to Key West for May of 1999.
It would be warm then, but not too hot. My little country
girl had never even been to Florida, so I wanted to show
her as much of the Sunshine State as possible, so we planned
to drive to Miami, party “la vida loca” style in South Beach
for a couple of days and then head south to The
Florida Keys. I had to bring her new ring along
and hide it somewhere she wouldn’t find it and a place it
wouldn’t get stolen. I took an old and thick book of Thomas
Jefferson’s letters and carved out a few hundred pages in
the shape of the ring box. It fit nicely inside the book
and when closed you couldn’t tell that it had been altered.
I knew she would never open it. I think she even made a
comment as to why I didn’t bring something a little more
“upbeat” to read by the pool.
After ten hours of driving from Atlanta down
Highway 75 we arrived in Naples to rest for the night. We
checked into a room and headed for the beach. The white
sands and warm water were topped off by the incredible sunset
over the Gulf of Mexico. Just as the sun sank into the sea
a happy couple was getting married on the beach. It was
an excellent introduction for my plans.
The next couple of days we did have fun in Miami.
South Beach is a different world and we had a blast. We
danced until 4:00 AM each night and experienced all we could.
We even found our way into a gay bar, but I didn’t know
it at first. I thought, Wow, everyone here is really
friendly, and in good shape too. Rhonda then pointed
out that she was the only girl in the bar. Oh well!
Everything about the Keys was amazing. The
drive through the islands was breathtaking with water often
on both sides of the road. We stopped occasionally and waded
out into the shallow, clear water. We took all the pictures
that tourist take and we fell in love a little more with
every mile marker we passed. Eventually we reached the last
island – Key West.
We didn’t know what to expect, but what we
found was a combination of all that we loved. We both enjoyed
architecture and the old Conch houses and mansions lining
the streets filled that interest. The sunsets at Mallory
Square reminded us how beautiful the world could be, and
the great entertainment on Duval gave us a chance to cut
loose and party. Key West was the perfect place for us,
and the perfect place to initiate our life together.
One day, while on the island, we went to the
stone monument at the southernmost point in the Continental
United States. I considered popping the question here, but
it just didn’t feel right for something so important. Besides,
there were far too many people and I really didn’t want
to put on a show. Instead, we stood in line and took the
obligatory picture. Another day we took a snorkeling trip
that ended with a sunset cruise on the catamaran. This might
have been perfect, and the sunset from the ocean was even
more incredible than the one from Mallory Square, but everyone
was drunk and it was a party not a romantic moment, so I
passed up another opportunity. I considered asking Rhonda
at one of the calm and peaceful sunrises, but with the fun
on Duval and everything else we never made it up that early.
I was running out of time and I had to find the perfect
place and time.
The last day of our trip I decided that we should
drive around and find a secluded spot to watch the sunset.
It would be the place where I would ask the girl of my dreams
to be mine forever, so I had to find a very special place
to watch the sunset. It had to be a place that didn’t have
too many people, but still was nice with an excellent view
of the sunset. On one of our drives we headed up one island
and followed a sign to the Florida Keys Community College.
I took the car behind the school and found the spot. It
was perfect! It had a view of the ocean, and other islands,
and was fairly secluded. So, there it was.
That night we drove to the college around 7:00,
and I set up the video camera behind us. We quietly watched
the light change colors over the sky. Together we watched
the sun turn into a giant orange mass and then sink into
the sea. Just after the sun set I took a small black velvet
box out of my pocket and presented it to the love of my
life. I was shaking and I think I said something like, “I
got you something if you want it.” Of course she did and
one year later we were married.
PIctures
from our Wedding in Athens, Georgia - May 2000
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