A Lakeside Proposal

I grew up going to my family's cabin in June Lake my whole life. It's been the source of amazing memories--summer days filled by jumping in the lake, rock climbing with siblings, and tons of time with family and friends; not to mention, winters of skiing June Mountain and building snow forts in the cabin driveway. Scott has been up to the cabin in the past few years on a family vacation and he fell in love with it as much as I have (a positive sign, if you ask me).  This blog has seen a few posts on adventures I've had in the Mammoth area, and it just feels right that one of my favorite places that been a part of my life since childhood, is now the story of my engagement and soon future major milestones.

The plan: My childhood friend Turner and I left our beloved southern California and ended up in Portland and San Francisco. We decided to plan a girl's weekend together at my grandparent's cabin in June Lake, CA. Since her parents and my aunt recently moved to Reno, we decided it was the perfect place to join forces and drive out to the cabin for a weekend.

What actually happened: Scott and Turner had been orchestrating a secret proposal, and I somehow had no idea.

One reason the proposal was such a surprise was because it was such a crazy weekend leading up to it. I spent the week on my first independent business trip in Chicago (aka not a conference) and first time in Illinois. Between the time change, work events, and meeting with a friend for dinner, it was fun but hectic. After Chicago, it was a bumpy flight back to Reno where I saw my aunt's new house and hung out for two days with them. The funniest part is that she knew what was coming and subtly planned a day of activities including getting a manicure and shooting some rifles (aunt and uncle came from Texas, y'all).  Finally, my friend flew into Reno and we were off on the drive to June Lake. We got in late, headed to bed to be rested for what was going to be an eventful day.

The next morning was spent at a cute little mountain town coffee shop complete with a sugared up coffee drinks, fresh made pastries, and the owner's old golden retriever laying by the wood burning stove. Once we were fed and caffeinated, Turner and I went on a short walk down the small one street town center and the small winding roads filled with old timey motels, cabins, and lake views.

One of the most impressive parts of the proposal weekend was that while I was enjoying my mountain retreat and talking to Turner for hours (including conversations about possible engagement), she didn't give a single clue away. I'm not sure exactly how she managed to keep it a surprise or a straight face, but she convinced me to throw on a maxi dress and some makeup before we were off to June Lake's new brewery. There she tried to stop me from ordering the pulled pork quesadilla, but I continued my blissful ignorance and ate the entire thing. A few beer flights later, and Turner suggested we walk back to the cabin.

As we were about to turn up the driveway to the cabin, I saw Scott standing in a suit at the path to the dock and I immediately knew what was happening. Turner ran up to the cabin, and Scott led me down to the edge of the dock talking about us, our future, and even the role that June Lake will play in our lives. He was being sweet and romantic, and unfortunately I was in so much shock that I wasn't quite reacting to anything (outwardly). Finally, he got one one knee and showed me the most beautiful ring that he had created and I managed to get out my yes. A few people on their fishing boats cheered, we kissed, and Scott turned me around back towards the cabin. On the deck popped out some of our closest friends cheering -- and I was even more shocked then I knew possible. Turner, my sister, my high school bestie and current SF roommate, Scott's best friend, my college best friend, and another high school friend had all driven multiple hours to watch and celebrate.

The rest of the night was spent with bottles of champagne, pizza from the local shop, jumping in the lake in our underwear (and amazing friends who somehow forgave us for being a casualty of that), Harry Potter movies as we lost a few to sleep, and a lot of staring at my new ring finger.

The next morning was spent at the same coffee shop and a similar walk this time as a newly engaged women surrounded by my fiance and friends. A quick clean up later, and it was time to say our goodbyes as we all parted ways. I wish I could better put into words how much this weekend meant to me. For Scott to know one of my favorite places and make it a lifelong memory for us, for him to orchestrate a real genuine surprise (and my friend to pull it off), and to know that I would love to celebrate with friends after. It was proof that he really does know me, and I wouldn't change a thing -- except maybe have a stronger reaction. Ends up when I am truly, mind blowingly shocked my face kinda becomes expressionless haha.

Just as touching was the fact that our friends had traveled hours to a remote cabin in the mountains to be there for that special moment and celebrate. I have a "behind the stage" video and it just means so much to me to hear the support, love and excitement are friends had and the fact that they were willing to dedicate their weekend (and the majority of it to travel) to be there for us. I already feel so lucky and loved.

This is obviously a few months late and wedding planning is already underway, but I'm excited to get it on the blog for memories and years to come.

Mammoth Adventures

After an extremely active trip to Mammoth this past weekend, I rested and just hung out with friends today.
I've been excited to recap the amazing trip I had this weekend. In my "about" section, I talk about how I am trying to live a healthy lifestyle. This weekend I felt like I achieved that healthy lifestyle. From the moment we got to Ali's cabin on Friday, we were up and moving.
The road trip took place in my beloved car! I'm proud to say I drove 4.5 out of the 6 hours. Luckily, I had my traditional Egg Mcmuffin for breakfast to fuel my drive. 


Once we finally got to Mammoth, we immediatley decided to go for an easy bike ride around the neighborhood. The ride was really fun until my clumsiness got the best of me. It's been awhile since I last went bike riding, and I braked too hard/paniced a little and fell. Luckily, I didn't get hurt besides a few scratches and bruises. Don't worry the story we told was there was a big rock in the way ;)

All bandaged up...and being Spock.

Sadly my bike drama did not end with the fall. After 10 more minutes of biking, the bike broke when I was switching gears. The four of us ended walking the bikes to the nearest bike shop to get the bike (and my hand) all fixed up.
It ended up being a funny story, and we spent the rest of the night swimming at the pool and jacuzzi.

Saturday was spent hiking to Rainbow falls. Scott, Ali, Grant, and I took the tram down to the hiking area, and started our hike at Devil's Postpile.

We walked the next 2.5 miles to the beautiful Rainbow falls. We had originally planned to go swimming in the falls (which my family did a few years ago), but with so much snow this winter the falls were much stronger and did not look safe to swim.

Luckily, Scott suggested that we hike an extra half mile to Lower falls to go swimming there since we were already wearing our bathing suits. Once we got there and ate our picnic of pb&j's, we took off our tennis shoes and made a quick discovery: the water was freezing. The second we put our feet in the water, it was like pins and needles until our feet became numb. Some onlookers were definitely laughing at our shock ;)
Ali was the first one to brave diving in and I jumped in after. The boys were the last ones to get wet, so I think we showed up them this time! While the water was shockingly cold and the rock bottom uncomfortably sharp, it felt so amazing to cool down and warm back up on the rocks before heading back.

The overall hike was 6 pleasant miles. We spent the rest of the night watching the new Jersey Shore episode. My love for Jersey Shore is no secret. I am SO EXCITED for this season. It was such a good episode.


Sunday started off with a quick (but very painful) hike up to the base of Mammoth rock and climb to the top with our group and Ali's brother and cousins. The views were incredible, but the hike was super painful for me. I don't always do extraordinarily well in high altitudes so I was panting a little heavier than was comfortable.

Mammoth rock is the boulder sticking out there

After getting back from the hike and grabbing lunch, the four of us headed over to June Lake where my grandpa has a cabin. We hung out on the lake and went canoeing over to the boulders on the side of the lake. There we jumped off the boulders, tanned, and swam in the lake. We canoed around the lake for a little bit longer before heading back home.

This was definitely my favorite part of the trip!

That night we went out to eat at Whiskey Creek (I got fish tacos and sweet potato fries), and Scott and I took a quick detour from the cabin to go visit some of his family friends who live in the area.

Even though we were planning on leaving Monday at noon, Ali's parents invited us to go on a morning bike ride with them. I was super nervous about the bike ride because I was warned that it was a difficult uphill ride. I'm proud to say that I completed the 6 miles of pure uphill. I had to motivate myself to just keep pedaling and telling myself I could do it on the last part of the ride. The views from the trail was absolutely beautiful and seeing the lakes brought a bit of relief too. The downhill ride was super easy since I didn't have to pedal once. 

I was really proud of myself for completing the ride, and it felt good to have my legs a little tired once I got in the car for the 6 hour drive ride back (Scott took the wheel for the four of us this time).

This weekend was amazing, and I'm so happy that I was invited to experience a fun weekend vacation!