I am so excited that this story is my first post of 2013!
For those of you who don't know the story, kind of know the story, or love the story...
here is our love story.
Maddie + Jimi
Part 1
To start, I must tell you, I fell for Jimi pretty much from day one. I met Jimi in April of 2002 when I came down to the NAC to try out outrigger paddling for the first time. That day I was put into a 12 person canoe with 11 other girls and one floppy haired 14 year old boy. At that point I was just one of this crazy group of soccer playing girls who came down to paddle so they didn't have to do track. It wasn't till summer hit and the school year ended that our group came down to a size that had potential to become really close over the summer. By that point I already had a crush on Jimi, and we all became fast friends, but we were just at the beginning of this seemingly epic friendship. I still find myself thinking about our story and am in awe of how lucky I am to have found him.
Part 2
Then, fast forward to 2005. Jimi and I were really good friends, I still had a huge crush on him, even though there were others boys that had come and gone, he was still my favorite. It always seemed that when one of us was more interested than normal, the other was in a relationship or just getting out of one. It never really seemed like the right time until we were on a paddling trip in Hawaii at the end of September. I had honestly given up a lot of hope that it would ever work out in my favor, but low and behold he asked me to dinner way high up in the sky on our plane ride home from Oahu. I was not sitting by any of my friends...just sitting in my seat freaking out, not being able to stop smiling! The old ladies next to me probably thought I was crazy, watching Ice Princess. We went to dinner two nights later to Islands and it just felt so right from the very beginning that the rest is history.
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| Oahu 2005, out in front of Kaneohe Canoe Club |
Part 3
Now, this part I think needs some back story. About 4 months after Jimi and I started dating...at 19 years old we decided to take a surf trip to Northern Baja Mexico. That may seem very soon or too young to just go on a trip to a foreign country, especially one with the history Mexico has, with someone you had only been with for 4 months in his off road truck, but like I said everything felt so right that no one even thought of that until way after the fact (not even my parents). This trip was truly an adventure and one that we promised each other that we would one day do again.
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| Shipwrecks, Baja California, January 2006 |
Now that you know that, almost exactly 7 years later in December of 2012 we finally redid this trip. There were about 7 surf spots we had been to over the years, but there are about three that really hold dear to us. Let me be clear we actually have never surfed at any of these spots, but the scenery is what makes it so special. The first night we stayed at El Pabellon, an endless beach full of dunes, where you will find a very clean and quiet campground. We were really the only ones there. On our way back up the coast we stopped at another favorite spot called Shipwrecks (or Freighters) in Punta San Jacinto. Here you find a huge shipwreck on the shore with a little seaside fishing town. We took a favorite photo here 7 years ago so I, of course, asked if we could recreate it. As I turn to get into position Jimi, with a gorgeous engagement ring in his hand says, "How about this time you wear this?" I was a bit shocked, because when it comes to Jimi, he always reels me in right when I think it isn't happening. I had hoped it would be this trip, but had my doubts and didn't want to get attached to one idea. So after a second, he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him...I said of course and we hugged, kissed, laughed and couldn't stop smiling. Questions, celebratory Rum and Cokes, and pictures is what followed. By now it was late afternoon, and we were hoping to be farther up the coast at this point, but were not too bummed, because that meant we got to stay the night and celebrate in probably our favorite spot...Cuatro Casas. We camped out on this bluff over looking a famous and gorgeous surfing cove on a clear night...perfect for a Baja sunset, bonfire and sunrise.
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| Shipwrecks, Baja California, December 2012 |
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| Yep, he got down on one knee! |
Christmas Eve was a mad dash to the border, an inspection at the boarder, a need to stop for food and gas along the way kind of trip home. We stopped in at Jimi's parents house to say Hi and drop off our pup, Ozzie, where we ended up lingering and celebrating...but to my surprise my family showed up! We toasted and were very merry. One little surprise after another.
I have to hand it to Jimi, this was completely planned by him, and he exceeded my expectations, made it romantic and totally made it us! I couldn't have asked for a better weekend, and a better Christmas gift. I thank him for that.
Part 4
...to be continued.
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