Engagement Day!

When I woke up on Saturday 7th July 2007, after I had shaken off the last remnants of sleep, I lay in bed with a smile on my face. That day, I thought to myself, was the day I was getting engaged!

Got up around 8:30am and put on heaps of warm clothes. Then set out to Di's place to pick her up at 9am...except that it was already 9:05am when I left home! Ten minutes and a couple of apologies later, Di was in the car and we were heading off for my 'not-so-surprise' engagement day!

We headed to the Sydney Fish Markets at Pyrmont as our first stop! Picked up some fresh sashimi for lunch later on and then parked at Di's workplace. Yes...not the most romantic of places to go on the day she was getting engaged but how could I say no to free convenient parking in the city all day!!!

Anyhow, we walked down to Circular Quay on that nice sunny day and caught a Matilda ferry from Pier 6 to Shark Island in Sydney Harbour! On the way we admired our amazing city and even caught a glimpse of the USS Kittyhawk docked at Garden Island. It was funny cos we were on a ferry with a whole bunch of tourists and there was even touristy commentary on board! I'm sure other people thought we were the tourists!

We reached Shark Island around 11am and hopped off the ferry with just a few other people. That was nice cos the island was big enough that we felt as if we had it all to ourselves! We went on a walk around the island, admiring God's handiwork and beauty of the harbour views. After doing a round, we found a nice spot in the sun facing the harbour and laid out a picnic rug I had brought along. Then out came the food! I brought along some of Di's favourite snacks including Peppermint Chocolate and Coke for her Coke-o-clock later on! We enjoyed the views for a while but then had to find a new spot on the other side of the island cos the wind picked up and chilled us to the core! We found a spot shielded from the wind and had our sashimi lunch. We also spent some time praying and just enjoying each other's company! Finally, we spent the last 15 mins or so taking some photos using a tripod I brought along before bolting for the 1:10pm return ferry!

We headed back to Circular Quay via Watsons Bay and enjoyed interesting commentary from the captain who Di swore was the guy who did the voice for the talking dog statue at QVB! We got off outside the Museum of Contemporary Arts and then headed towards the weekend Rocks Market! After a brief perusal, it was time to head on to our next destination!

I led Di on a meandering walk through the historic streets of the Rocks. On the way she guessed that our final destination was indeed Bridgeclimb! She had mentioned that she wanted to do it a few months back and I thought what better place to propose than on top of the most beautiful city in the world!

We checked in and after waiving our rights and signing our lives away, we were soon gearing up with a jumpsuit, overpants, harness, gloves, radio headsets and headtorches. We were in a group of 12 climbers all together and the other 10 were total randoms who we had to introduce ourselves to since we'd be spending the next 3 1/2 hours with! We then met our tour guide Graham, an eccentric fellow who had been doing Bridgeclimb for yonks! After climbing up a test ladder/platform and feeling confident, Graham led us to the commence the real climb!

We were led to a stairwell underneath the bridge from which we clipped ourselves to a safety rope and began our climb upwards! Along the way Graham provided commentary and we managed to spot several married couples taking wedding photographs around the rocks! The hardest part of the climb was climbing about 4 sets of steep narrow ladders with tiny little rungs! After that we reached the upper eastern arch of the bridge and it was an easy climb from there! Along the way Graham took some photos and at the top we had our group photograph! We enjoyed sweeping views of the harbour and Shark Island where we had been mere hours before!

As the sun began to set, we crossed high above the traffic to the western arch of the bridge to admire the sun setting over the Blue Mountains! There was a nice scatter of clouds to create an amazing effect! After a sunset photo, Di and I walked ahead of the group whilst they got their individual/couple photographs taken. That's when I began my 'spiel' as she later called it!

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't slightly nervous! I had thought about what to say roughly but hadn't rote learnt it or anything. I gripped both her hands so tightly that she had to tell me to loosen her grip! Then in a nutshell I told her how great the last 6 months had been and how fortunate I considered myself that God had brought us together. I told her that I loved her just the way she was and that I didn't expect to change any aspect of her during marriage. I told her that I was certain we'd face challenges and have 'issues' but that we'd work through them together in a godly manner. Then, just as I was about to pop the question and get down on one knee, we heard an 'Oi!' and Graham telling us to come back and join the group cos we'd gone too far ahead! With wry smiles, we walked back to join the group.

Fortunately, there was one more photo opportunity and I indicated to Graham that I was going to propose. So with his camera ready, I got down on one knee and proposed with the other 10 bridgeclimbers as an audience! Can't really remember much of the climb downwards! I was so happy! Another tour guide leader helping out congratulated us and gave me some advice that he thought would save me alot of angst during my marriage: "If she tells you to do something, just do it!"

We descended through nightfall and after taking off all our gear, it was time to sort through the photos! We picked a couple and even got a certificate to say we got engaged on Bridgeclimb!

So there you have it! We're engaged!