Yes ladies and gentlemen, I'm officially off the market. In a wonderful weekend in San Antonio, I became the bridegroom-elect of the LaBouff-Rather wedding.
LaRae knew something was up. There was no way I could keep it from her, due to all of the funeral mess of last week. All she knew though, was that she was wrong in thinking that we were going to Tulsa for Easter.
Early Friday morning we hopped in the car and headed south. Just south of Austin she figured out pretty well where we were headed, though I later found out she had packed for San Antonio in hopes that it was the destination. We arrived at the Emily Morgan Hotel, just across the street from the Alamo, and settled in.
Around 4:30 we headed out to the riverwalk. We viewed the Alamo and walked around shopping, chatting, laughing, and eventually eating there on the river. I, of course, became a bit ill, but managed through and we got back to the hotel for the night.
Saturday, however, was the big day. Up at 7:30, we drove out to Sea World. You have to understand LaRae's unnatural obsession with Shamu to understand the importance of taking her to Sea World. She's had a stuffed one since she was 6 that she still sleeps with (she came on the trip with us.)
We joined our VIP tour at about 10, and headed to the Shamu show. It was really fantastic. The weather was amazing, the trainers were right in our faces, and the show ended with Shamu's face less than 2 feet from LaRae's. The waterwork to Josh Groban's "You Raise Me Up," was incredibly touching.
After the show, we went back to the holding tanks to have a last look at the whales and talk to the trainers. As we were leaving, I held back and flashed the ring box to one of tour guides and quietly asked for one minute at the tanks. She was shocked, but agreed (against the wishes of every dern executive in the park.) So we walked over to the tank. I'll spare the details of the wording of my proposal for LaRae to share if she wishes, but as I was on my knees, the trainers saw what was going on. They brought three of the four whales up out of the water, and had them sing for us. It was amazing. We stood as fiances to the cheering of trainers, tour guides, and most of all, three beautiful killer whales. (I'll post some pictures when I get them from Rae.)
We spent the rest of the day on the tour. I got to keep my promise to LaRae made more than 5 years ago that I would take her to pet dolphins (she got to feed them.) We fed Sea Lions, we had a pretty tasty sandwich. It was a fantastic day.
About 5:00 a huge storm blew in, after watching the Shamu show one more time, we decided to leave as we had done everything except the roller coasters (*pout*) in the park.
We later went to a quaint little italian resturant and just enjoyed our evening together. Yesterday was our travel home, and she was kind enough to join me here at the apartment while I unwound after the most amazing weekend of my life.
I look forward to posting pictures...but most of all, I look forward to our life together. I was so stressed about the proposal, that I didn't expect it to be this wonderful afterwards. I love you Rae!
