Katie and I got engaged in early in May. I talked with Katie's boss and scheduled a for her to get a Friday off without her knowledge. The Thursday before the day off a letter was taped to Katie's door when she came home from work. The letter stated that I wanted to thank her for helping me through a particularly tough time (the passing of my grandmother three weeks prior) by taking her away for a special weekend. The letter told her what to pack, what clothes to bring and what activities they would be doing (hiking etc.), and that their dog Bella would be going with them, but not where they were going. Reluctantly she began packing with questions abound as to where they were going. She figured they were going camping and to play into this notion I packed the tent and the sleeping bags.
We left the next morning with the destination still unknown we got in our car and headed towards the mountains of North Carolina. Just before car sickness set in on Katie, we reached the tiny (population 490) town on Hot Springs, North Carolina, a town nestled near the border of North Carolina and Tennessee with naturally occurring hot springs.
I rented a private cabin located on 11 acres just outside of the town of Hot Springs. The cabin was pet friendly, had a 180 degree view of the mountains from the large covered porch with hot tub overlooking the mountains, a grill and every amenity that one could imagine. It included a 3 acre field for us and our dog Bella to play in.
That evening I mentioned to Katie that I wanted to go on a hike that I had found online. That evening the two of us hiked up Max Patch with our dog Bella. Max Patch is a mountain top in the Appalachian Mountains with no tress at the top, which provide for stunning views.
I told Katie that I wanted to take family photo with the three of us. I set up a video camera to take the picture. I once again thanked her for helping me through the rough time with my grandmother and gave her one of my grandmother’s embroidered hanker chef. As Katie looked at the hanker chef I told her I had something else from my grandmother that I wanted to give her (the ring)! She said yes and it was all on video, which we later used to make our Save The Dates.
We spent the rest of the evening on the mountain drinking Campaign that I carried up in my pack as we read letter written by our respective families congratulating us and welcoming us to the family.
So with that I offer my hometown, Chagrin Falls Ohio. (You may recognize the walls from some computer backgrounds.)
As always feel free to email us at Projectsavethedate@gmail.com
Kyle O.
