It had been in the planning for more than 6 months, but the other night it finally came down to one question. It is amazing how one word can have such a huge impact, but it does and it did that night. Some of you may know that I often refer to my travel partner, @BouncyMcTigger but what you may not know is that she has always been more than that and now I can cheerfully share that we are engaged. I now have a permanent travel partner, someone who has said yes.

When you travel with someone you get to see a different side of them because you tend to be with each other day in and day out through many highs and lows all in a condensed time.

I had been meticulously researching romantic places, weather conditions, and the best date possible when to propose. I asked her parents for their blessing, informed mine, and talked with her sister who lives in Japan (who we are staying with now) to help make plans and all this had to be done in secret. This my furless friend is no easy task, and I’m not monkeying around @(^_*)@

On my birthday I took the day off work and went home to purchase the ring and have kept it hidden for almost two months. I had two places picked out for where I wanted to propose, Tokyo Tower or the Kyoto Tower. The both seemed like the most romantic and recommended places I could find, and let me tell you finding the ideal place in a country you never visited is not easy.

We went exploring Roppongi Hills but it started to rain and was so cloudy you couldn’t see the top of the buildings, I was heart broken. I had the ring in my backpack ready to go up to the tower but today just wasn’t going to be the day. Yet, the next day also held promises of possibly exploring the tower after we explored Kamakura. However again mother nature had something else in mind, and the rain drizzled on and the clouds covered the sky. It just seemed like luck was against me. Instead we decided to explore Odaiba so off we went.

By the time we reached Odaiba the rain had fizzled away to a clear, yet brisk, afternoon and we walked the boardwalk exploring indoor activities. Something caught my eye on the train ride in, a huge ferris wheel, and so I started suggesting we wander that way, and so we did. Once we reached the Daikanransha Ferris Wheel the sky was clear and it was beginning to get dark, as dusk begun the lights lit up the sky and so we ventured for more of an adventure than she was expecting.

We talked, we laughed, took a couple of photos and then as my heart pounded in my throat I held her paws and looked into her eyes and began to talk about life, our experiences, and our future. I reached into my pocket, bent down on one knee and looked up into her eyes and asked, “Will you marry me?” Tears began to well up in her eyes and Pachebel’s Canon in D began to play. We slowed as we reached the top. She took a deep breath and said, “yes.”

The rest of the night went as if it were a dream, we stopped in the mall and saw an amazing light show over a fountain, concluding with snow drifting down from the sky. We floated off to a small Chinese restaurant and ate sweets and drank wine. It was more than I could have ever planned and more than I ever wished for but more importantly is that one-single-word that climaxed the event and from here on out I can only hope that we continue to share great experiences together around the world yet always side by side.

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