In Amy's words...

On Friday, June 23, 2006, I was supposed to get out of work at 2 PM, due to our summer hours. But, at about 1:15 PM I was pretty much "kicked out" of the office by my boss (and a few other coworkers that went along with the plan). I heard later that my coworker and friend, Mary, called Stefan to tip him off that I was on my way home. I was planning on working out and going to the nail salon, since he wasn't "due home" until around 6 PM.

When I got home, I saw his Jeep in the parking lot, so I knew something was up. I went inside and he tells me this elaborate (and well crafted) story about how he was sent home from work early due to a confrontation with a client. At the end of the story, he told me it was all made up so he could keep me there without running off to the gym. Then, he handed me a red envelope that contained a card that said I was going to go on a scavenger hunt to find 18 clues (for the number of months we've dated - he really thought this through)! He was somewhat trying to "get me back" for something similar I did to him for our first Valentine's Day together in 2005. This was also the first moment it became overly obvious to me what was going on...

Some of the clues were rather difficult to me, but I was allowed to use the Internet or "phone a friend" for help. So, I did need to rely on the Internet to help me figure out two of them.

Once I got to the final clue, about two hours into this...it told me we were going to dinner at 8 PM, but not where. So, we got ready.

At about 7 PM, we hit the road, and I had absolutely no idea where he would be taking me. So, he got on I-95 North and pulled off in Baltimore. (Whoohoo! Good choice). But, I still didn't know which restaurant. So, he pulled into the parking garage at Pier 5, which is right outside of Little Italy.

But, instead of heading towards Little Italy on foot, we headed out the back of the garage and went to McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant on the pier with views of the harbor. I thought we had lucked out and got a table with a relatively good view of the harbor, but it turns out (I found out later) that was also fixed as well.

Stefan attempted to talk me out of an appetizer to save time (but I wasn't aware of the fact he was trying to rush dinner to beat the possible rain outside) and I ordered one anyway. We got the Tear-Drop Bruschetta, which was really good. I got a really delicious Meatloaf & Mashed Potatoes meal for my main course, while he ordered Sushi. The service was also great.

After dinner, we walked outside, where the sky threatened us with rain...but never came. He took me to the end of the pier, where the Baltimore Maritime Museum's Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse stood. And, before I knew it, he was down on one knee...

He had planned a speech, but it went out the window, when he saw my reaction and he grew more nervous! I remember pulling my hands up to my mouth, he says I was shaking...but I don't remember it happened so fast...and I teared up (for joy). I couldn't even see that he had the most beautiful ring in front of me, but I saw it sparkle. And, it didn't even matter what it looked like, I said, "A hundred yeses!" as my answer.

It was the best feeling in the world. I couldn't stop staring at the ring after my eyes cleared up.

We then headed back to the car, arm and arm, and he gave me a final red envelope with a riddle inside. (I still can't believe he drafted the riddle himself...he did such a great job on the whole evening). It was a series of references to all the Irish pubs we love going to in the Baltimore area. At the end it referred to one in particular without its name listed and said "Who am I?" After reading the riddle about three times, I figured out it was Maggie Moore's Irish pub near the Hippodrome Theatre. We had been there a couple of times before, after shows.

When we showed up at Maggie Moore's, he kept gently pushing me ahead of him and I walked into the bar area first...to be greeted by about 30 of our good friends and family. Everyone stood and cheered. It was crazy. (I still think I was in shock that this was all happening and I'm not even sure how I reacted). Photos from this part of the evening are here!

But, we partied it up there from about 9:30 PM to about 1:30 AM in the morning. Stefan had ordered all these yummy appetizers to keep everyone full while they were waiting for us to show up all that time. What a sweetheart!

In the end, he went way above and beyond anything I had ever imagined. A lot of his friends and my friends helped him orchestrate the entire thing. A huge THANK YOU to all of them who helped and/or were just there for us that night (in person or in our hearts).

I get the rest of my life to thank him.