This past weekend I attended the Hampton Beach Seafood
Festival for the first time ever. The plan was to attend it with my girlfriend
Megan but Friday night I no longer had a girlfriend.
Friday night started off a bit worrisome. I had made
reservations to have dinner at The Carriage House in Rye New Hampshire, a small
but very nice restaurant on Rye Beach. The plan was for Megan to get home around
5:20 and leave for dinner by 5:45. When 5:35 came around and Megan wasn’t home
I got worried. She finally showed up at 5:40 and we left at 5:55. 10 minutes of
driving and we get stuck in traffic. It took us 45 minutes to get from the
entrance to Rt 101 to exit 1 on Rt 101. I am lucky I wasn’t driving with my
windows down because those other drivers probably wouldn’t have liked what I
was saying about them or the names I was calling them. After that it was smooth
sailing.
Dinner was amazing, mostly because of the service by Brian
Murphy who works at The Carriage House. The food was delicious. Megan had
Fettuccini Carbonara and I had Chicken Picatta, both of which were cooked
perfectly. Megan and I both had a glass of wine which went very well with our entrees.
Brian brought us out three types of sorbet and fresh fruit. The Sorbet is made
right there at The Carriage House. The service and the food was amazing, as
well as the location. The houses in the area are what we picture in our dreams.
After dinner, Megan and I went to walk along Hampton Beach.
Megan and I talked for a little while and then made our way to the Hampton
Beach Seashell Stage. We walked behind the stage and onto the beach. That is
where I asked Megan to marry me.
We had help from a very sneaky photographer, Leon, to make
sure that we got pictures of the moment which was one of Megan’s requirements
for a proposal. The pictures were great.
We then went back to the Bourbeau’s house and had a family
party. We surprised Megan with this party because we had told her a small lie beforehand.
A couple of months ago Megan’s family had invited my parents to come to Hampton
Beach Seafood Festival. A month ago we told Megan that my parents were not
going to be able to come up. This was to keep her from thinking that I would
propose, mainly because she is a little snoop. She loves surprises but also
loves to ruin them. When we arrived at the Bourbeau’s house for the party,
Megan’s first words were, “What are your parents doing here?!” followed by, “Is
that Giggam!?” That was another surprise. Megan’s parents flew Megan’s
grandparents up from Florida. At the party were Megan’s father’s parents, Megan’s
mother’s parents, Megan’s mother’s cousin and husband, Megan’s sister,
brother-in-law and nephew, some neighbors, and my parents. It was a great night
and a great start to the weekend which included great food, presents, and Megan
reminding me that she loves her ring.
I no longer have a girlfriend but I am very happy about that.
Thank you to everyone who was a part of our engagement and everyone who was there for us leading up to it.
