"AND I SAID OF COURSE..." my special day at Acadia Park.

Written by Gaby. 

Photo by Gaby.

Dear Friend,

I just had the most amazing day and you won’t believe what happened to me. Today, Dillon and I went to Acadia park. It was our first time there so you can imagine our thrill to finally see this beautiful park in coast of Maine. Although we had a bit of trouble settling on a main activity to do, last night we finally decided to go bike riding through some of the beautiful trails the park had to offer.

We had a little bit of a late start of the day, although we were both excited to begin our adventure, it was Sunday morning and we held our own little church service in the hotel (the closest Christian Science Church was over an hour away from where we were staying). The service was sweet and intimate.

Photo by Gaby.

The 25 minute, or so, drive to the harbor was gorgeous. We had done this drive the afternoon before to explore a bit of Bar Harbor and get some lobster for dinner (which was delicious by the way). 

Once we arrived, we parked and walked to the town. It was a beautiful morning and we were both geared up for the cold weather. Once we arrived at the bike rental shop, we picked up a couple of bikes and began our bike ride. Since it was 11am by then, and we had to be back sometime before 4pm, we decided to do one of the shortest trails.







I have to be honest though, although it was one of the shortest trails, it was nowhere near as easy as I thought it would be. The path was filled with heavy slopes. Although it was rough, Dillon encouraged me during the toughest parts of the trail, citing quotes from hymns and passages of the Bible and Science and Health. It is what kept me from stopping. 

Photo by Gaby.

I can still hear his words quoting from Hymn 136:

"I climb, with joy, the heights of Mind,

To soar o’er time and space;

I yet shall know as I am known

And see Thee face to face.

Till time and space and fear are naught

My quest shall never cease, Thy presence ever goes with me

And Thou dost give me peace."

Photo by Gaby.

It is to no surprise that I was able to continue biking regardless of the obstacles.

The sights were beautiful! Although full foliage had not kicked in yet, bright colors of orange and red greeted us as we rode by. We stopped at times just to take a deep breath and enjoy the scenery. Pictures were taken as well, of course.

One of our goals in the ride was to reach Eagle Lake, a gorgeous big lake east of Acadia Park. 

Photo by Gaby.

Once we made it, we stopped and had lunch: peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with apples (picked from an apple farm in Vermont). We sat on rocks on the shore of the lake watching the reflection of the sun glistening on the water.  I thanked God, for his perfect and unaltered creation. I thanked him for such a special trip he had lovingly and carefully prepared for Dillon and I.  Little did I know that God’s plan for the day was not nearly over.

Photo by Gaby.

Photo by Gaby.

The ride back was not easy, but surprisingly enough there were many downslopes, which we fully enjoyed and were grateful for. Reaching the bike rental shop at Bar Harbor felt like reaching the summit of a tall mountain for me. We were exhausted and it was past 4 o’clock.  I felt it was time to begin our drive back to Boston. For some reason, my suggestion was met with opposition from Dillon.  Dillon asked that we walked around Bar Harbor once more before heading back. I begged that we didn’t.

“It is getting late” I complained, “and we are exhausted.” But he would not listen...

Then, I recalled that he had mentioned earlier in the park that he had a surprise for me. It was not rare for him to surprise me with a little something for a special occasion such as this, our anniversary weekend, so I humored him. We walked again through Bar Harbor and visited different stores. I took my time in each little shop, appreciating all the different Maine made merchandise.  After a few more stores, I complained again. “Can we go now?” I asked. He, once more, refused to grant me this wish. “What is going on!?” I thought within myself.  If he wanted to surprise me with an anniversary present, why couldn’t he do it already? I did not understand.  After I complained some more, he suggested we grabbed something to eat at the seafood restaurant we had visited the night before. That was odd! We had already eaten less than 2 hours ago.  After nagging a little more, I gave up and we went for our second lunch.

After eating an entire course, consisting of clam chowder,  lobster, salad, fries, and the Maine traditional dessert, blueberry pie (it seemed I was hungry after all!) we finally headed for the car. Although I seemed to finally get my way, Dillon asked for us to drive through the park one last time. “WHY!!??” I yelled. I had no idea what he was up to.  But I stopped myself before I snapped again, and just went with it.

The car ride was very interesting.  He drove through roads surrounding the park and stopped at random sections to take pictures of different sceneries.  Although I was tired, I could not help to feel the stillness of the mountains and admire the colors of the trees.  The sun was setting soon.

After a few stops, we were back in the car and on our way up to the summit of the tallest mountain of Acadia Park, Cadillac Mountain. “Was this were he wanted to take me? If this was his plan all along, why couldn’t he take me earlier?”.  As we parked the car and stepped out, we immediately felt the force of the wind pushing against us. We held hands and walked to the side of the summit.

Words can’t describe what I saw that day on the summit of Cadillac Mountain...

Photo by Gaby.

The sun was striking the horizon, producing a variety of diffracted colors.The light broke right through the white clouds and filled the sky with a sense of mightiness. The ocean was in view too, peaceful and calm. The trees were all dressed in different colors, some in bright orange, red, but most in green.  The view was simply spectacular.  How I loved this surprise! After a few moments, he suggested that we should take a picture. I took my phone out and offered it to him. He took it and held it along with his phone and said that we should get closer to the bluffs of the summit, where we could have a better view.

In a more isolated section of the summit, he found a man standing by and asked him the following: “Sir, would you mind taking a picture and a video of us?” This is when I knew something was wrong. My heart began racing and my breaths became shorter and quicker.  I could barely swallow my saliva from how nervous I was.  I tried putting these feelings aside to concentrate in the pictures.  I posed and smiled… and braced myself.  After a few more pictures, the man was about to hand the phones back to Dillon when Dillon asked him for one more photo.

Dillon then turned to me and caressed my right arm. He spoke to me in two languages, Spanish and then English. “Gaby, eres el amor de mi vida , will you marry me?.” ("Gaby, you are the love of my life...") He then fell on one knee.  In his hand he presented me with a small box containing the most beautiful and magnificent ring I had ever seen.

Dear friend, I wish I could tell you in excruciating detail the events following but I was so shocked that much of what happened afterwards became a blur. I will do my best...

I cried. Earnestly and vigorously. I filled my face with tears and quickly hid it in my hands. I continue sobbing and only stopped to look at the dazzling diamond ring staring back at me. Dillon was smiling. I managed to answer him “Of course” (He had to remind me what I had answered him because I could not remember!) I covered my face again while sobbing.

Although I couldn’t remember the events very well, I can clearly remember my thoughts...

Photo by Gaby.

How could he had pulled this without me suspecting a thing? I had no idea he was thinking of marriage. I mean, he was always the one who seemed like he wanted to wait. When did this idea come about? How had he planned this entire thing?

He was on his feet again. I hugged him in disbelief. I may have told him I loved him. He showed me the box and again and this time I took it in my hands and admired the beautiful ring up close. I asked him, with a broken voice, if he could put it on my finger and he did. He then told me that it was his great-grandmother’s ring. I gasped and covered my face again crying. It was just so amazing to think about all the thought he had put into this, which was still a mystery to me, and it showed me that his family had been part of this special planning.

Then I thought of my mother. Did my mom know? It didn’t seem possible. I talk with her almost every day and she had given me no hints that she knew. I asked him. He said she did, and so did my father. And that was it, this was the final detail that would make this event absolutely perfect. Our families had blessed this engagement, and so did God. Our dear Father-Mother had kept this a complete secret for me and only revealed in at the right moment it was needed for me to know. But he had kept this idea close to my heart to be cherished and nurtured until the moment of its birth.

Now, I was officially engaged to the man God had placed by my side. A good and honest man. A man that had proved to me countless of times that he would be a good husband. Today was no exception. The intimate Sunday service, the strenuous bike ride, the beautiful and well-planned surprise; everything from the very beginning of the day had clearly shown Dillon's husband-like qualities of spirituality, integrity, strength, patience, kindness, attention to detail, and deep love and commitment to our relationship. 

The whole day was a gift from God, and He was telling me softly: “This is the way, walk ye in it.” And I did.

Gaby. 
Photos Credits: Gaby.