Eureka!

The trip to Eureka was nice. I think it was just nice to take the week off really. We drove down to Eureka Springs on Wednesday and stayed at the Bavarian Inn. We mostly picked that place because they also have a restaurant that makes German style and Czech style food.
While the place wasn't fancy it was clean and our room was huge. Also the people there were very nice. (Thanks Michelle for all your help!)
Wednesday night after we got settled in our room we ate at their restaurant and the food was amazing! I would totally stay and eat there again and again. After dinner we went into the shopping district and had drinks at the Pied Piper. Pretty neat place. Almost got to see the bartender beat down some white trash that was yelling at her because the building was a non-smoking building. Needless to say we had a good time!
Thursday we got up and the Inn had something like blueberry coffee cake that was delicious and we had some hot tea with that. We then headed out to see all the springs we could find. I think we found all but one (Magnetic Springs to the right). We also went up to see the great big Jesus on the hill. That was fun. We walked over 2 miles that morning before lunch. We then stopped in the Whale & Squid for the best chicken nachos I have ever had! After that we were exhausted and decided to go back to the Inn to take a nap.
After our nap we got up and went for a drink at the Basin Inn Hotel. They have a balcony bar that overlooks the shopping area and is very pretty. We then headed down to the Grand Tavern in for dinner. It was pretty damn good. Especially because I got some goat cheese! We had steak and potatoes and it was so very good. Afterward we hopped into the car and Eric decided he wanted to take a scenic route back to where we were staying. He stopped at the Magnetic Springs and we walked up and sat up there and listened to the woods and watched the stars. It was a beautiful night. A little chilly but not too bad. We sat for a while and talked about nothing much. We then stood up and looked the other way at the stars. Eric was talking about how we both seem to always hunt out the quiet secluded places when we go on vacations. We like our solitude so long as we have someone to share it with. He asked me if I could do this forever with him and I said of course I could. He then looked down at his hand and I followed his gaze and there he held an open ring box that sparkled in the moonlight. At this moment I started bawling.... and bawling... and bawling. I think I had been waiting for so long and had been wishing and hoping that he would ask that I almost expected it to never happen. After I calmed down he was then able to ask "Will you marry me?" and I said Yes... of course! I have the beautiful diamond ring now and I also get to marry my best friend in the world! I am sooo very excited and I almost don't know where to start! Here is a picture of us at Magnetic Springs on Friday. We decided to go back and get a few more pictures. We didn't say anything to anyone until we got back into town and was able to tell his mom and my mom in person. By the end of Friday we were were so very exhausted, emotionally and physically.
Eureka Springs was so beautiful and will always be a place that I remember. Someday it will be nice to be able to take our kids back there and show them the place where he proposed.

So the question that everyone is asking... No we don't have a date picked out yet. We have only spoken a little bit about it. I can tell you this much.. it will be sometime next year. We are so very short on cash right now that we will have to wait and save up so we can do what we want. I know you all want to know and we will tell you when we have it all figured out.

Here is a picture of my ring!