Ron & Isabelle’s Epic Mt Tam Surprise Proposal in the Clouds

On top of a mountain, above the clouds — what could be a more romantic place to get engaged?

Ron wanted his proposal to be a family event; after all, getting engaged is a significant moment in the joining of two families into one. His plan was for the parents to meet for the first time in the morning, then to take a trip together to the top of Mount Tamalpais where he would pop the question. One problem was: where in the huge expanse of Mt Tam would be a good spot? To that end, I drove up a couple of weeks prior to the proposal to scout out the area and compiled a list of locations for him. Ron and I both thought one spot in particular, with its wide, expansive view of Marin and even San Francisco, was perfect… and thus the plan for this epic Mt Tam surprise proposal was set into motion.

On the day of the proposal, we all drove (separately) up to the top, slowly spiraling upwards on wet mountain roads covered in thick fog. I was pretty nervous that the weather might not work out, but right upon reaching the top, I breathed a sigh of relief at seeing the clear blue skies and then excitedly texted Ron an update. We had just barely poked out above the thick cloud cover!

Once the group arrived, they slowly made their way through the trail and to the spot where we lay in wait, and as they got close to the lookout, the family quietly stayed back to give the couple some privacy. Isabelle, as we would find out later, happened to be wearing the same vest that her mother wore when she got engaged… how special! Once they were there, Ron got down on one knee, and although we couldn’t hear what he said, we (and everyone else in a 5-mile radius) definitely heard her screaming “oh my god!!” and “YES!!!!!” 😀

As you might have guessed, their parents were all super excited, and I would never have known they had just met for the first time that day — the group all seemed like old friends with decades of history between them. Congrats to Ron, Isabelle, and the entire happy family!