need San Diego (Gaslamp) proposal advice

[oggg]

WOOHOO I PROPOSED! See the last post in this thread for details. What follows is the original "where to propose in SAn Diego thread"

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My gf lives in Los Angeles, and she'll be visiting me in San Diego several weekends in a row, so if I can get a ring, I'd like to propose to her in San Diego. I have a free one night stay at the Hilton San Diego in the Gaslamp quarter that I was planning to make use of. Both of us work long hours during the week and we won't have the energy for anything super involved or athletic, like driving out to Cabos or kayaking in Mission Bay or such. I was thinking of Blue Point Coastal Cuisine (expensive Calif seafood restaurant) for dinner on Saturday night, then somewhere to propose, then to the hotel to celebrate. The "somewhere to propose" is the part I need help with. I was thinking maybe a bar/lounge with a birds eye view or an ocean view for a drink and a the proposal. Or should I propose before the fancy dinner? Or maybe a fancy dinner at George's at the Cove (gotta find out when sunset is) and propose there.

I don't think she would want a highly public or crowded proposal, so maybe the George's idea is no good.

Any gratuitous San Diego or California oriented ring and diamond buying advice would be appreciated (aiming for 1.2c round FGH VS2, solitaire platinum band)

Help!

 

[oggg]

I''m brainstorming ideas now that e-ring came in...

1. Hornblower dinner or brunch cruise (3h) around San Diego harbor -- a grandiose romantic cruise in calm waters. drawback: touristy and potentially crowded.

2. Sunset at the Terrace or the bar at George''s in La Jolla, overlooking the grand Pacific. Drawback: occasionally a crowded place, hard to get a table, not exactly a grand gesture.

3. Drive up to Big Bear and stay overnight at a coworker''s place -- the seclusion of the great outdoors, this trip would be a big gesture. Drawback: we''d have to cook or drive to eat out, drive 1.5h both ways, and I''m not that much of a nature person. Also I don''t have a clue if the place is nice, though my coworker says it is.

4. The Quail Gardens in Encinitas -- beautiful gardens often host to weddings, recommended by a coworker though I have never been, so the drawback is that I''ve never seen this place myself and it could be totally boring.

5, The gardens of the Self-Realization Fellowship in Encinitas -- A small beautiful garden free to the public, on the property of the fellowship, with several striking settings overlooking the ocean. drawback: small gesture, potentially crowded (in this small garden, even 1 person meditating at each setting could make a proposal tasteless), and we''ve been here twice before.

6. San Diego Zoo, or the Wild Animal Park -- lively amusement parks full of cute animals and kids that she''s always wanted to go to. Drawback: not exactly romantic, and potentially could be crowded.

I''m leaning towards #1 with #2 as a backup...

 

[whatmeworry]

Old Town Mexican Cafe with Mariachis strumming for you

On top of Mt. Soledad

Sunset Cliffs watching sun go down (Best places to kiss in So.Cal)

SkyFari at San Diego Zoo, just the two of you...

Black''s Beach (but where to hide the ring?)

Just kidding.

Congrats.

 

[tracys126]

SDL, Bluepoint is my favorite restaurant in SD!

OGGG, for proposal ideas there are some links on our website. The top of Mr.As is gorgeous and you can walk to Balboa Park from there. Good luck.

www.tracyandjadventure.com

 

[oggg]

Well, I''ve booked a Hornblower dinner cruise with window seats. I am planning on taking her to the Top of the Hyatt (downtown on the water). I''ll probably propose there, and then we''ll walk/drive over to the boat dock for the cruise. I''ll have to save Mr.A''s and Oceanaire for another weekend.

Anyone have comments on the Top of the Hyatt?


On another note, I have an e-ring and a white gold gemstone necklace to replace the yellow gold one I gave her years ago (the white gold will match the e-ring). I''m not sure exactly how to give her both, in terms of timing... "um, I got you this necklace... btw, we''ve been going out for 6 years now... will you marry me?" I have a spare wallet that has a zipper over the coin purse, in which I can load the 2 pieces of jewelry, but there''s going to be some awkward fiddling as I take one out and try to hide the other. I also want to avoid giving her the necklace during a moment that might suggest the ring, as she might get real pissed off...

The nonchalant approach: how about... "I got you a white gold necklace for our 6yr 7mo anniversary that happened 5 days ago... (put it around her neck, take the yellow one and put it in wallet and pull out the e-ring) I figure it''ll match this platinum 3 stone e-ring I got you... (get down on one knee) will you marry me?

 

[oggg]

Can you elaborate on why Top of the Hyatt is bad? I read that they''ve improved their layout so the views are better even from the center tables, and they''re right on the harbor so it must be nice right?

Mr.A''s opens at 5pm and seems like a full restaurant -- I''d feel weird showing up at 5pm, ordering a soda or something, then 10minutes later proposing, then 10minutes later getting up to get back in the car and drive over to the hornblower dinner cruise. I''m stuck with the cruise now, otherwise I might''ve done dinner at Mr.A''s and then walk around Balboa with the proposal at some point along the way.

Oceanaire looks good but I''ll save that for a nice romantic dinner another weekend.

The Cinderella Carriage is a bit too showy. Sorry I''m so picky.

 

[oggg]

So I went to visit Top of the Hyatt today at 4pm. It''s San Diego casual... with Martinis $11-14! Plus, Comic-con is in town this weekend. Argh. And the walk from the Hyatt to the boat dock is pretty much 15 minutes... It''ll still be my default plan, as it is relatively closeby, and hopefully at 5pm it still won''t be too busy.

Maybe I''ll go back to the George''s at the Cove idea, propose there, then drive down to the boat dock... Argh this is tough.

 

[researcher]

Would you consider Coronado? There are so many amazing places there, and you can take the ferry over--so romantic!

 

[researcher]

Or what about Seaport Village?

 

[oggg]

Well, I''ve already booked the Hornblower dinner cruise, so the ferry would be redundant. Is there more to Seaport village than the dozen or so touristy shops right outside the Hyatt? Those shops were pretty sad. I didn''t wander around so I may have missed a romantic spot.

I''m really leaning towards proposing somewhere in La Jolla and then driving downtown for the cruise. Anyone know if George''s Ocean Terrace Bistro or the bar, if they get real crowded Saturday afternoons?

 

[researcher]

If you''re leaning towards La Jolla, I would propose at Cuvier Park. It really is a great spot

As for Seaport Village, yes, it does get better but I guess you''d have to explore (or be a local)....

 

[oggg]

hmm, I''m at work looking on maps.google.com with the satellite view, and there''s a little strip of green extending south of the Hyatt -- this must be a nice scenic park next to or part of Seaport Village -- this actually has potential. Since the dinner cruise leaves way before sunset, hopefully we''ll miss the bums.

Hmmm still stuck between
1. La Jolla - George''s bar ~4pm, walk in La Jolla, visit Cuvier Park after 5pm (already a reserved wedding there 1-5pm), drive and park downtown and walk to dinner cruise OR
2. Downtown - go up to Top of the Hyatt ~4pm, wander seaport village until 6pm, walk to dinner cruise.

Yes, leaning towards La Jolla. My gf would probably like the less urban environment

 

[oggg]

I proposed and she said yes!

I had bought her a gemstone pendant and I had the e-ring stowed beneath the velvet necklace holder inside the same box. We spent the early part of the day relaxing at home with the AC on. At 3:30pm we left for Prospect St in La Jolla. George''s Ocean Terrace and bar were both busy, so we went nextdoor to Top of the Cove. The restaurant was reserved for a wedding, so we went to the Cafe at the Top of the Cove. It was informal and definitely not proposal worthy despite the killer view of the La Jolla coast, and $30 later we were outside windowshopping at ugly estate jewelry across the street. We popped into Ann Taylor and I actually contemplated proposing there- what woman doesn''t like Ann Taylor? Anyways, while she tried on a fabu dress, I went around the corner and tried to undo a knot that had spontaneously formed in the chain of the pendant. I got a cell phone call before I could undo it, and it was her! I turned around and she was just out of view. I really thought she had caught me fiddling with the gembox, but it turns out she was just calling to see where I was.

So she''s in a great mood because we''re having fun and she found a super dress. We park right across the street from Cuvier park in La Jolla. There had been a wedding in the little clearing, but they had cleared out, leaving behind a beautiful arch (made for 2 people to stand under) with white streamers over rose petals (belonged to the City, I believe). I dragged her straight to the arch and we hugged over the gorgeous view of the ocean and slowly setting sun. Almost perfect, except for a large loud non-English speaking family with toddlers that had planted their picnic about 3 yards away. I knew she wouldn''t like me to propose with these people (I''m sure they were very nice) as our witnesses, so despite everything else being perfect, I gambled. There are sandy cliffs just below the greenery at Cuvier park, about 20 feet above the water, which are a bit hard to get to, and at the time, there was a pretty large area that was people-free except for a quiet young couple fishing on one end. We scrambled down, and hugged again, and I tried to say some romantic things and finally just broke out the box, opened it, and told her I wanted her to have this new necklace to replace her current one (that I had bought her like 5 years ago). She blinked a few times and realized it wasn''t an e-ring. I had her help me untie the knot in the necklace and I put it around her neck. Some jerk walked right to our secluded area, and finally got the hint that we were trying to be alone and he climbed out of there. I tried to say some more romantic things, but nothing really came out well. I took the old necklace from her and put it back in the velvet necklace holder in the box, and then pulled the holder out and put it in my pocket. She immediately saw the e-ring hidden underneath and gasped. I went down on my right knee and tried once again to say some romantic things. She was kissing me and tearing up before I could even squeak out, "Will you marry me?" After her "yes" I put the ring on her finger -- a surreal moment feeling that ring slide snugly down her finger -- and we were embracing in the setting sun as the water pounded the cliffs below. What a beautiful place. We''ll remember that moment forever.

Afterwards, we went on the Hornblower dinner cruise with a reserved window seating. I had been worried that it would be touristy and crowded, but it was awesome. Very romantic, at least on the lower level where they played mostly couples music. Outside on the decks, it was slightly crowded, but I''m pretty sure I could have proposed very easily and it would''ve been awesome as well. Fyi, we almost missed the fireworks (no warning). A big thumbs up to Hornblower overall.