May 7, 2017

For our 9th anniversary, we decided to vacation in Puerto Rico.  On the day of our anniversary, Max planned to take Brandi to the Island of Vieques to see the wild horses and spend some relaxing hours in paradise.

The morning of our anniversary, we rented a car from San Juan and drove to Fajardo.  From there, we took a 1 hour ferry to Vieques.

After a failed attempt at biking uphill with the high temperatures and humidity, a local tour guide drove us to the South Side of the island to where the most beautiful secluded beaches are.  

Neither of us had seen water so clear.  Almost every beach we had to ourselves.

Always exploring, Max suggested we take a secluded dirt road to Playa Navio, known for its hidden caves.

After making camp in a shady hideaway sheltered by palm trees, Max made his move. 

"Do you know you're the best thing that ever happened to me? Then this should come as no surprise..."

As we sat together on the sand, newly engaged, we talked all about the planning Max had done leading up to this moment: asking my parents for their blessing, picking out the ring.  It was so romantic knowing we were the only two people in the world who knew that we were engaged to be MARRIED!

A few hours later, we decided to head to Esperanza for lunch.  It was a long walk back, almost 1.5 hours.  Luckily, a local named Luis "Ras," offered us a ride in his big red truck on his way to work. As we blasted reggae in his car and admired all of the horses hanging out on the beach, he was the first person we told about our engagement.  He dropped us off at Duffy's, where he worked as a cook.

Naturally, we stayed for some fish tacos and a drink to celebrate.  As the ferry to take us back to Fajardo drew near, we walked along the water at Esperanza, trying to take in every moment of this beautiful island.