Ghirardelli Square has two of the things that Sarah loves most, chocolate, and water. Its location right next to the bay made it a perfect spot to propose. Getting a blanket, chocolate covered strawberrys and champagne down to the bay without Sarah thinking something was up would prove to be a challenge. With the help of Caris, Dan, Travis, Holly, Ady, and Ben we hatched a plan to separate Sarah and I from the group and give them time to set up. After the anxiety of carrying the ring with me through the airport and keeping it out of Sarah's site we decided a shopping trip and the idea of a fancy dinner for everyone would get us downtown and dressed up without Sarah thinking something else was going to happen. In order to keep Sarah in the dark, we needed to have a story and a code to get the timing right. After Sarah and I split to go look at bookbags at nike town, an idea I planted several days earlier, the rest of the pack grabbed the car and headed toward Ghirardelli Square. The plan was for me to keep Sarah busy by shopping at Nike town and then getting reservations at The Cheesecake Factory, when Caris would call and say they found a better restaurant. As we were heading up to restuarant, Caris called right on time, letting me know that setting was ready. I told Sarah that we had to hop in a cab to get to the restaurant they found, and then gave the address of Ghirardelli Square-which sarah would not know as Ghirardelli Square. Unknown to Sarah and I, after Caris had called me to let me know that everything was set up, a skunk had wondered out of a bush and onto the blanket! Ben desperately waved his shoe at it, but the streetwise skunk was unphased. The crew had to pull the blanket from under the skunk and reset all before Sarah and I arrived. As we pulled up, we saw them gathered around a spot, Sarah later told me she thought they were playing a game, and I continued to deny that it was even them. The scattered as we approached and I was certain Sarah knew what was happening. I didn't waste any time, and when we reached the blanket I got on one knee and proposed. We enjoyed the strawberrys and champagne while watching the sunset on the Bay. We had dinner overlooking the water from Ghirardelli Square and it was a night we'll never forget.