Okay some highlights from October. Yeah I know, its just about December but who cares?...

October 4th
- picked up my engagement ring for Karen
-arrived at LB Airport (thanks Lou and Belle for the ride) and transferred Karen's ring into Ryan's camera bag.
-flew out to Washington D.C. via Jet Blue (red eye flight) and watched ESPN the entire trip on Direct TV (freakin awesome!)

October 5th
-arrived at Washington D.C/Dulles Airport just past 5am
-picked up car rental from Enterprise and got lost going to airport after Ryan's GPS died (haha)
-after getting lost and taking two different toll roads, we finally arrived at the Sheraton Premiere at Tyson's Corner in Vienna, VA
-had breakfast across the street at McDonald's
-took a 4 hour nap
-took D.C. Metro Orange Line from Virginia into Union Station, Washington D.C.
-had lunch at Union Station's Johnny Rockettes
-visited U.S. Surpreme Court
-visited U.S. Capitol
-visited Grant Memorial
-walked along The Mall
-visited the Washington Monument and watched the sun set behind the Lincoln Memorial
-met up with Karen's friend May and had dinner near Arlington at some Irish Pub
-almost got killed by May's driving. (hehe!)
-went back to hotel in Vienna

October 6th
-took DC Metro to Arlington National Cemetery. Visited JFK's gravesite, Curtis Lee Mansion, and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
-ate at Karen's aunt's friend's Italian Restaurant in Arlington
-visited National Archives and saw the U.S. Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Articles of Confederation.
-took a long ass walk to see The White House
-walked again and visited the World War II Memorial
-walked along the Reflecting Pool and visited the Lincoln Memorial
-visited Vietnam Veterans Memorial
-took DC Metro back to Vienna, and met up with Resty and friends for some drinks at Gordon Biersch Brewery at the Tyson's Corner Shopping Center.
-went back to the hotel.

October 7th
-Ryan and went back to D.C. to visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial again and Korean Veterans Memorial
-Bought 2 for 1 Marlboro packs, thinking they were Marlboro Smooth's.
-Went back to hotel to get ready for Resty's wedding, and found out those packs were instead Marlboro Menthols (blah!)
-Got ready for wedding then bought a buy 2 get 1 free packs of Marlboro Menthol Lights
-Went to Resty's wedding ceremony
-Went to Resty's reception at Maggiano's at Tyson's Galleria
-Went back to hotel to pack for New York.
-Stayed up late watching The Real World: Australia with Ryan.

October 8th
-Returned rental car via this hyper Puerto Rican shuttle driver that was full of energy at 5:30am, blasting Puerto Rican music and dancing outside his door while we walked passed him to our terminal.
-Saw Resty's cousin at the airport by surprise (he was flying back to San Francisco. Sidenote: He was also my sister's prom date when they were seniors)
-Had my first Dunkin' Donuts coffee and donut since Chicago at Dulles Airport.
-Arrived at JFK New York around 10:30am and was escorted by our car driver into Manhattan.
-Arrived at the Belvedere Hotel around 11:45am and checked in
-Took a short nap while Ryan called Verizon complaining about his work phone being broken.
-Watched about 2 or 3 episodes of last season's Beauty and the Geek.
-Finally left the hotel, walked toward's Time Square, noticed Cat and Joe's hotel was around the corner from us, and ate some appetizers at Friday's.
-Joe and Cat finally arrived from Boston.
-Walked East of Broadway and saw Radio City Music Hall, Rockefeller Plaza, then walked North on 5th Ave to see St. Patrick's Cathedral and shopped. Visited H&M, NBA Store, the Apple Store, and Niketown.
-had first Dunkin Donuts coffee in New York off of 50th St.
-Went back to hotel for a quick break then met up with Ryan's cousins for dinner at K-town for some Korean BBQ.
-Went back to Cat and Joe's hotel and watched Monday Night Football (Dallas came back to beat Buffalo).
-Joe, Cat, and me walked to Times Square at 1am to take pictures, while Karen and Ryan went back to the Belvedere.

October 9th
-woke up and had breakfast downstairs with Ryan.
-met up with Joe and Cat around the corner of their hotel then Joe bought like 7 pounds of M&M's from M&M world.
(okay quick story. the forecast for today was 80 degrees with high humidity and a 50% chance of rain. so now i'm thinking "Great, its our anniversary (every month on the 9th), and the day I've been planning to propose to Karen, its gonna freakin rain!")
-Transferred Karen's ring to my camera bag.
-Took Subway to Lower Manhattan and visited Battery Park, where we saw The Sphere (a sculpture that was between the World Trade Center before 9/11), and at a distance you can see Ellis Island and The Statue of Liberty.
-Walked north and visited the World Trade Center site (a lot of cleanup still being done)
-Took subway into Little Italy for lunch. (The food we had was ehhhhh)
-Walked North and shopped around Nolita, Soho, Noho, and Washington Square Park. I also transferred the ring to my pocket.
-It starts to rain lightly.
-Met up with Cat's friend Kim and took subway to Brooklyn.
-Walked to Brooklyn Heights Promenade (no rain)
-Walked to the north end of the Promenade and asked Ryan to take pictures of Karen and me.
Me: Happy Anniversary!
Karen: Oh yeah huh!? Happy Anniversary!
Me: Did you want to celebrate more anniversaries together?
Karen: Of course I want to!
Me: (went down on one knee, took out the ring and asked) then Karen, will you marry!?
Karen: OMG OMG OMG, ARE YOU SERIOUS?? YES!!!!
-hooray got engaged!
-walked to eat some good New York pizza at Grimaldi's.
-walked about a mile or so in the freakin rain to some bar that served smores to have drinks and play Guitar Hero II.
-went back to hotel to sleep.

October 10th
-woke up, had breakfast again with Ryan.
-packed up and transferred to Sheraton Manhattan Times Square Hotel.
-watched Legally Blonde on Broadway with Joe and Cat
-went back to hotel to meet up with Ryan then we all took a walk at Central Park.
-chilled at Columbus Circle while Ryan ate at Whole Foods.
-went back to the hotel to chill and rest.
-met with Karen's friend Nikki, where Karen, Nikki, Ryan, and me went to Hell's Kitchen for dinner
-took subway back to Brooklyn Heights Promenade to take more pictures since it rained the previous day.
-Karen and I met up with Joe and Cat to go up the Empire State Building at 12:45am.
-went back to hotel.

October 11th
-it was going to rain all day so we slept in a little bit, then we (Karen, Ryan, and me) had lunch at Grand Central Terminal.
-met up with Joe and Cat for dessert at Serendipity 3 and had Frozen Hot Chocolate.
-went to Bloomingdales down the street to take a dump.
-we all got tired so we went to our hotel to rest and take a nap.
-went across the street to buy some Dunkin Donuts coffee and smoke. (it was so fun to just people watch outside)
-took a nap, then contemplating walking in the rain down the street to watch Hairspray. (We ended not)
-Joe and Cat left to meet up with Cat's friend, so Ryan, Karen, and me went around the corner to eat at Ray's Pizza then shopped for souveniers.
-went back to hotel to sleep and pack.

October 12th
-Karen and I woke up at 6:30am to get to The Today Show at Rockefeller Plaza.
-Met Meredith Viera and we talked about our engagement
-8:40am EST, we were on TV!!!
-went to the NBC store to purchase some souveniers.
-went back to the hotel to have breakfast with Ryan
-packed up more then took a nap.
-Ryan and I took the subway to The Bronx to check out Yankee Stadium.
-walked around a bit then tried to take the subway back to Rockefeller to meet up with Joe and Cat and go up Top of the Rock since it was a clear day, but didn't want to risk waiting in line since our flight was at 6pm.
-had lunch with Karen just outside of Rockefeller Plaza at one of those Halal carts (oh man its soooo good! esp for $5!)
-went back to hotel to get luggage, got picked up by our car service, then left go home to California.

It was the first time for me in the East Coast and loved it! It wasn't a normal relaxing vacation, but it was nice just to get away from work and California for once. It was a little somber visiting some of the memorials in D.C. and the World Trade Center in New York. When I was standing at Battery Park and just looking up at the skyline, I couldn't help to imagine witnessing the 9/11 events unfold. But it was really cool finally visiting both historic cities. If you wanna do a cheap trip, D.C. is the way to go since everything there is free (memorials, museums, etc.). But New York is a must place to visit! Everything is just a subway stop away in Manhattan. I just wished they had better food like they did in Chicago. Maybe I didn't eat at the right places. But getting engaged in front of the New York skyline was definitely the most memorable part trip. Can't wait to go back! I wished more people went, but thanks Joe, Cat, Ryan, and Karen for a wonderful time.

Now its time to plan a wedding!