If anyone makes it through this entire story, you're a trooper...

For those who may not know, Emily loves all things Irish, so she had pretty openly stated she would love a Claddagh ring. The Claddagh ring originated in Galway, Ireland (according to Cody's internet research after never having heard of this ring before) and we had a trip booked to Ireland for Christmas through New Years 2022. So, Cody thought how cool would it be to get a ring made in Ireland and give it to Emily while in Ireland.

In the months leading up to the trip, Cody found a jewelry store in Galway that makes diamond Claddagh engagement rings and put the wheels in motion to have one ready for when we arrived in Ireland. During this same time, Cody remained pretty neutral on the idea of marriage anytime the topic came up and would often respond "maybe someday" when asked if he wanted to get married. He managed to keep the plan a secret from everyone until the day before we left for Ireland when he dropped Barney the cat off at Emily's parents house. He revealed the plan to them under the condition that they keep it a secret until he proposed during the trip (and they were totally cool with it).

The trip got off to a rocky start with the polar vortex hitting Pittsburgh the night we were scheduled to fly out (cue triggering Emily's trauma of having her March 2020 trip canceled!). After 8 hours of delays, we were on our way to London on Christmas Eve. The 8 hours of delays meant the flight crew timed out and we had to stop in Cardiff, Wales (for two hours) to change flight crews to fly like 20 more minutes to London. By the time we made it to London, we had missed our flight to Dublin... and all the flights to Dublin for the day were gone... oh and there were no flights flying on Christmas Day (cue more trauma for Emily thinking she will never make it to Ireland!). However, London turned out to be an amazing time on Christmas Day and we were finally off to Ireland early the next morning.

By the time we arrived in Dublin, the airline had lost our checked bag. Emily remarked that it would be nerve-racking if someone had an engagement ring in a checked bag that was lost. Cody remained unfazed (since the engagement ring was sitting safely in a jewelry store in Galway!).

After several days hopping around Ireland, we were finally on our way to Galway on Dec. 29th. A longer than expected stop for lunch in Limerick got us into Galway later than expected. It was 4:30PM by the time we were checking into the hotel and the jewelry store closed at 5PM. Cody had to get the ring on the 29th because the plan was to propose at the Cliffs of Moher on the 30th. And Emily, unaware of the biggest plan for the 30th, had tried to pack as many activities into the 30th as possible with multiple friends from Ireland coming to Galway to visit us on the 30th. That left going to the Cliffs of Moher first thing in the morning as the only option on the 30th. As soon as we checked into the hotel, Cody said he was feeling sick and needed to go get some medicine from the pharmacy (contrary to popular belief, he was actually feeling a little sick that day). He told Emily to wait in the hotel since it was a long drive earlier that day. She was more than happy to do that as long as Cody brought back a Coke Zero.

Cody made it to the store before closing and introduced himself to the staff to be greeted with "ah, you're American Cody!?" He was indeed American Cody. After getting the ring, he still had to get medicine and a Coke Zero to keep his cover. By this time, Emily was texting "are you lost" but this was easily concealed with "there is a long line at the pharmacy" accompanied with a picture of the actual long line at the pharmacy (special thanks to all the people who happened to need medicine at the same exact time to provide cover).

Cody was able to hide the ring in his coat and then sneak it into a backpack once back at the hotel. The next morning we were off to the Cliffs of Moher before daylight. However, it had rained all night (classic Ireland weather) and the roads were terribly flooded the entire way. Emily was asleep in the passenger seat for most of the drive (classic Emily in a car) but Cody was determined to make it to the Cliffs that day, so he was just plowing through flooded roads in the rental car, hoping it wouldn't flood out.

After making it to the Cliffs, Cody started directing Emily to a path that heads north from the parking lot because his online research indicated this was a pretty picturesque spot for an engagement photo... but the path to the north was barricaded and closed. Quick new plan... at the top of O'Brien's Tower would be a good spot... hmm the tower doesn't open for another hour. Another quick new plan, pretty much anywhere with cliffs in the background will be a good spot... hmm there are NO OTHER TOURISTS AROUND, so no one can take a photo. Cody then delayed for about an hour to try to get into a good picturesque spot at the same time as other tourists. Finally, some tour buses showed up... but at the same time wind starting blowing so hard we could barely walk or stand up. Being that we had to get back to Galway City to do all the other things Emily had planned for the day, Cody said let's get one more picture together (even with all the wind) and then we go. Cody picked out the most influencer looking person around and asked her to take a pic (and she did a great job!). Emily was staring out over the Cliffs, so she didn't even notice Cody taking out the ring or getting down on one knee. She said yes, and here we are. The End.