Isn't this lucky? Shane and I met through friends at a local Morrisville rock-climbing gym in late summer 2015-he was new to the area, and I was new to climbing. Our friendship was all about climbing at first, and we spent lots of time at Pilot Mountain. After a few months of that, Shane invited me to dinner at his place for our first date. I was impressed: He's as fearless in the kitchen as he is on a mountain. Shane's homemade pizza and cinnamon rolls won me over...and then he did!

Shane wanted to celebrate the anniversary of our first date by hiking to his favorite fly fishing spot on the Eno River. The trails were completely ours because the rain was rolling in. As the rain started falling, we ran for cover under some trees on a small cliff. Not only was this the perfect view of the river, but there was a fallen tree carved into a bench. While I sat watching the storm, Shane - Grits by his side - got down on one knee and asked, "Will you marry me?"