While Joe graduated from King's College in May of 2013, he decided to go back to school in the Fall of 2013 for extracurricular activities. After a grueling application process, Joe settled on East Stroudsburg University as it was relatively close to home and many of his buddies from King's had transferred there. It was at Becky's off-campus apartment at ESU where we met through mutual friends. After a couple of months of awkward interactions, we finally decided to exchange phone numbers (the middle-school way through Becky's roommate) and the rest is history.

Joe finally mustered up the courage to ask Becky on a date. He asked his buddies for suggestions on a nice “first-date” restaurant. They suggested that he should take Becky to Ichiban, a hibachi-style restaurant. Since he was unfamiliar with the area, Joe did not realize that there were two restaurants called Ichiban. Rather than going to the hibachi-style restaurant in Stroudsburg, Joe took Becky to the college Chinese takeout spot in East Stroudsburg. When the couple pulled into the parking lot next to K-Mart, Becky thought it was kind of odd, but she just went with it. Joe was such a gentleman; rushing to open every door for Becky. Upon entering the restaurant, there was a giant glass tank that contained various fish and even a crab. The couple sat a booth and proceeded to have the best-worst date ever. Little did they know the night was about to get even wackier. About halfway through dinner, a woman began to shout hysterically in the restaurant, “AHHH!!! He’s killing it!” The woman was pointing to the fish tank and shrieking. Joe and Becky made big eyes at each other. Some time passed and the check finally came. The couple began to exit the restaurant, passing the giant fish tank again—except this time, the crab was enjoying fresh sushi.

Throughout their road trips across New Jersey, Joe and Becky would frequently pass by an upscale restaurant called The Farmhouse at The Grand Colonial. It is located off of I78 near Joe’s childhood home. Each time after the couple would pass the restaurant, Joe would always say, “That’s when you know that you’ve made it.” On the day after the couple’s 4th anniversary, Joe made a reservation at The Farmhouse. The pair enjoyed an essentially private dining experience. Although it was a cold and rainy night in February, Joe wanted to treat Becky to ice cream at JJ Scoops in Clinton after dinner. Upon driving past the ice cream parlor, it was obvious that the shop was closed. Joe (who never really gets upset about anything) was LIVID. After parking in the public lot, Joe kept insisting that the pair find dessert near the Red Mill even though Becky was content with not getting dessert. Becky was wearing a cocktail dress and heels (not the most practical outfit for a rainy night in February). Joe was speed walking to the Red Mill. Becky was trying to keep up but was always a good 10 yards behind him. When she finally caught up to him at the mill, Joe wrapped his arms around Becky to warm her up. Then, he proceeded to get on one knee and asked her to spend the rest of her life with him. After Becky said, “Yes!”, Joe closed the ring box. Puzzled that he did not put the ring on her finger, Becky asked Joe, “Are you going to put it on?” To which he replied, “Yeah, but I don’t want to drop it in the water.” Reflecting on that moment still makes Becky chuckle to this day.