The day I first laid my eyes on Hue, we were both wearing N-95 masks. No, it was not the pandemic - it was fire season in Northern California. But that's not the thing I remember about that day. I remember being so excited by our conversation, she was all I could think about after I left. I remember telling my friends afterwards (whom I was hours late to meet) that I wouldn't apologize for being late - that I met someone special. I remember being really anxious afterwards - hoping she'd felt similarly. When Hue agreed to meet for a second time, things took off fast from there! At first it was all fun, exploring the California coast and wine country, spending time in Hawaii and in New York, and traveling the Adriatic sea. Then came COVID. But while we sheltered in place and cancelled all our fun plans, I realized just how true and how deep our love is. Hue changed my life. I've grown more as a person since I met her than I ever have before. So when a wildfire broke out a few miles from our campground in Napa and we fled to the Mendocino coast (the location of our first trip together), I thought, what better time to ask her to marry me. I am so incredibly happy to be able to spend the rest of our lives together!