Chris moved to "Washington DC," which he liked to tell everyone and I had been living in Manassas, VA for 2 years and I was currently finishing up my Masters at GMU. At the time, I was "over" going on failed dates and eventually swiped right not thinking much of it and not responding right away. However, this led to our match expiring and in the end Chris extended the time to talk to me because he was so interested. After talking for about a month we finally met for the first time at Sinistral Brewing Company in Manassas, VA. The night we met, we sat outside under a dome with a live band which I thought was great! We talked the night away (years later I found out he could barely hear a word I was saying...) and hit it off so much, that we extended the date and went next door to grab a bite to eat at CJ Finz. We sat at the bar, looking out of the window watching people ice skate. Our next date was when he willingly went to see the Grinch with me and I was thrilled and knew he was a keeper! Chris mostly grew up in Georgia and was not used to extreme cold and snow. He was flabbergasted with our first heavy snowfall in Virginia which of course shut the city down. This is when he got to experience making a snowman. We had a competition and if you know me, then you know I'm quite competitive. As we were snowed in together, January 18th, 2019 is when Chris "made it official!" I just knew there was something different about him in a good way.
Chris and I really bonded and got to know each other through our travels and exploring different places together! Our adventures have included: - New York (Niagara Falls/city where my dream was to go during my birthday when it was decorated for Christmas-Chris made this happen!) - Virginia (backpacked part of the Triple Crown/Appalachian Trial, Shenandoah National Park, wineries upon wineries, Chris surprised me and we hiked with llamas!!!) - Washington D.C. (Cherry Blossom/Kite Festival, conquered a half marathon with Chris cheering me on in the pouring rain, museums) - Massachusetts (food tour/duck boat tour) - North Carolina (Christmas at the Biltmore, Mount Mitchell, OBX) - Maryland (Annapolis/Baltimore) - Pennsylvania (Chris' first time/he got me lessons to learn how to ski!) - West Virginia (Surprised Chirs- stayed at the Bavarian Inn Resort/explored Harpers Ferry NP) - Georgia (Savannah River Rapids), Delaware (beach) - Tennessee (Katelyn’s first time at a Steak n Shake) - South Carolina (Charleston and Spartanburg) - Puerto Rico (zip-lined through El Yunque NF/food tour in San Juan) He officially met the family over Easter 2019,and my mom said, "Wow, he's perfect, I can't find any flaws (I don't like to remind him of this often because it gets to his head). The spring 2020, during the pandemic, really allowed us to get to know each other more and we always say "expedite" our relationship. We got to see each others’ creative side and got to work together to come up with unique things to keep us entertained. Chris worked hard and we celebrated him graduating with his Masters for AU and would continue to celebrate him as he continues to be a published author. We also got our first fur-baby (who Chris did not think we were going to get at the time), Milah and she even strengthened our relationship more and realized what a great team we are! I also met his family and the first visit I felt so welcomed and like I "fit right in."
One night while eating dinner out at The Secret Garden Cafe in Occoquan, VA, we decided Milah needed a sibling, so we then adopted our second fur-baby, Paxton. Also, at this time I was working on a demanding certificate and Chris was so supportive and by my side every step of the way. I could not have done it without him and of course he was there when I saw those fireworks informing that I passed! We continued to explore new areas, coffee shops, trails, and wineries.
2022 We visited Wilmington, North Carolina and fell in love with the area! Chris and I admired the quaint coastal city and loved how there was the downtown scene on the river and a beach town feel across the city. Jokingly we said, "Could you imagine if we moved here?" Well after Chris being able to relocate with his job and Katelyn getting a teaching job, this joke turned into a reality when we moved June 2022 (shout out to Bill for the help with the move-we're on the third floor)! We absolutely adore the area and enjoy continuing our adventures.
Chris FINALLY popped the question and it was absolutely perfect! I always said, "I'm going to be able to tell when he was going to purpose based on how he was acting!" Well....guess what?! I had NO CLUE! He chose a "staycation" at the Graystone Inn and to propose in Wilmington because we know that this is where we want to settle down and eventually start raising our family. The night of the "staycation" after dinner he gave me a piece of paper for a sailing excursion, which I barely got to read and he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. In shock, I stared at him shaking and he repeated the question and I said, "YES," and burst into happy tears. Chris and I celebrated the next weekend on a sailboat and had the most amazing captain! We originally said we wanted a longer engagement, but after discussing the idea of eloping (which is totally us) we decided to get married next year. I cannot wait to marry by best friend!
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We first met in a local brewery in Manassas, VA in October 2018. I was still new to the area so being able to explore new places was almost as exciting as the first meeting with Katelyn that night. The live music was loud and while it was tough to hear, I tried to hang on to every word, as I found myself enamored with this attractive, funny, young woman.
Over the next few weeks we started to hang out more and more. Katelyn was staying over one night in January, at which point we heard that there was a good chance of snow the following day. We took the opportunity to have a snowman building challenge, after which I asked her to be my girlfriend, to which she said yes! Following our winter wonderland, we began to explore many places together, ranging from Pennsylvania and DC to the Northern and Western parts of Virginia. We toured the Dulles Air and Space Museum, Gettysburg, and even got to see the Cherry Blossom festival at the Tidal Basin. Figuring she would say no, I was surprised when Katelyn jumped at the chance to go hiking on the Appalachian Trail with my best friends; we hiked both Dragon’s Tooth and McKafee’s Knob, at which point I knew that she would be up for any new adventures going forward. You would think the most stressful time would have been hanging onto a slippery rock face during the hike, but no, that time came later for both of us when we introduced each other to our families. During our continued 2019 adventures, we got to experience many exciting events together, including getting Katelyn to snow ski for the first time to cheering Katelyn on for crossing multiple finish lines, both a half marathon and the stage for her Masters in Education. We visited the Finger Lakes and Niagara Falls when hanging out with Katelyn’s friends Billy and Vanessa. During the Fourth of July event in DC, I encouraged Katelyn to try a raw oysters on the half shell, which she enjoyed (enjoyed somewhat I must add, she later learned from my father to add a saltine cracker and mignonette sauce and now eats them regularly). Throughout the year, we explored many hikes, wineries, and parks (my favorite being the one where Katelyn said she loved me), visited Martha’s Vineyard, Boston, and New York City. As we both love food, we did a walking food tour in Boston and ate at an art deco restaurant in the Empire State Building.
As 2020 roared onto the scene, we toured the amazing Biltmore Estate, submitted the highest peak east of the Mississippi, and explored Monticello and Charlottesville, where I surprised Katelyn with a hike with llamas. As spring time came around, so did the pandemic (nothing like being stuck together at home, right?). Funnily enough, this event actually allowed us to get to know each other better on all fronts, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, and so we decided that the next appropriate step during a worldwide cold was to get a puppy. We took a spur of the moment trip to Pennsylvania where I thought we were just going to look at puppies (little did I know that Katelyn had her heart set on getting one that day). We arrived and spent time surrounded by fluffy and tumbling miniberndoodles, where after about 15 minutes Katelyn had picked up Milah and our lives have been full of fluffiness ever since. We spent the next year training our pup and exploring many outdoor areas, including the awesome Natural Bridge and cute little towns, breweries, wineries, and parks in Virginia and North Carolina.
2021 rolled around and we continued to explore places including Roanoke and Harrisonburg VA and Wilmington, NC. We had never planned to visit in Wilmington before, but renovations on our townhome caused us to look for a new place to visit until the work was completed. We fell in love with the area around Wilmington, from the beaches and boardwalks to the quaint but lively downtown and river walk. At the time we joked with each other about living down there, but little did we know! Throughout 2021, we toured many wineries and hiking trails and Katelyn even surprised me with a stay at the Bavarian Inn, a German style resort with an infinity pool overlooking the foothills of Harpers Ferry, WV. Near the end of the year, we decided that one dog wasn’t enough and decided to get an even bigger version of the dog we loved so much, at which point Paxton became a big, goofy part of lives.
For the first half of 2022, we proceeded to play in many snow storms (including building an igloo), party at food and brewery festivals, and explore small Virginia towns as well as Roanoke, VA, where I surprised Katelyn with a stay at the Hotel Roanoke for a Valentine’s trip. Throughout the spring, we visited Wilmington again and joked about moving down there, again not 100% knowing that we would be moving down that summer. As it turned out, both Katelyn and I got the opportunities to be able to move to our now home, Wilmington, NC, where she was offered multiple roles at schools in New Hanover county and I was able to continue consulting from home, albeit with some travel. Over the next 6 months, we explored what it was like to live the beach life and enjoyed everything from biking to the beach and walking around the boardwalk and river walk, to experiencing local restaurants, breweries, and farmer and seafood markets, and festivals.
As 2023 rolled around, I knew it was time to ask Katelyn to marry me, as the custom ring I had made was burning a hole in my pocket and knew that I wanted to make Wilmington our home. I set up a surprise stay at the Graystone Inn estate and got tickets for a show at the historic theater downtown. Katelyn had thought we were just going out for dinner, as I had said that we had to stay in town that weekend to watch Sean and Kayla’s pets. Her shock and disbelief at when we pulled up to the inn and I pulled out our suitcase was worth it alone! After a dinner downtown and before the show, I gave Katelyn a paper that contained a note and tickets about a sailboat I had rented for a weekend later as part of the surprise. While she was distracted with reading the note, I got down on one knee and asked her to marry me, to which she replied YES!, after a few moments of shock.