The Adventure Begins

We both were living in small, rural communities where there weren't a lot of opportunities to meet new people, so we took to the Internet. It took a "few" tries (and let's be real, a few duds and horror stories), but Larry reached out to Amber first in July 2019. He asked a LOT of questions about her interests in traveling and sports, and they hit it off through text. The conversations progressed into text messages and eventually phone calls with the occasional Facetime call. After a few months of calls, conversations started turning toward how to meet in "the real world"- specifically WHERE to meet. Initially, the plan was for Larry to fly out to Minnesota over Thanksgiving weekend in 2019, but a blizzard hit that weekend, so plans were put on hold. Amber ventured out to northeast Pennsylvania after Christmas and New Year amidst flight delays, cancellations, and arriving at a different airport than originally planned (side note: you would think at this point, both of them would get the idea that perhaps a higher force was trying to keep them apart, but we're both pretty persistent!). Larry swears he had big plans for a first date, but the world will never know... Regardless of the travel snags, Amber saw that Larry was a good sport with a good heart, and they hit it off in person just as quickly as they did online and on the phone. With the pandemic bringing the world to a slower pace of life, there were quite a few more back-and-forth trips for both Larry and Amber between Minnesota and Pennsylvania throughout 2020. In a way, the slower pace of life allowed Amber and Larry to get to know each other without the everyday hustle and activities to keep them both busy. Amber accepted a job offer with Penn State Extension and made the 1,200-mile journey to relocate in Wyalusing, Pennsylvania, in November 2020. In the three years of officially being together, we've em"bark"ed on several adventures together, including bringing two pups into the mix (sorry, I couldn't help throwing in a pun), and are excited to see what future adventures await!

Larry and Amber were in the second week of their two-week trip to Hawaii with friends. In Kauai, Larry had suggested going on a catamaran dinner cruise around the Na'Pali Coast. Needless to say, he did NOT have to twist Amber's arm to get her to agree! The cruise was a bumpy trip on the way out, but once the boat turned around to return, it was smooth sailing and gorgeous scenery. As the sun was setting, Amber and Larry ate dinner on the catamaran mats in the front of the boat. They were making small talk about the impending return to the mainland when Larry suddenly cleared his throat and said, "So...I have something kind of important to ask you," and proceeded to ask Amber to marry him. We both wanted to tell our families in person, so we waited until we returned to Minnesota and Pennsylvania to spread the news. The rest is history! (For a person who is "not into romance and all that stuff", Larry definitely picked the ideal proposal setting!)