Lauren and Collin met at an Earth Day party at "Golden House" in Colorado. They got to chatting and realized that they grew up just a few towns apart---their schools were both in the Big 9 Conference! Lauren gave Collin her phone number that night...and he waited 83 days to text her! When she got the "Hey, would you still like to meet up for drinks?" text she recognized the Flint, Michigan (810) area code, and assumed it was a girlfriend from back home. Lauren responded, "Yes! But, who is this?" And they never looked back!

Lauren and Collin embarked on their Great West Coast Road in August to end summer 2019. Halfway through the adventure they arrived at their marquee destination---the California redwoods at Jedediah Smith State Park. Collin had his proposal notes written, and had kept hidden for days the ring box containing the paper ring that Lauren had made for him out of a Fat Tire bottle wrapper during their first trip as an “item.” They set off for a hike along the Smith River Tuesday morning. Lauren enjoyed spotting the aptly named banana slugs, while Collin looked for a spot to step off the trail and read over his notes one last time. Then, Lauren found the perfect redwood photo opportunity and asked Collin to pull out his phone for a picture. And that’s when fate decided it was time. As Collin pulled out his phone the rest of the contents of his pocket spilled to the ground, and there they were---under a towering majestic redwood, Collin on one knee with a ring box in his hand, and Lauren standing over him with a wry smile as she put the pieces together. He proposed, she said, “Yes!” and they ate and drank their way up the California and Oregon coasts as fiance and fiancée.