It all started with two nonchalant right swipes. It would eventually end up blossoming into an unbreakable pairing. But, before that could happen, they would need to actually meet up first...You might think this would be the easy part of the journey, but you'd be mistaken. Through a twisted path filled with missed connections and deleted apps, it'd be nearly two years between that initial matching and the actual in person meet up. Crazy, right? We agree, but like the old adage goes, it was well worth the wait. Their story begins in 2014, but really picks up momentum circa 2016. One fateful night, both Lexi and Tim decided to pull out their phones and play the dating roulette game known as Tinder. After what felt like far too many hours of endless and futile swiping, the 1's and 0's would come into alignment and they'd finally match...digitally at least. It wouldn't be until later on in our story that they would come to find out that it was the multiple pictures of dogs in each of their profiles that really sparked that match. Prior to that first in person meetup, our two heroes decided to play a well distanced and slow game of Tinder tag. With Lexi's well-trained Catfish sensors going off, one final attempt was made to meet each other in real life, or IRL as the kids say these days. Once the long awaited and anticipated meet finally occurred, it would go...OK. Albeit a very nice encounter, I think it's fair to say that neither Tim nor Lexi left that first gathering knowing they'd met their future lifelong partner. Their initial bond over good beers, running, and love of human's best friend would prove strong enough to warrant a sequel. Before they would know it, they'd eventually find themselves spending the bulk of their time together. Like a well-tended garden, this relationship would flourish into something much much greater than the parts. The two would soon become best friends and, dare I say, become inseparable.

Now that things had been going really well, it seemed only natural to start focusing on taking things to that next level. Once that was decided I just needed to apply my training. If I could just make a plan and stick to it, I'd be all set. Enter the beautiful uncertainly that is life. As designed, the first plan seemed all but perfect. As much as we both have tried to avoid the classification of avid runners, I think we've now find ourselves comfortably living within that category. What would be better than combining something we did so regularly together with a memorable occasion. I had a perfectly mapped out plan. We'd run through the beautiful Grayson Highland State Park, and right at the summit, just a mile from the finish, I'd drop to one knee and propose. What better back drop than the Blue Ridge Mountains to propose, right? Well, the race would be postponed until the fall and I just couldn't wait that long. Que the backup plan. Knoxville. As you know by now, we both had very strong connections to the area and the memorable locations were plenty. How could I go wrong? Normally I couldn't. But, this year would be different. A worldwide pandemic is a great way to really shake things up for everyone. With any hopes of traveling grounded, I had run out of good ideas. So what's a guy to do next? I guess just wing it. When all plans fail, it's sometimes best to approach things without a plan. Something unforgettable just might happen. Around May of 2020, we wanted to take a small little trip prior to Lexi entering the working world. We picked a small town in Michigan along the lake we'd never heard of (Saugatuck) and set our sights on a relaxing long weekend. When we arrived I noted that we had a nice 'private' beach area facing due west. Perfect for a sunset. Fingers crossed the sky would stay clear, we set off for dinner. Once we returned, the sun was doing its thing, so it was time for me to do my thing.