September 17, 2021

(Told by Carolyn) ​ In July of 2015, I hopped on a double-decker train to Patchogue with one of my best friends and bridesmaid, Pam. We were wearing flowers in our hair and excited to try a Tikki Bar that we found on Instagram (https://offkeytikki.com/#photo-tour). After traveling two hours, we were disappointed to find that we were the youngest people there. It was packed with families enjoying a nice sunset dinner on the water. Pam and I decided to make the most of it, grab a drink and make our way over to the live band. Mike was there with two of his groomsmen, Will and Christian ("M"). They were just planning to grab a quick drink after dinner. Mike and I caught eyes and "cheers'd" our Coronas from a distance. We made our way towards each other and continued talking the entire night. A quick drink turned into hours of bar hopping, beach and conversation. At one of the stops, they were selling roses, and Mike bought me my first of many flowers. The next day, I went to swim in Pam's pool and she told me..."he's going to be your husband."

(Told by Mike) One weekend, Carolyn took a trip to Dallas to visit friends. While she was away, I snuck to a local jewelry store and bought the ring. I had to go with my gut about the style of ring that she would like because we hadn’t really talked about it. She always said she wanted to be surprised. Once I had the ring, I reached out to her dad to set up a call so I could ask his permission to marry his daughter. I would’ve liked to ask him in person but we weren’t sure when we’d be back in NY. I’m glad I asked him when I did because we didn’t end up being able to go home until June because of COVID. We had a good conversation and I had my talking points that I wanted to cover to ensure my intentions. Her mom and dad gave me their blessing. We try to go on a hike once a month to get out and explore new areas. I had the idea in my head that I wanted to ask her during a pretty, scenic moment during our next hike. We planned a hike in mid-February to Colorado Bend State Park, which was supposed to have 2 pretty spots along the hike – a scenic overlook and a waterfall. The path we took was to go to the scenic overlook first then the waterfall. I had to decide which spot would be better. If the overlook wasn’t right, then I would have to hope the waterfall was pretty enough for that memory. We got to the overlook and there were only 2 other people there. We began to enjoy the view and take pictures. The other people left so we were alone at the overlook and everything just felt right. I took the ring out, got down on one knee and asked her to marry me. It was a blur for both of us (later she even asked me if I asked her to marry me-she was caught up in the moment, she didn’t even remember if I actually said those words). After we both calmed down, we continued on the hike down to the waterfall. My instinct was right. We got to the waterfall, and not only was it crowded, but the water wasn't running. We called our families on the way home to tell them the news.