In early December, 2021, Mike was at home in Johns Creek, GA (a suburb of Atlanta north of the city) reading profiles on Match.com. Having recently expanded the scope for his searches, it wasn’t long before Mike stumbled upon a profile of girl named “Julie” in Morristown, TN with blonde hair and a big smile. Mike had never heard of Morristown before, but figured it was only 2 hours to the Tennessee state line and the Chattanooga area, and so it wasn’t that far of a drive. Mike sent “Julie” a wink on Match and she responded within a day or two. “Julie” was intrigued by the fact that Mike liked to travel and had family overseas. After exchanging messages for a few days through Match, the pair moved to text messages. Mike then discovered that “Julie” actually went by her middle name: Regina. Mike wondered when he might get to meet this girl, but unfortunately, he was heading home to Canada to see his family for the first time in nearly 3 years. Regina’s son was also home from his first semester of college. Regardless, Mike and Regina agreed to stay in touch over the Christmas holidays. Within a few days, Mike decided to surprise Regina by calling her from Canada and the two spoke each night, sometimes for hours. Regina sent Mike a Facebook request so she could follow his trip home to see family and friends. When Regina asked Mike when he might come to see her in Tennessee, Mike couldn’t contain his excitement. The two agreed that Mike would visit Morristown on New Year’s Days just after he got home from his trip. It was at this time, when Mike began to search for a hotel room that he realized that Morristown was east of Knoxville and approximately 4 hours from Mike’s house in Georgia. It didn’t matter though, because this east Tennessee girl had already piqued his interest. But even then Mike thought that because of the distance, the two might go out a few times, and that would be the end of it. Averaging more than 90 miles per hour, Mike made it to Morristown in less than 4 hours. Initially his plan was to work out at the gym for an hour before calling Regina to let her know that he had arrived, but he was too ready to meet this girl. Regina had wanted to take Mike to “Little Dutch” for dinner, a local favorite that had been around since 1939. Because of the holiday, however, the two ended up at the local Longhorn Steakhouse. Regina was quiet at first. Fortunately, in addition to flowers, Mike showed up with conversation starters (goodies from Canada, including coffee and Shreddies). So, when there was a long silence, Mike relied on his props. Since Regina enjoyed strawberries, Mike ordered the strawberry shortcake for dessert. After dinner, Regina offered to drive Mike around Morristown. After dropping off Mike’s car at his hotel, the two ventured downtown. It was warm enough to walk along Main Street, including on the second story sidewalks (the only ones in the USA). After visiting one of Regina’s shops downtown, Mike climbed back into Regina’s car. The two looked at each other and both leaned in for that first kiss. Mike says he still sees the fireworks. After that kiss, the nervousness dissipated. The new couple drove around for several more hours before Regina dropped Mike off back at his hotel. They agreed Mike would call Regina the following morning so that the two might get together for lunch before he left town. Regina felt comfortable enough to invite Mike over for breakfast. Between eating Regina’s breakfast sliders, the two talked for several more hours. When it was time to go, the two shared another kiss, but this time Regina put her hand on Mike’s heart. That was it, Mike was hooked. It wasn’t long after getting on the interstate, heading southwest this time, that Mike realized this was something good, and he wanted MORE of it. Before arriving home in Georgia, Mike told Regina over the phone that he wanted to come back the following weekend.