Adventure has always been at the center of our relationship. On our very first date, I told Henry I wanted to become a travel nurse and live somewhere near the ocean. Instead of questioning it, he supported me wholeheartedly. My contracts and his flexible work schedule turned our lives into a blend of long-distance love and shared exploration. He visited me in every city I lived in, including Denver, Honolulu, Seattle, and San Francisco. Together we checked off bucket-list destinations between my contracts: New Zealand, South Africa, Norway, Peru, the Galápagos, Ecuador, Iceland, French Polynesia, Honduras, Fiji, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Hong Kong. Through every flight and every reunion, adventure became our love language.

Spontaneous travel was part of Ryniak life, but one childhood memory outshines them all. When I was in elementary school, my dad pulled my sister and me out of class to join him on his trip to Oʻahu. We took surfing lessons in Waikīkī, hiked Diamond Head, and packed an entire vacation into his short layover. It was my first glimpse of Hawaiʻi, and even then it felt like a place I would always return to. Years later, Hawaiʻi became part of our story. During my contract on O'ahu, Henry visited every chance he could, spending a few weeks every month or two and proudly racking up enough miles to earn American Airlines Platinum Elite Status. We hiked many miles on each island, biked through the crowded streets of Waikīkī, and surfed (often following it up with too much poke from Maguro Spot, where we eventually became regulars). We also dove with sharks on the North Shore, watched whales in Maui, helicoptered over Kauai, boated along the Nā Pali Coast, admired the volcanic eruption on the Big Island, and spent countless hours snorkeling and beachcombing for shells. Henry always searched for the pink and purple ones because he knew they were my favorite. When he proposed, he surprised me with a ring box he handcrafted out of pink shells, a thoughtful and sentimental detail that felt perfectly us. Hawai'i is where we grew individually, where we grew together, and where we learned how to love through distance and adventure. We can’t wait to return with the people we love most and celebrate this special chapter of our lives. Thank you for helping make it so meaningful and unforgettable!