When most people think about Santa visiting San Francisco, they probably do not picture hundreds of people dressed as Santas and elves roaming the streets of the city. While neither Sam nor I were actually dressed for the occasion, we both decided to partake in the celebrations and somehow our paths crossed that day. In my defense, it is hard not to notice this tall handsome man wearing an ugly cat sweater to one of the biggest events of the year. He won me over with his questionable sense of humor, deep blues and the rest is history. Four years later, here we are! Mr and Mrs Burns!

During the pandemic the most frequent reason that we left the house was to head to the coast and walk by the water. In one year we had been on coastal hikes from Brookings Oregon, Mendocino, Point Reyes, Big Sur, Pacifica and many times just Ocean Beach in San Francisco. When I decided to propose to Lynne I knew that it had to be within sight and sound of the water. Knowing that Lynne's love for the sea was almost matched by love for a good spa I knew what I had to do. After a relaxing day at the spa I took Lynne on a walk along the beach by the Ritz-Carlton in Half Moon Bay. When it was just me, Lynne, February (our dog) and the ocean I asked her to marry me and the rest is history.

So here we are engaged and ready to get married! We wanted to keep it simple and easy. So we tried looking at all options available and to our dismay, they all sucked. City Hall was overbooked, restaurants were still reeling from the pandemic and any other location required way too much time and effort to set up for a small party. While we were trying to workout all these details, mom was delayed on her travels and ended getting stuck in Turkey for a whole week. This really put a damper on the preparations especially that we did not know until the last minute if she was going to be able to make it. Between calling Homeland Security, the American Embassy in Turkey, Customs and Border Control, a lawyer and Turkish Airlines, we were finally able to figure out the issue and get her on a plane. In the meantime, our closest friends and family all came together to ensure the necessary arrangements were made for D Day. Fast Forward a few days later, I am wearing this beautiful dress that mom got me from Turkey, eating the most delicious food with my fish napkins and marrying my better half surrounded by the most loving and supporting people in my life. The day was so stress free and dreamy. No fuss, no excess, no stress. Just love <3