We met at Leadbetter Beach in Santa Barbara, CA - In the water to be specific - It was just another day during surf class. So much both of us agree on, but apparently there are two sides of our story. "I surfed this huge wave, I mean huge! Double over head size. I did a couple of snaps off the lip before surfing right past Gabriela. I could see it in her eyes, she was impressed! On my way back to the line up, she was determined to talk to me. Right when I paddled by her, she couldn't help herself but say "oohhh shortboarder" (in a cute european accent) and I answered "what's up girl?!" Instantly hooked and forever in love. "Well... lets reel you back in a bit. This may not have happened exactly to that extent. Honestly, I can't remember seeing you surf that legendary “huge” wave you go on about, so I couldn’t have been that impressed. However, I do remember saying something like "oh short boarder" referring to you being the only one surfing a short board while all of us surfed these big, heavy, soft-top beginner boards. That was really it." “Uh hu... right...” Either way, something happened that day. We started hanging out, surfed together and eventually fell in love. But the 4 years following our first kiss were the toughest of our lives. Gabriela went to college in the Netherlands and Travis stayed in the USA. Soon Skype, FaceTime and text messages became our everyday means of communication, but we were both determined to keep this relationship alive. We visited each other twice a year for a couple of months until Gabriela moved back to California in 2016. Two years later Travis proposed on the cliffs by the very beach where it all started. - fast forward - As many of you may know, we got married and had a small ceremony at the courthouse on July 27th 2018 and postponed our full ceremony and reception a year later. July 27th 2019 marks one year of being married. We hope you all get to join us to celebrate together.