Bring me the horizon.

In 2014, James was living in Burbank, CA and working in Los Angeles, CA. Alina was attending the University of Washington in Seattle. So how did they meet if they were living in two different states? Cupid! - Alina's sister, Sirena, and brother-in-law, David, who were both living in Los Angeles at the time. Alina went to visit LA to see her brother-in-law off for his deployment and to support her sister in the first few days he was gone. The night before, Alina was minding her own business, eating Wing Stop and watching a version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on YouTube, when in walks her sister's handsome friend, James. They were cordial towards each other, but considering the time and place, that's all that became of their first meeting. Alina's visit to LA was coming to an end. Connecting on good 'ol Facebook, they began chatting over the phone and growing their long-distance friendship. Alina's surprise visit to Burbank in October 2014 sealed the deal when James brought her to the hills of North Hollywood to ask Alina to be his girlfriend. Through the first few years, James packed up his life in California and moved back to Washington state (road trip with Alina!), started his new career, bought a house and rescued a dog named Peaches! Alina graduated from UW, moved in with James, landed a job in Human Resources and continued her growth in her hospitality career. For the rest of our story, IYKYK.

Headed out to Westport, Washington for a weekend razor clam digging adventure. Checked in to the hotel and was pleasantly surprised that we got a room with a balcony. Both of us were feeling a little under the weather but we powered through the night with some sandwiches and a lovely ocean breeze. We were both excited about razor clamming! The plan was to wake up early, drive down to the beach and catch some clams to cook fresh out of the ocean. Sleep and fatigue took over and we overslept, missing the peak razor clamming hours. We made the most of our visit - ordered brunch to eat outside, walked around towards the Westport Viewing Tower and decided to drive on the beach, after all. We got out of the truck to walk along the water and enjoy the gorgeous, spring day on the coast. "Let's go back to the truck and prop the phone up for a selfie," says James. Great idea! We walk back to the truck and he hits record. We both ended up with COVID, feeling very, very sick and left the hotel a day early to go home and recover. What a trip to remember!