The year was 2020. Covid-19 was in full effect. Lindsey had recently moved from Seattle to Tampa and was working from home. Brian was an "essential employee" and was working 24-48 hour shifts due to staffing shortages. I think the overall mood about relationships was probably something like "the chance of meeting the love of your life at a time like this was slim to none at best." Brian and Lindsey were cautious but not detoured. Brian and Lindsey connected online through a dating app called Hinge. Brian skipped the small talk and asked Lindsey on their first date, "Let's meet outdoors at the St. Petersburg Pier." Awkwardly, we both walked around for few minutes trying to locate each other. After a quick phone call and a few laughs, we were face to face for the first time. We walked all the way to the end of the pier and found a seat on the couches at the outdoor restaurant and tiki bar. As day turned into night, the conversation flowed like the cool breeze across the bay. The sunset view was spectacular that night, starting with a vibrant orange glow transitioning into cool tones of purple, pink and red across the cityscape. Brian still says it's one of his favorite sunsets. (It wasn't just the sunset that made it so special.) The sun went down and night was cool. We sat close to each other on the couch, he put his arm around her to keep her warm and the conversation was effortless. It was the perfect moment. As the night was coming to an end, so was Lindsey's parking meter. Brian was determined to extend the date just a little longer. Rather than walking down to her car and losing that moment together on the couch, Brian did some quick thinking and managed to extend Lindsey's parking meter using an app. In that moment, we were both excited to spend what felt like "extra time" together. The St. Petersburg Pier was the beginning of a journey together and we go back each year on our anniversary to revisit the moment we first met.

Lindsey and I met at the pier on November 16th, 2020 (be sure to read Our First Date story). We wanted dedicate the entire day to each other on our two year anniversary, so we reserved the day off from work and agreed to make a fun plan. Over the past two years, Lindsey and I have had countless discussions on life, love, family and marriage. In fact, our love has flourished and what a wonderful life we live in St. Petersburg, FL. We purchased a home together, shared our love for Trixie, toiled hand-in-hand through everything from career changes to hurricanes and we've been uplifted by so much love from each other's family and friends. There was no doubt, we found our person. Lindsey didn't pressure the thought of when, but it was on my mind. Here was my plan. Pick a day: I definitely wanted to ask on our two year anniversary, we've covered that already. Pick a ring: She didn't tell me any size, color, shape or ring size so that really narrowed it down. I found the perfect ring. Ask her parents for their blessing: I called her parents just days before and they gave me their blessing. Whew, that felt good. Pick an adventure: We love using our boat club membership, so I reserved a boat well in advance. Our favorite, remote beach location is Shell Key. It has the most pristine blue water, tons of beautiful shells and soft, white sand. We've been there countless times and it's always serene. Perfect spot! Pick a place to end the night: We always go to the pier where we first met. It sounds perfect! The big day is here. We arrive at the boat club and were greeted by the dock master. "We have a brand new 24 foot, center console boat with a 250 Mercury engine that was just delivered. It's the newest and largest boat in the fleet. Would you like to take it out after we clean it?" My jaw dropped. Ahh, that's good karma. Lindsey is the absolute best first mate. She has the tide chart up, the nautical map ready, the music playing, the dog strapped on her chest, the bumper lines in and is taking food and drink requests. We come out of the channel and we have a choice to make. We can go left (the long route through the shipping channel) or right (the shorter route through shallow water). I've gone both ways and told Lindsey it gets shallow but let's go right. Within less than five minutes we ran a ground. Picture mud and water flying up from the propeller. I turned off the engine, jumped off of the boat and started pushing. I was getting nowhere fast when Lindsey splashes down right next to me. We smiled and laughed. We pushed the boat for 30-45 minutes until we hit the channel. We were exhausted and so excited that part of the day was over. Right about now you will be judging my boating skills. We ran another ground, pushed for 20 minutes and finally hit open water. Within that hour, the weather changed and it became cloudy and windy. As we approached the beach, Lindsey set Trixie on the deck and went to bow to prepare the anchor. I slowed the approach at about 20 feet from the beach and she tossed the anchor. In less than a minute, the boat was just a few feet from the beach. Suddenly, a wave hit the boat hard, and the boat lurched from side to side. In that moment, all I cared about was Lindsey and Trixie. And before I knew it, the boat was sitting ON the beach near a wood piling. We sat down in our chairs, staring at the boat which was slowly drifting closer and closer to the piling. I was thinking, this wasn't at all what I wanted today to be like, but then it hit me. This is the perfect moment to ask her. "You know, it's moments like this that have defined our relationship. When times are hard, rather than getting angry, we've always come together to get through them. I wouldn't want to go through those things with anyone else. And when times are good, they're really great! I don't ever want this to end." I got down on one knee... and she said YES!