We were 2 years apart in the marching band at Cal; however, we had different friend groups and didn't cross paths until Jeff's final year when he randomly saw a Facebook thread between a group of bandsmen planning to try rock climbing. He commented asking if he could join, we ended up pairing up as belay partners, and I found myself looking forward to each gym visit. Fast forward to his last band camp (yes, it's a real thing), where he ended up checking me for a concussion after I hit my head on the floor, and we ended up talking awhile because neither of us wanted to go back to practice. Anyway, maybe it was the minor head injury but I thought Jeff was pretty dang cute and wouldn't stop bugging him after that until we finally got together. And now here we are...I never let him escape...following him to Australia, New Orleans, and now our hopefully forever home in the Land of Enchantment.

Jeff wasn't really interested in having a relationship. He knew Carolyn from band and had climbed with her a few times but was looking for a job after college and wasn't sure where life would take him. He wasn't looking to date but it was nice to have a climbing partner. He wasn't interested in having a girlfriend but he liked going to Berkeley Bowl and making meals together. He definitely couldn't commit to anything serious before he got a job, but they spent most of their time together so they might as well be boyfriend and girlfriend. He didn't know how much longer he'd stay in the Bay Area so he wasn't sure about "their future" but she helped with the dog so that probably meant she was serious. He was moving to Australia and they wanted to stay together so that probably meant it was serious, but there was no point in talking about marriage in med school. She was moving to Australia to join the adventure (or maybe just because she missed Penny), but that didn't mean they were getting married or anything...right?

In classic Carolyn fashion, she thought she knew the exact time and place it was going to happen: day 2 of a 3-day backpacking trip in Tasmania, on the peak of Mt. Freycinet. After all, Jeff had suggested bringing a small bottle of champagne on the hike and asked all sorts of questions about how good the view was and whether it might be crowded. But in classic Jeff fashion, he was too excited to wait and gave Carolyn a massive surprise by proposing on the beach the 1st night of the trip! We spent the next few days enjoying keeping the secret to ourselves and then we attempted to video call family at a local winery while we celebrated with pizza and wine (reception was poor so it took another few days to share the news.) By the time of the wedding, we will have celebrated over 5 wonderful years of engagement!