Spring of 2020, in the height of a pandemic, two individuals took a leap of faith and these are their stories. Before meeting in person Thomas: We matched, talked; Alyssa was very open with what she was looking for and interested in, with a big bonus being her enthusiasm towards the outdoors. There was interest in sports, stories of her craftiness and handy work, all providing evidence of Alyssa not being one who would be afraid to get her hands dirty. With time, this led me to ask Alyssa for a first date. Alyssa: Once Thomas and I started chatting online, I knew there was something drawing me to him. Our conversations flowed easily, we had enough in common, but also a fair share of differences that made things interesting. After many conversations, we decided it was worth entering the real world, as crazy as it was in 2020, and meet in person. He was very respectful of both of our safety and planned an outdoor date for us doing something we both enjoy. First date Thomas: planning the first date was a bit of a challenge because it would be best for both if it could be outside. We ended up landing on finding a place to go kayaking. I found a small "lake" near Alyssa's house and we planned to meet there. I loaded up the kayaks, got to the lake, and immediately noticed it was tiny and 3/4 of it was filled with a sludge-like algae. Alyssa got out of her vehicle, we discussed whether we should still bust out the kayaks and ended up deciding, "what the heck". Alyssa helped unload the kayaks into the sludge and me trying my best to be be a gentleman, helped her into her kayak and pushed her gently into the "lake". We paddled our way through the sludge to the remaining bit of clear water, floated and talked, trying not to drift back into the sludge. Eventually we got hot and tired of trying to avoid the sludge, so we made our way back thru our trails to leave the lake. When we got back, instead of going to the ramp, we decided it would be wise to go and get out alongside the dock. I held Alyssa's kayak so she wouldn't tip, but in turn once she was on the dock I ended up about back-flipping out into the water. We loaded up, talked a bit more, and after a while I had to remind her to text her friend and let her know she was still alive and well. Alyssa: Thomas had the idea to go kayaking, and found a small lake near my house. Getting ready for this date was unlike any other - I didn't have to dress up, do my hair or makeup, and I feared the idea of being a sweaty mess as a first impression. I arrived to the lake a few minutes before he did, saw that it was incredibly secluded, full of muck and I was thankful to have Jennalee on standby should I need "saving". He pulled up, with two kayaks, got out and the date was off to a good start (despite him wearing SOCKS AND SANDALS to go kayaking). We fought our way through the sludge in the lake to float around the "clear" waters. We had better conversation on that gross lake than I'd had with anyone in a long time. Eventually, we made our way back through the sludge to the dock where he was a perfect gentleman and helped me out of my kayak, and almost flipped his into the algae. When we got back to the vehicles, we continued talking, long enough that he reminded me to let my friend know that I was okay. I left that date knowing that this was something special.