How we met - Lisa’s Story

In the Winter of 2008 I was spending the ski season volunteering with a nonprofit organization in Mammoth, CA. During that time, the owner of the apartment I was renting visited the mountain with some friends. He invited me to dinner with the group, which was comprised of several members of a San Diego-based, semi-pro salsa team, including David.  David had a zest for life and contagious optimism that I was immediately inspired by.  

When the majority of the salsa team left town, David and another friend stayed behind to enjoy a few more days on the mountain. And, having a spare room, I gave them lodging.As a thank you, David offered me surfing lessons, and he reached out periodically for the next couple of years to try to make good on his promise. Thanks to David’s persistence, we remained in occasional contact, but my distaste for the cold temperatures of the Pacific Ocean led me to delay taking him up on his offer.

By the time I finally decided to try my hand at surfing and reached out, David’s traveling Occupational Therapist role had moved him to Hawaii. As fate would have it, I was about to visit Hawaii to see my friend (and our wedding officiant), Kristen Carlson, who was also living on Oahu and so we all arranged to have dinner together.

 Finally in 2010, both living in San Diego, we had our first date at 3rd Corner Bistro in Ocean Beach, followed by a seaside stroll. We really connected on our love for  exploring, desire to learn, propensity for optimism, enjoyment of sports, and commitment to our families. Ever since, we have been enjoying a joie de vivre, good food, great conversations, and interesting walks (some short and some as far as 26.2 miles). We look forward to walking through the rest of our lives together.

Cowabunga! 

The Proposal - David’s story

I wanted to propose to Lisa in a place she had never visited and in a memorable way, so I planned an adventure in Fiji.  We toured the country together and one of the highlights of the trip was when we came within inches of enormous tiger and bull sharks. On our last night in the Islands we took in the sunset and then I surprised Lisa with a private dinner set out on a balcony suspended over the resort’s ocean lagoon.

As we enjoyed our meal, I was mentally rehearsing my proposal as I had been for days. I asked Lisa to share her favorite memories of us as a couple over the years. Shaking in anticipation and while trying to keep my composure of what was to come next, I also shared my favorite memories. Then  I declared, “I have an announcement, will you come to the railing of the balcony please?”

I told Lisa why I love her and how special and precious she is to me and then I got down on one knee. Confused and excited by this gesture Lisa said “wait, what’s happening?” I then asked her to marry me and she excitedly said, “yes.”