This past April my cousin who lives in North Carolina asked me to fly down for the weekend and come visit. Her husband is in the Coast Guard, and she wanted me to meet "this guy" who was also in the Coast Guard stationed with him. I was very hesitant, but I went against my nervousness and decided to fly down. I went down on Friday, and met Randy (my husband) on Saturday. I was doing dishes and I heard him come in the door, and then he walked into the kitchen. My cousin introduced us, and we both did the "hey, what's up" nod. It's really corny, but I had the love-at-first sight moment and time basically stopped. The rest of the weekend we just flirted a lot, talked a lot, and then I flew back to PA.
The following week I found out Randy was moving to Oregon and I just felt like I had to see him one last time before he moved away. So, I drove my car 12 hours to my cousin's house the following weekend! We went on a date to the beach at night. We sat talking for hours in the sand, watching the ocean.Then, we told eachother we loved one another. It sounds crazy, trust me I know! I stayed for a few more days until he actually moved. I told him if he asked me to marry him I would hop a plane to Vegas and do it in an instant. He thought I was joking.

I knew I was in love with Randy based on the previous relationships I had been in. Nothing compared to this feeling I had. I went back to PA, and he started his driving journey from NC to OR. He called every night when on the road, and I was really heartbroken because I thought I'd never see him again. One night he called he said he was at a hotel sitting in his recliner in the back of his U-hal. He then brought up when I told him about going to Vegas, and he said, "Let's do it." I said, "Do what?" He said,"Let's get married!" I said yes in an instant. When he finally made it to Oregon, he flew back to PA and we got married five weeks after we met. We wanted something quick, so we got married at the local magistrates office!

At the end of July I packed up a little U-hal and my little 1996 Volvo, and we started out 2,800 mile/45 hour journey to Oregon. A fourth of the way through the trip, the AC broke and I lost the reverse in my car, and it was over 100 degrees. We got lost in DOWNTOWN Chicago during RUSH HOUR, and Halfway through the trip my coolant was leaking and my car started to overheat. We had to stop about every hour to put a gallon of water in the car. We finally made it 6 days later safe and sound.

