We met like any other couple trying to figure our life in the city, you know, the old-fashioned way… online Facebook dating.

After some suave messages back and forth (Joe’s first message was “Happy Mother’s Day!”) Jill finally agreed to go on a date. Or actually, she agreed to let him pick her up and deliver and install banners at the LGBTQ pride museum in the Castro.

After delivery and installation, we headed off to grab some takeout. On the way we saw a grown man with dark chocolate-colored skin, wearing nothing but shoes and socks standing butt naked on the street corner waiting for the crosswalk. A sight neither of us will forget, unfortunately. Somehow, we still had an appetite and decided on take-out tacos, and we drove to the Marina Green and ate them on the tailgate of Joe’s truck while the sunset faded behind the Golden Gate Bridge.

Since tacos on the tailgate, we’ve had the pleasure of exploring all corners of the San Francisco Bay Area together.

From professional baseball and football games to concerts and comedy shows at nearly every arena, stadium, and theater in town. To traditional Chinese restaurants, top pizzerias in the nation, wineries, and golf courses in Napa, Sonoma, and Livermore.

We’ve been fortunate to travel to parts of America together that many may never get a chance to see. We were in Maui 7 months before it was ravaged by fires.

We’ve taken the train through the snow from Anchorage to Fairbanks, Alaska where we ice-fished and chased the Northern Lights on a frozen lake three nights in a row.

We’ve partied all night in Las Vegas under the electric sky and visited family and friends in Ohio, Virginia, and Texas.

We’ve caught King Salmon beyond the Golden Gate Bridge, Striped Bass on the California Delta, 10’ Alligator in Naples Florida, Rock Crab and Starfish in Tamales Bay, Uni, Muscles and snails in Half Moon Bay, and our favorite spot to catch Dungeness Crab and sunsets, Jill’s backyard Ocean Beach.

We’ve done a lot in a short amount of time and we can’t wait to celebrate the beginning of our forever with you!