We first met at an Indian restaurant in Laguna Beach in August 2009. We hiked south OC trails together, played poker at potlucks with friends, shared dinner and soon realized that we were meant to be together.
Jeff sweet-talked Joan into joining him for a three-week backpack trip on the John Muir Trail in the summer of 2010. We trained for months to prepare, hiking most of the major peaks in Southern California. Our hiking friends were certain that if we still loved each other after hiking over 230 miles on the JMT, we were truly meant for each other.
In 2011, we decided it was time to move in together… in Paris. We rented an apartment on the edge of the Latin Quarter and lived in the City of Lights for three weeks. It was there, during a romantic dinner cruise on the Seine, where Jeff dropped to one knee and asked Joan, “Will you marry me?”
Thankfully, she said yes. When we returned from Paris, we began moving our two households into one new (and slightly larger) home in our “Spanish Village by the Sea” — San Clemente.
We’re really looking forward to tying the knot, and hope you can be a part of the celebration!
