Tina & Tucker were born 10 days apart.
But she graduated a year ahead of him and started at SpaceX. Tucker came along a year later as an intern. They were quick friends, but Tucker went back to grad school in New York, and so they went their separate ways.
They kept up online.
She liked to draw and sent him a sea otter postcard.
Tucker finished grad school and moved to Nevada. They would meet at a coffee shop in Pasadena and catch up. They would sometimes talk about their girlfriends and boyfriends, but mostly they talked about life, music, and the cool things in the world.
Work took him to Texas next, and they didn't see each other much. Then, an opportunity came for Tucker to move to Boston or Los Angeles.
Easy choice (great choice).
There was food and wine and hiking and all of the interests they share. It was like home.
“This is amazing, but I don't want to mess this up. How can I tell her?”
…
Very, very carefully.
…
Turns out, she thought he was amazing too.
They kissed at midnight on New Year's Eve, and it was the start of something good.
Luck had it that Tina needed a new apartment only months later. They found a place where they could write music, keep a garden, and cook together. They moved in, and it just worked.
That summer, they toured the west coast for sixteen days, from Los Angeles up to Vancouver. Rugged coast, forests, cities, and mountains. They went back to those mountains the next summer to celebrate their engagement.
After eight years of friendship and many, many trips to the central coast, it's finally time to bring their friends and family to the place they love so much.