How did a Cajun boy reared in the Pacific Northwest meet a born and raised Georgia Girl?

Was it fate? Was it a coincidence? Was it….Tinder?

Over half a decade ago, Philip was building a solar farm in Albany, GA, and dreaming of a Southern belle to help expedite his time in Dougherty County. At the same time, Hannah Beth was swiping through the eligible bachelors of South Georgia, searching for what she self-described as a "normal" man. In February 2019, they would both face a shock when, as luck and radius would have it, they matched.

At this time, Philip could be accurately described as a "drifter," but that didn't stop Hannah Beth from inviting this complete stranger to her apartment for their first rendezvous. Upon meeting, she warned him the apartment complex had cameras everywhere, and that if he killed her, he wouldn't make it far before being caught. As the elevator doors closed on their way upstairs, Philip observed, "There's no cameras in here." Thankfully, they both survived the first encounter and quickly became close friends. By St. Patrick's Day, less than a month later, both had deleted their Tinder accounts and started meeting each other's family and friends.

After about 8 months together exploring the sights and tastes of Southern Georgia, Philip got assigned to a new project in Central Texas while Hannah Beth began to make her way north for a year of Americorps service in New Hampshire. Their best-laid plans for regular visits were dashed in March of 2020 when Covid put the country on high alert. But public health be damned. After 3 months apart, they began to travel to each other every few weeks. In an effort to limit their contribution to the spread, they spent much of 2020 in the more secluded areas of New England, quickly learning to love a region rich in opportunity and history.

2021 brought them back to Georgia, where they lived together in Valdosta while Philip completed another assignment in the area. However, with Hannah Beth longing for lobster and Philip ready to get off the road, the two "threw a dart at a map" and moved to Salem, Massachusetts, by October of that year. After a year in the Witch City, they moved across the bridge to Beverly, where they currently reside with their two cats, Sebastian and Boudreaux.

Fast-forward to a vineyard at a Canadian winery in April 2024. Under the receding darkness of the solar eclipse, Philip proposed to an unprepared Hannah Beth. The two continue learning new things about each other daily as they explore their way through an engagement and try to navigate the life they want together.