(Actually vacation in Colombia...)

Mid-February 2023 in Haddonfield, NJ - After feeling lonely on Valentine’s Day, Peter’s sister, Sara, encourages him to download The League where he may find more relationship-oriented people.

Peter and Justin match.

Justin asks Peter what he’s looking for on the apps, expecting to hear what he usually hears “exploring,” “just seeing what’s up,” “no agenda really.” But Peter is different. He writes he wants to be a father and husband. Justin is intrigued and they begin to have meaningful conversations about teaching and politics including Peter’s aspirations to be Secretary of Education.

Before they can move to DC, they agree to meet at Friedman’s in Manhattan for their first date. Peter took the NJ Transit train two hours north and Justin took the Long Island Rail Road to Penn Station. While we both were excited, we both were cautiously optimistic due to the distance.

During brunch, Peter talked in-depth about judging a National History Day tournament the previous day, and Justin talked about his years of Odyssey of the Mind coaching. Despite the cold, we continued walking on the High Line and then hanging out at Hudson Yards.

After the date, we both went our separate ways back to Long Beach and Haddonfield. Peter told his sister afterwards “I went on a brunch date in NYC with a guy from The League. He was engaging and the conversation flowed; he is definitely introverted though. I would definitely give him a 2nd date.”

Luckily for Peter, Justin felt the same way! We texted immediately after to thank each other for traveling into NYC and we FaceTimed for the first time during the week after the date. That’s when Justin knew there was an even bigger spark!

For our second date, we met in New Hope, Pennsylvania for lunch and walked along the river in the rain, speaking more openly about our future aspirations and desires for a relationship. Between our second and third date, Peter traveled to Italy with his family…his family definitely picked up on the giddiness, not realizing he was texting a cute guy back home. Luckily for Justin, Peter didn’t find an Italian to marry.

After Spring Break in Italy, Peter drove up to Long Beach (Nassau County, Long Island) since he had never visited Long Island. We enjoyed lunch at San Remo in Rockville Centre, which quickly became a favorite date night location.

For the fifth date (and when we stopped keeping track of date numbers), we spent a weekend in northern New Jersey, where we judged the New Jersey State National History Day Tournament (that’s how two nerdy teachers spend their free Saturdays). The next day, we kayaked on the Hudson River; we misunderstood the guide’s directions and floated south where the current was rough. Despite being stuck on the Hudson for a few extra hours, we both laughed uncontrollably and had a feeling this was the start of something very special. After working together and staying calm, we managed to get back to shore on the second “Miracle on the Hudson.” We treated ourselves to frozen yogurt afterwards and had difficulty saying goodbye.