We went on our first date in the fall of 2020. Soon after, we took our first trip together to the Shenandoah Valley and Shenandoah National Park.

We determined that we had a love for hiking and the outdoors. Our next trip took us to Catoctin Mountain Park. We invited our friend Steven to go, but he declined telling Derek "why would I want to go on a walk in the woods with you and your girlfriend".

Our next adventure took us to visit New River Gorge, America's newest National Park.

Later that year, our adventures took us to Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge and False Cape State Park in Virginia. Derek survived a 9 mile beach hike in a dead heat on a day in which "Melissa tried to kill him".

We went to our first Penn State game together, something we had both done separately with our families growing up.

Melissa never knew she shared Derek's enjoyment of Presidential historical sites until her first visit to the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library.

We ventured out for our first ever ice hiking experience at Ricketts Glen and World's End State Parks.

To celebrate Derek's birthday weekend, we visited Harpers Ferry National Historical Park and hiked the Maryland Heights trail.

A family weekend trip over the 4th of July took us to Canaan Valley and Blackwater Falls State Parks near Davis, WV.

A bucket list trip to Alaska brought a new first experience - glacier climbing in Kenai Fjords National Park.

The same Alaska trip took us to Denali National Park to see Alaskan wildlife and the highest mountain peak in North America.

A springtime trip to New Hampshire's White Mountains.

We conquered the Beehive rungs and ladders hike at Acadia National Park.

We bought our first house in Dillsburg, PA.

A Tennessee/Kentucky road trip with friends and family took us to Nashville, Mammoth Cave National Park, the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, Abraham Lincoln's birthplace, and the Red River Gorge Geographical Area.

3 years after our first trip to the Shenandoah Valley, Derek proposed and we are excited to return back with all of you to celebrate our wedding.