Landon and Ruby met during Cal Poly's summer freshmen orientation. Landon says he noticed Ruby during the general assembly and hoped he would be lucky enough to get placed in the same group. Later that day, they were! After some quick icebreakers they explored the campus and the town of San Luis Obispo (SLO). Little did they know, they both were trying to find an opening to talk to eachother. At one point Landon overheard Ruby passionately talking about the ocean and saw his chance. His opening line was, “Have you heard of Shark Week?” to which Ruby replied, “Ugh, I hate shark week! It demonizes the sharks.” At this point Ruby was sure she blew it. Both stunned, they looked at each other for a moment and then laughed it off and soon became fast friends. After the trip they stayed in touch all summer.

Once school started, Ruby and Landon spent most weekends together and became close. Freshman year in college can be hard and overwhelming but they helped each other navigate some of these challenges which included going on dates with other people, making new friends, and making time for school between. As the quarter went on Ruby developed a not-so-subtle crush. Landon friend-zoned her hard, and with a bruised ego, Ruby tried to get over it. However, by the end of the fall quarter, her enchanting personality, brilliant mind, and stunning good looks changed his mind.

With a perfectly written note and an inside joke, Landon asked Ruby out while studying in the library shortly after winter break, and thus, their relationship began!

After surviving their first year of college, they both opted to stay in SLO to take summer classes. This was the first time they temporarily lived together. Subleasing a room in a house with some other friends, they were both surprised at how easy and fun it was! Ruby wowed Landon with her awesome rollerblade skills as she zipped to class and work. Meanwhile, Landon got to show off his fancy new 4runner which soon became the mode of transportation for all their epic adventures.

The first big camping trip as a couple was to Big Sur, California. They spent the entire trip laughing as they ran into constant roadblocks like a popped tire, getting very lost, and not really knowing what they were doing most of the time.

Landon had never skied before meeting Ruby but started teaching himself in 2015 in an attempt to win brownie points with her. On their first day skiing together, Ruby was very excited but expected a short day with a few runs will with many falls. However, she was shocked by how well he had already picked up the sport! Landon crushed it!

Landon and Ruby’s first big road trip was one for the books! They drove from San Luis Obispo (SLO) to Carbondale where they skied and hung out with the Langs. From Carbondale, they drove to Arches National Park where they found one of the best camping spots to this day. Following that they camped in Moab to visit Arches National Park and then drove to Bryce Canyon National Park where they tried to set up camp in a blizzard. They quickly changed plans and rented a small cabin for the night and waited out the snow. In the morning they drove to Zion National Park and hiked Angels Landing in a snowstorm! Finally, they headed back to SLO. Oh yeah, this was all just within one week. It was one of their favorite Spring Breaks!

The first backpacking trip they took together was to Pear Lake in Sequoia National Park. This is such a treasured trip with over 14 miles of hiking in a place new to both of them. The adventure was full of peaceful moments, amazing conversations, stunning views, some sore feet, and 8 million mosquitos. It is still one of their favorites.

After a year of Ruby threatening to get a dog for herself, Landon proposed they get one together. He gave her his childhood dog Abbie’s leash for their 2-year anniversary and said "Let's get a dog together, but we don't need to rush." Only a week or so later (largely driven by Ruby if you couldn't guess), Mabel May came into their lives. How? Well on the way to SLO from a ski trip in Tahoe, Ruby was obsessively checking craigslist and found an ad for a puppy who was on its way to the shelter. With a nod from Landon, Ruby texted the number and the women responded telling them to meet at a Mcdonald's parking lot in Angels Camp, California (a short 2-hour detour). The conversation on the way was largely Landon saying we will just look and not to get too excited. Once there, the woman handed over the puppy and simply got in her car and left. A little bewildered, the new family of three got in the car to head home.

The first big trip Landon and Ruby took with Mabel was a similar week-long road trip during Spring Break. The first stop was the Grand Canyon, followed by slot canyons, Horseshoe Bend, and then spent a few days in Sedona. Another beautiful trip filled with fun memories, chilly nights, and lots of fun hikes as a trio.

The summer of 2018 was the first summer both Ruby and Landon got internships. Both of their new jobs brought them up to Portland, OR. They spent every weekend (except for two) of the whole summer in the camping in the PNW.

Just like that undergrad was done! Both Ruby and Landon were accepted into the blended grad school program Cal Poly offered. This program allowed students to start Grad school while still finishing their senior year of their undergrad. This allowed people to graduate in 5 years with a Bachelors and Masters degree. So while it was the end of undergrad, they both were staying for another year and decided not to go crazy with the graduation ceremonies. Instead, they officially moved in together for their final year of school and dove deep into their masters studies.

Landon got an incredible opportunity for an internship with Toyota in Michigan and moved there for 5 months, missing the first quarter of school. While Landon was kicking butt at his fancy new job, Ruby was working on her thesis research in the labs on campus. There was a quick moment before the quarter started that Ruby was able to go visit Landon in Michigan. Even though long-distance wasn’t fun, they were both so busy that time flew by.

Landon finished up his internship and Ruby was making breakthroughs in the lab. The power couple was finally living together and school was busier than ever! Then, the pandemic hit and shut down all the labs and school moved online. After some redirection on her thesis and confirming they both would still be able to graduate, this road trip couple took full advantage of remote work and went to be with family for quarantine. They spent months with family in both Reno and Colorado only to head back to SLO for the last month of school. Being very COVID safe along the way.

Graduation came despite the pandemic and just like that Lando and Roobs graduated Cal Poly with the Graduate and Undergraduate degrees! Ruby finished her thesis and graduated with a BS in Environmental Engineering and an MS in Civil & Environmental Engineering with a focus in Nanotechnology. Landon finished with a BS in Materials Engineering and an MS in Industrial Engineering with a focus in Engineering Management.

Landon and Ruby had discussed for a while getting a second dog to keep Mabel company. The catch was that Landon had to be the one to pick her since Ruby held the rains getting Mabel. While in Colorado, they stumbled upon a craigslist ad saying there were some puppies that needed a home from an unplanned/unwanted litter. Landon and Ruby reached out to them and they responded with some pictures of who they had left. Landon instantly went towards the picture of little Millie who at the time was named Cow due to her spots. They drove out to Rifle, CO to meet her and within moments she was in Landons arms. She looked up at him, took a minute to barf up some food, and just like that, Millie Pua was a part of the family. Mabel was completely freaked out as well. Once they got home warmed up to each other a bit more they were happy as can be. So the family grew to 4!

After school, they spent some time with family in Reno and Colorado before they moved back up to Portland to start their new lives! They rented their first house together without roommates and settled into remote work with two dogs during all the nuttiness of 2020.

The first year in Portland was filled with fun adventures within a new city, camping, hiking, starting new jobs as well as navigating the ongoing pandemic and the challenges of new seasons, weather, and post-grad life. The winters in Portland are not Ruby or Landon’s favorite, but they had each other to help get through hard times. While they renewed their lease to extend into July 2022, they decided they would move somewhere with more sun next.

To celebrate Landon’s 25th birthday (and also for a well deserved vacation) Ruby planned a trip to one of their bucket list locations; Iceland! This trip ended up being their first international trip together and filled with all of their favorite activities: road trips, hiking, fun new foods, and exploring new areas. Despite the trip being Ruby’s surprise to Landon for his birthday, Landon flipped the surprise around and proposed! It was a few days into the trip and they made an unplanned stop at a glacier for a sunset hike. They were practically the only ones in the area and spent the majority of the time laughing and joking around as they explored. On a ridgeline with a beautiful view, Landon suggested they take some pictures and set up his tripod. After a few classic poses and just goofing around, he went to “change the settings” on the camera. Once he came back to the spot where Ruby was, they posed for a standing photo. After a few moments went by they both relaxed their pose and Landon dropped down to one knee and started to tie his shoe. Ruby giggled for a moment thinking he was playing a joke, but then was stunned when he looked back up at her with a beautiful ring and asked her to marry him. It was perfect.

We officially tied the knot!