In May of 2023, we had both recently moved to the Outer Banks and were living about an hour from each other. Rylan was living in Kitty Hawk, and I was living in Avon. We were working for the same company in different towns and different departments and had no idea that each other existed.

One day, the department that Rylan was working for needed extra help to put together a festival in Ocracoke Island. Thankfully, a guy who was living and working with me went to work with Rylan that day. He invited him to hang out at the house in Avon after work.

We spent our evening getting to know each other. We bonded over our love for travel and shared stories about the places we had been and the things we had done.

Later that evening, Rylan asked me for my number and the rest is history. We spent that summer getting to know each other even better. Rylan drove to Avon every chance he had, and we saw each other as much as possible.

The following winter we were long distance. Rylan was living in the Outer Banks for a couple months, then Kansas, and Washington State. I had headed back to Radford Virginia in August to continue school. We called each other, wrote letters, and at times, flew across the country to see each other.

The next summer, we would move back to that same house where we had met. That is also where we would get engaged.

I will forever be thankful for that night, that company, and the Outer Banks for bringing us together.

- Taylor Jo

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