Jose and I were inseparable as 5th graders in Clarkston, Washington. Over the years my family moved around a lot and we lost touch. Seventeen years later, he found me on Facebook. I was again living in the same twin-cities in which we'd met (in Clarkston's sister-city, Lewiston, located across the river in Idaho; these cities are named for the explorers Lewis and Clark), and he was living in Key West, Florida working as a chef. We chatted online a few times, then started talking on the phone. At first our calls occurred sporadically, but as we got to know each other better, they became longer and more frequent. A genuine innocence resonated through the first several months of the re-birth of our friendship; one that disposed us to complete honesty, and we were both blown away and enamored by one another and the way our beliefs and life goals seemed so in-sync: we're both atheists, huge fans of (different types of!) music, food/cooking, travel, self-actualization, etc. (DINKs for life!). After some time, romantic feelings started to grow and show between us. There was that small roadblock of living 3,500 miles away from each other to think about, but we didn't trouble ourselves too much with it because we were too busy enjoying the ride. For awhile, even though we were growing closer, we didn't really talk specifically about the magnetic, fiery connection that had us both turning down dates with local singles in lieu of spending hours on the phone together when we could.

When Jose came up to the Pacific Northwest to visit family and myself in September 2010 any lingering fears or uneasiness we may have had about this amazing thing being real were soon vanquished. When his plane touched down and he waltzed through the concourse doors, it was the proverbial movie love scene: there I was with a homemade poster, jumping up and down excitedly (a point he won't soon let me forget), and when we embraced, everything we'd been wondering and hoping was somehow made tangible and we knew then that we were undeniably, totally head-over-heels in love. We were inseparable for the duration of his visit and decided to date exclusively. We realized how impossible the whole things was, but we plunged forward fearlessly, determined not to let each other go. Naturally, the idea of moving had occurred to me prior to his visit. I knew that he was very dedicated to his career in Key West, while I was not so much dedicated to mine, and I felt like it would be a great adventure to move across the country. I volunteered my willingness to do this and desire to give up my apartment and most of my earthly possessions and drive my car from Lewiston, ID to Key West, FL. He graciously accepted my offer and we began planning my transplantation.

We knew we needed to save some money for the trek, plus I needed time to say goodbye and tie up loose ends in my hometown (where most of my family lived), as well as try to find roommates and a job in Key West (we decided not to live together right off the bat), so we planned for him to fly up to Idaho at the end of December 2010, at which point we'd make our way on the biggest road trip of our lives. His September visit had thrown buckets fuel on our romantic fire, so the months that passed between his departure and return were hard on both of us. When we left Lewiston on December 17, 2010, the reality of our our goals and new lives together were realized.

It's now been about 10 months since I arrived, and we're enjoying our freedom and each other, and planning our next trip. We love having a dual income to dedicate to our adventures (and misadventures!) and hobbies, like food, travel, and self-exploration. We hope to visit many different countries and explore their cultures and menus together. We have a "dream board" on the wall where we paste pictures and write things about where we want to go and the places we want to see. We're both so grateful to have found one another, and we're glad to share our story here. DINKlife is a great site and it's so refreshing to get to celebrate our lifestyle.