Greg had been living in Chico for five years and Kristin had been living there for five months before that fateful first date in Upper Bidwell Park, Chico. It was forecasted to rain the day of their first date, so Greg recommended two options to pick from. Option 1: Go to a movie, or option 2: Go on a hike and take their chances of getting rained on. A “rain hike” Greg called it and with her adventurous spirit, Kristin choose the rain hike right away. Now, at this point, Greg new she was a keeper.

Kristin arrived at Greg’s house where they took off together for Upper Park and the rain was waiting. They hiked 3 miles to some of the highest bluffs in Bidwell Park, trekking on a trail within the south side of the park. The hike was the perfect chance for them to get to know each other more in a setting that they both loved. The outdoors.

For the second date, they went star gazing during a meteor shower where they created one of their first time-lapse videos together. After a few more dates, their first trip together was to Mount Shasta, where they spent the weekend exploring and snowshoed deep in the snow. Featured picture is of Kristin in the snow from that trip. The Shasta trip was special to them because for the first time, they both realized that their feelings for each other were strong and that for the eminent future, they both wanted to be together. Mount Shasta will always hold a special place in their hearts for that reason.

The rest is history…

Greg and Kristin’s trip to the South Western state of Kerela, India was the trip of a lifetime. The first few days of the trip were spent in the bustling port city of Kochi. Like most of India, there are a lot people in Kochi; lots of shopping, good food and more people. They then decided to head out of the city for more adventures.

The first stop was the serene hills of Munnar, dotted with sprawling tea plantations. On January 17, 2017 the first full day in Munnar, they were picked up from a secluded tree house resort and were taken on a three hour jeep ride through towns, mountains, and tea plantations; finally arriving at the entrance of Kolukkumalai Tea Estate, (7,130 feet above sea level, making it the highest grown orthodox tea estate in the world!) Greg had been to the same plantation two years earlier and learned about a hike along the ridgeline of the Western Ghats right outside of the tea plantation. Greg and Kristin started the hiking and ended up at the perfect lookout point, but not after bushwhacking the overgrown path and fighting off wild, howling monkeys. You will notice in the video that Kristin is holding a stick. She was holding that to fend off the monkey’s in case one came too close.

Once they arrived at the end of the path, it was, like the rest of the trip, a good time to take a picture and setup the GoPro. They had only brought the GoPro with them so Kristin didn’t think anything of it when Greg turned the video camera on instead of taking a picture. When he came over to join her for a picture, he got down on one knee and asked her to be his wife and adventure partner for life, making her the happiest girl in the world!

The rest of the trip continued on to be amazing. They stayed in the honeymoon suite at a hotel in a city called Thekkady. They rode elephants, performed in an Indian show and just bathed in the happiness of being newly engaged.

You made it this far, congratulations, basically everything you just read is in an even cooler, more exciting video. Posted here. The whole trip we had the GoPro on record…