We first met at our friend Adam and Hayley Hartlaub's wedding in Salem, Oregon. However, some ground work had been done before the wedding by our friend (wedding officiant) Rae Nomura. She suggested to Abby at Hayley's Bachelorette party that she meet her friend, Will. Since Abby lived in the Bay Area and Willard lived in Portland that seemed like a crazy idea... fast forward 4 plus years and it may not have been that crazy of an idea after all!
Most first dates you have dinner, see a movie, get to know each other.... Our first date required a plane flight! Willard flew down to the Bay Area for the weekend. We went to a Giants game, ate dim sum, and took a very eventful Yellow Car trip. Abby showed off her unique ability to navigate off a map... none the less it was an eventful weekend and right after it was over Abby booked a flight to see Willard in Portland.
The first year of our relationship, we committed to splitting the holidays between families. Willard visited Abby and spent Thanksgiving with her Grandma. Abby drove with Willard to snowy Idaho for Christmas. We've split the holidays this way every since, but who knows, we may shake things up down the road!
When you date long distance you could argue every date is a trip, at least for one person. Our very first trip where we planned to fly somewhere together was to Arizona. We spent the first few days at the Grand Canyon, where we hiked 15 miles in the canyon with only a couple apples and granola bars to eat. We emerged from the canyon that afternoon exhausted and covered in dust, but it is one of our favorite memories
Abby and her Father have been running the Prefontaine Memorial run every year since Abby was a teenager. It’s a race held in Steve Prefontaine’s home town of Coos Bay. Willard tagged along with Abby in 2016 to run the hilly race and to visit Abby’s hometown of a Reedsport. We’ve been back every year since then. While the race is fun, it’s a great to opportunity for Abby to visit her parents and for Will to watch a Duck game with the Harris-Petrofes clan after running a hilly 10K. It really is a perfect Saturday!
If long distance relationships workout, the end goal is to shorten that distance! Abby made a huge leap of faith and moved to Portland to be with Willard in 2016. She packed up little red (2000 Honda Civic) with all of her belongings and drove up to Portland.
2017 was a big year for us full of a lot of decisions. So naturally when you're facing questions on moving to another state, which OT school to go to, you plan a 3 week international trip!
Our first international trip was to Colombia! It was an amazing trip that included one of our favorite memories, hiking to Tayrona National Park and camping on the famous hammocks which sit on a rock in surrounded by the ocean.
Like I said, 2017 was a big year! Abby was accepted to a Doctorate of Occupational Thearpy program in Oakland and was moving back to the Bay Area. Willard decided to follow her and accepted a job with E & J Gallo. The day after our return from Colombia the movers showed up to our Portland condo to pack our belongings and we moved to Walnut Creek, California.
We both were big baseball fans as kids. Willard followed the Braves, Abby the Indians. When we moved to the Bay Area as a team we hopped on the A’s bandwagon. We’re season ticket holders now so I guess we’re committed! We love taking friends and family who visit to the games.
Our trip to Portugal was eventful due to Abby’s health issues once we arrived (eye patch, 3 doctor visits, etc). However, at the end of the trip in the beautiful fishing village of Salema, Willard asked the big question and got a “yes”!