On April 20, 2010, a horrible disaster occurred in the Gulf of Mexico that unknowingly set into motion one positive implication. While Meghan & Robert both went to college in DC, it was not until working at PwC where they would first meet (at least knowingly). At the onboarding training down in Orlando, Meghan caught Robert's eye at a table they both sat at. A few weeks later, she accidentally liked a chat he sent in the PwC DC group chat asking if anyone wanted to go to a Nats game to his excitement, though immediately unliking :)
They later were staffed on the BP Oil Spill project together processing claims, which would bring them to New Orleans ~ 2 weeks a month with a very fun crew from the DC office. Through this project they got to know each other and became great friends, with the Patriot Super Bowl left shark half-time show sparking the start of texting. Meghan and Robert's similar sense of humor, love of skiing, and appreciation for a good time was the foundation for what turned into today :)
On this trip Meghan found out she indeed could flip a jet ski, and while smelling like low tide from said flip had found out her car battery had died. Robert and her (23 year olds at the time) spent the better part of the day figuring out how to jump the car, hanging out at an Autozone waiting to see if the battery was dead, and googling how to replace the car battery themselves. Several laughs were shared during this frustrating and stressful experience, and Meghan realized just how great of partners they were :)
Skiing was one of the first hobbies Robert & Meghan realized they both loved to do. They have done many ski trips (both out west and up in Sugarloaf, Maine) during their time dating. Pictured here is one of their first ski pictures together up at Sugarloaf.
Thanks to Robert's Dad, Meghan has gotten to try out being a loafer. Many winter trips have been spent up in Maine, enjoying great skiing and Pepperdew parties at The Bag after (followed with jet fuel ciders as a nightcap). Pictured here is one winter where we had to dig ourselves out of over a foot of fresh snow to hit the slopes!
Robert's Dad insisted Robert take her to behold Plymouth Rock, hyping up how epic it was the whole time. Some of you probably know whether or not the hype was met, others will have to venture to where the Pilgrims first landed to find out (stop by the Mayflower brewery while you're there!).
Robert has seen many places that Meghan has not, but California was the only one where Meghan had a leg up on him. They have now been to San Francisco, Yosemite, Los Angeles, and San Diego so now Meghan has been nowhere that Robert has not :)
Meghan's first trip with Robert's family was to France, which was an unbelievable trip. They spent time in Paris and stopped at various towns along the Seine River up to Normandy. So many great memories (and delicious food!) were shared. Thanks to Lionel, they will never forget their audio devices or Lionel's story about the seagulls and his car.
Meghan and Robert have been to several concerts and festivals together with friends and family. They both share a love of music - Robert once mentioned one of his favorite things about Meghan is her taste in music and she has never forgotten (the greatest compliment you can give her)!
For Thanksgiving 2018 Meghan and Robert ventured to South Africa with Robert's friends from Georgetown. They saw Elephants, Rhinos, Giraffes (including a baby Giraffe), Lions, Cheetas, Zebras, amongst many other animals. They also learned that tonic water contained the same ingredients to treat malaria (though there was no malaria where they were). Robert even gave his Patriots hat to a local moonshiner at the insistence of Osman.
After visiting South Africa, Meghan and Robert flew over the entire continent of Africa to continue on to Germany and Austria where they entered a different season and visited the Christmas Markets with Robert's family. They discovered their love of Gluwhein, collected mugs, pretended they were in the Sound of Music, and took in the beautiful sights of both countries.
Robert and Meghan typically spend every 4th of July up in the Cape with his family. Meghan had never been to that area before they started dating, and now it has some of her favorite summer memories, between days of boating and evenings of watching movies with Robert's Mom. Her love of stuffed quahogs was found here, earning her the nickname of Quahog Queen by Robert's Dad.
To Meghan's excitement, her best friend since high school FINALLY moved from Pittsburgh to DC in 2019 and they became roommates. As we all are aware, 2020 brought a lot of changes to all our lives and these three spent A LOT of time entertaining themselves in the living room/back patio of their home (678) to pass the time (and got very into making cocktails). She coined herself the name "Robert's half girlfriend", and some of Robert and Meghan's favorite memories come from the laughs shared in that home with our Alicia <3
Another hobby Meghan & Robert share is their love of cycling. You often can find them on the DC paths along the river or doing the loop of Arlington. During the pandemic when they stopped flying, they brought their bikes up to Cape Cod and down to North Carolina to expand their cycling adventures. A new favorite thing to do is bike for Lobster Tacos on Cape Cod.
Kure Beach, North Carolina is a newer love in both Robert and Meghan's life, with Meghan's parents recent purchase of a house down there. It is quickly becoming a sentimental location for the Herock family, already getting filled with so many memories, and Meghan enjoys having Robert be a part of it :)
Due to the pandemic and unfortunate COVID transmissions, Robert spent Christmas with Meghan's family in 2020. With Christmas being Meghan's most favorite holiday, she enjoyed getting to share it with him for the first time. It being a white Christmas that year was just the cherry on top <3
On December 28, 2021, Robert surprised Meghan with a proposal at the top of Mt Washington after taking the incline up for dinner (unknowingly doing the ultimate yinzer proposal, which Meghan loves). They did NOT make it to dinner due to Meghan's inability to handle surprise, and instead shared a champagne toast at their friends Joey & Alicia's home while Meghan came back down to Earth. He picked the perfect ring :)
After months of searching in a crazy housing market, Meghan and Robert found their dream home in Old Town, Alexandria and moved in August 2022. The fun fact here is Meghan got COVID for the first time the weekend they were supposed to tour, and put full trust in Robert doing a site unseen offer on her side. She finally saw the home right after they got done signing the papers. To Robert's relief, she loved it just as much as he thought she would.
They are enjoying the process of making the house a home and looking forward to all the memories to come in it!