How lucky am I to still be able to picture perfectly in my mind what my wife was wearing the first time we kissed, even though it was 32 years ago? Green Hill-Murray High School (not our school) sweatpants and a white t-shirt. I was sitting on the floor of her parent’s living room, ten feet from the front door, which was as far as I was getting into the house after dark on a school night, and she was sitting above me on the couch, as casual as can be, with her big blonde Aquanet hair.
It was early fall, the beginning of our junior year, when a buddy of mine who was entirely too shy around girls, asked me to go over to Ali’s house and talk to her about him. We knew each other from school, and she had sat in front of me in Health class the year before, where a group of us huddled together all hour, screwing around, not paying any attention at all to what the teacher was doing at the front of the room. Our group of friends was wide, and overlapped a lot, but at sixteen your close-knit circle of friends tends to be those who live the closest to you, and Ali and I lived as far away from each other as two kids could, while still going to Tartan High School.
I don’t remember the conversation that led to me going to her house that night, and I can’t imagine what I said in order to get in the door and end up sitting on the living room floor talking to Ali for hours, but I imagine that I had used my buddy as an excuse, the whole time just wanting to get close to her myself. I’d give anything to be able to relive that night again, from the conversation to the kiss.
We dated on the sly for weeks before coming clean with our friends, making it official on October 19, 1990. Remember when you measured how long you were dating someone by months, not years?
Ali and I were inseparable after that. Even through college, not a weekend went by without being together.
We married May 31, 1997.
[record player screech]Fast forward, May 31, 2022.
The list of things that we’ve done together in the ensuing years is endless. It seems incredible to me that we could have come across each other so long ago, and that we’d go on to complement one another so perfectly.
Anyway, let me wrap it up without getting all mushy. Thanks for all the great years, Ali. Your smile lit me up then and it still does today.
With it being the 90s, we have only a handful random pictures together over the next decade. Parents would reluctantly drag a plastic 35mm camera out of a drawer somewhere for pictures before school dances, or a drunken friend at a party would appear out of nowhere with a cardboard disposable camera that would get developed at Target a year or two later, or we would pop into a photo booth together somewhere. Bear with me as I take a trip down memory lane.
43 Comments on “25 But Really 32”
Love throughout the years! ❤
So glad you two found each other…it was meant to be.
And thank you for taking us along on all your fabulous trips.
I admire the way you raise your children and how you work together to solve life’s problems.
Well done, Bumfuzzles, well done!
Happy Anniversary!
I think this is the background story to at least a few of john cougar melon-camp songs.
I found your blog when I bought a 1970 VW Bus in 2009 and was searching for rebuilding ideas. 13 years ago. I think you had just taken your bus to Europe. What’s ride it’s been!!
Congrats!!!
Congrats guys, I think you should bring the mullet back. Never goes out of style
nate
You 4 are very very lucky, Ken & Barbie and the kids. Congratulations.
Happy happy anniversary 🍻
Happy Anniversary and many, many more. Enjoy your journey through life together. Nothing better than loving your best friend.
Happy Anniversary and many more!
We all Dream of “Living the Dream” You guys have crushed it.
Happy anniversary. We just celebrated 43 years on MY 26th. The years just fly by. You are doing a great job of enjoying them.
I found you guys along about the time you bought your first boat (I think it was in Florida, wasn’t it) and started your first world tour. I have really enjoyed all your adventures. My husband and I both love traveling and we have taken many trips. we never did it by boat, but have had quite a wild. variety of travel vehicles. We have been all over Canada and the USA and over to Europe a couple of times. Our three kids were pretty well traveled in their youths, as we always took them with us.
Now in our mid-80s, we’ve had to slow down so keep traveling while you’re young.
Congratulations on your Wedding Anniversary. We will be celebrating our 62nd anniversary on July 2, so don’t do much traveling these days, so keep going while you still can. Somewhere around 80, we’ve had to slow down.
Elaine
You guys are way too freaking cute!
LOVE LOVE LOVE!!! Congrats you two!!
Happy 25th anniversary. Brilliant series of photos. Hope to be able to catch up when you come to Sydney in coming years.
Thanks for sharing a few parts of this awesome story.
Congrats – Its been great fun following your adventures!
Hard to find adequate words to say how touching this is. Happy anniversary and may there be many more.
Goodonyas! Well done! That’s what produces Happy, Healthy (mental fortitude) , content children! Again, goodonyas!
Happy anniversary to a cute couple with an adorable family!
Happy Anniversary!!! We’ve been following you so long that my wife and I both feel like we know you, and the early photos take the familiarity back a few years. Please keep adventuring; please keep sharing. We live vicariously while we’re not out doing something ourselves.
Congrats you two! What an amazing relationship you share. I can only imagine the good fortune of meeting your match so young. It took me until my late 30’s but I’m so grateful I found it at all! Your story lit a fire in our bellies that have led us through amazing land and sea adventures and we love you for it! Cheers to you both.
Oh, the places you’ve been. Oh, the places you’ll go. Love the historical photo journey. Happy Anniversary! ❤️
Great pictorial history of a remarkable relationship. Major congrats on 25/32 years of adventure and love.
Just love your blog and adventures…..feel like we known you forever….Happy Anniversary!!! Hope to see you in La Cruz in November!!
Happy anniversary. Where do you think you’ll be in another 25 years?
A match made in heaven! Congratulations!
That brought tears to my eyes! Such a beautiful relationship. You guys are amazing. So much love.
Thanks for sharing!
Happy anniversery to you both!
Happy anniversary Pat and Ali. Your romance is one for the record books. BTW, Pat with a mullet in high school, hilarious.
Happy anniversary and may there be many more.
Best Post EVER !! ****** Lucky Man — Happy kids — !! Ali Rules !!
Hope to see you all again — Here or some WHERE ?
Congrats Pat and Ali!
Thanks for sharing the beautiful pics of a wonderful life.
Cheers
Happy anniversary Ali and Pat!!
Behind every great marriage is a great love story! Keep on keeping on Bumfuzzles!
Jeesss! I’ve gotten old riding along with you two… then three… then four! Thanks for sharing Pat and Ali!
Such incredible photos from over the years. Love this retrospective. It’s incredibly obvious how much love you have for each other, and how fortunate you both were to get it right the first time!
I LOVE these pictures. The only consistent thing in each photo, is love. Congratulations on having these 32 years together.
PS: I remember those hair days so well.
Happy Anniversary to you both!! What a wonderful set of pictures to highlight your times together. Thank you for sharing your life with all us internet bum friends.
Happy Anniversary to you both! What a great bunch of pics.
Congratulations! My hubby and I will also be celebrating our 25th anniversary in September. I think I found you guys in 2006 and told my husband we should buy a boat. Six years later we bought one and have been living aboard ever since. We’re both getting ready to “retire” early and do some traveling on it.
I found out recently that you stayed at my bosses house when you were in the process of buying the Spindrift in 2010 (he’s the one who scouted out the boat for you initially). And the marina you were at in the California Delta is close to where we keep our boat AND the son of the owner of that marina works at the marina we’re at…just thought all of that was weird.
Congrats!
Love these secret hints for pregnancy on the Europe pics. Where‘s Your hand, mate?😂
Don‘t You ever stop supplying me with gorgeous pics of Your adventures the next decades!
Holger
Congrats!! Thanks for sharing!!
Your blog is a great reminder of how much good there is in the world.
Amazing.
Thank you!!
Congrats Ya’ll That was quite the trip!!
Great photos guys! Spectacular journey!!!