Our Story - How We Met

From Rachael's perspective...
Matt and I met at the beach – at Coconuts on the Beach, to be exact. For those unfamiliar with Coconuts, it’s basically a beachfront bar/restaurant that spills over into the sand, and it’s packed all day long when the weather’s nice. I didn’t exactly just pick Matt up at a bar though, I’d say we met through a mutual friend. It was July 4th, 2007 – a friend and I got our stuff together and headed up to Coconuts to meet up with Sugi (the mutual friend) and some other people. Turns out Matt was part of the group that day - he plays rugby with Sugi. I noticed Matt as soon as we walked up – big guy, tattoos and a “Wolverine” haircut, he managed to look skater-esque wearing only board shorts. Totally my type! Me being me, I was too shy to talk to him, but Matt introduced himself over bocce ball. After the beach a group of us went to dinner, and then to a party, and we hung out the whole time. I’d say I probably won Matt over when we played foosball (normally I’m no all-star, but that day I seriously carried our team). At the end of the night he asked for my number, and I actually gave him the real one. :) I even answered the phone when he called to say goodnight! We didn’t officially go on a date for another month or so (summers are busy!), but we’ve talked just about every day since then, so we count that 4th of July as the real beginning of us.