Here's to a lifetime of adventures!

Allison was living in Virginia and Johann in California when they met through their guild in the video game "Elder Scrolls Online", where they spent their free time planning strategies, battling enemies, and defeating monsters together with friends all over the world. Johann enjoyed Allison's lighthearted sense of humor, and Allison liked Johann's kind heart and strong commitment to fairness. When they discovered their many shared interests - from travel and hiking to coding and chocolate mousse - 3,000 miles (5,000 kilometers) and a lifetime of Imperial-to-metric unit conversions couldn't keep them from falling in love.

They spent hundreds of hours together on Skype and planned monthly trips to visit National Parks around the US until changing circumstances made it possible for Allison to move to the West Coast. After working overtime for a month straight, Johann flew to Virginia; together they packed Allison's little car to capacity, and she drove them across the country with Callie the cat on Johann's lap.

Allison loves the geology of volcanoes, so when they planned a trip to Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park (their 10th) in January 2020, Johann decided it was the perfect time to start planning the rest of their lives. After spending an entire day hiking in and around the Kilauea volcanic caldera, they paused near a steam vent in a grassy meadow and Johann asked Allison to marry him. (She said "Absolutely!")

The coronavirus pandemic of 2020 disrupted their original plans, but it can't stop true love. They were legally married in Orange County, CA on May 13, 2020 - wearing face masks, in a parking lot, by an officiant inside a ticket booth using a walkie-talkie.

They're now working on plans to meet in the middle (between the US and South Africa) atop another volcanic hotspot, to celebrate their wedding with family and friends once the world returns to normal.