Tyler chuckles as he throws an arm over my shoulders and pulls me as close to his side as he can, considering we’re both wearing wetsuits and life vests. “I disagree, babe. I think you’re a major fuckin’ badass.”
I don’t get to respond, since Gary, who is one of our river guides, starts clapping his hands to get the attention of the small group assembled at the shore. “All right, folks, Caroline and I have gone through and double-checked to make certain everyone’s life vests, helmets, and all of the equipment necessary for our trip down the river are good to go, and they are. Are you all fired up and ready to ride?”
The people gathered at the waterline, including Tyler and me, clap and cheer, so both guides know we’re ready. We’re going to spend the next three-plus hours traveling twenty miles downriver, and all of us are excited about it.
Once we’re in the big raft and holding our paddles, it’s time to go. “We’re steering right into that class-four rapid right there,” Caroline chirps, gesturing to the area of churning water a bit downriver. “It’ll be chilly, but I promise it’s invigorating!”
I’m even more excited about whitewater rafting when we start paddling. Once our raft gets sucked into the rapid, I let out a shriek of laughter. Caroline was right; the water is cold, but it’s also exhilarating.
“You okay?” Tyler yells above the sound of rushing water.
“I’m so much better than okay. This is awesome!” I yell back.
As I paddle, I have an epiphany. I don’t think I would’ve ever done anything like this had I stayed in Los Angeles. Since making the move to Washington, I’ve spent so much more time outdoors, and I can feel how it’s positively affected my mood. I think positive thinking and all the visualization I did helped to bring me to this moment. After all, being open to new adventures is one of the things I put on my list before I got here.
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AFTER WE GOT back from our epic whitewater rafting adventure and took a nap, we left the hotel we checked into for the weekend to explore Leavenworth. It’s a small Bavarian-style village a little over three hours away from Charlotte’s Cove, and to say it’s a gem is a vast understatement. I’ve spent most of the time we’ve been here wide-eyed as I take it all in.
“I can’t believe I’ve never been to Leavenworth before,” I tell Tyler as we make our way through the Nutcracker Museum.
“The last time I was here was for Oktoberfest during my sophomore year in college. I ate so much bratwurst that weekend I’m surprised I didn’t turn into one. Between that and the beer, it was a hell of a weekend.”
“It sounds like a good time,” I tease.
“It was,” Tyler agrees. “My favorite memories of Leavenworth are from when I was a kid though. My parents brought my sister and me here for the Christmas lighting festival a few times. There are so many lights I wouldn’t be surprised to find out it’s visible from space.”
“I love Christmas lights,” I tell him. “And when I say that, I mean it in a Clark W. Griswold kind of way. I’ve gone to both Candy Cane Lane in El Segundo and Christmas Tree Lane in Altadena every year for as long as I can remember. My grandparents figured I’d stop wanting to go each year at some point, but that never happened. There’s something magical about holiday light displays.”
“Then we’ll come back here for the lighting festival this year,” he declares.
“Really?” I squeak, making no effort to contain my excitement.
“Absolutely.”
When he stops, squeezes my hand, and shoots me a smile, I grin up at him. After dropping a sweet kiss on my lips, he resumes walking through the museum.
There are so many nutcrackers that it takes us a full hour to see everything, but Tyler never once tries to rush me. Once again, I am struck by the fact that he never huffs about doing touristy things. I grew up watching my grandparents and couples like the Andovers, and I loved how much time they spent together. When I got older and I started dating, I knew whatever it was those couples had I hadn’t gotten close to finding it. In fact, I’d started to wonder if it was even possible to have that kind of relationship. Things are different now though.
With Tyler, I never feel as though he begrudges doing things with me. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. We both enjoy spending time together and it shows. When he asked if I was interested in going away for the weekend to go whitewater rafting, I’d said yes before he got the entire sentence out. I expected it to be fun, but it’s been so much more than that.