The two of us met at Peace Valley Nature Center on January 23, 1993.  At that time the Assistant Naturalist Craig ran singles hikes every other Saturday morning.  This was the first time either of us had attended this hike.  A week later we had our first date and took a hike along the Appalachian Trail up to Sunfish Pond on the Jersey side in the Delaware Water Gap.  On October 29, 1994 we were married at Peace Valley Nature Center.  We have been together on the trails ever since.

The Bird Blind at Peace Valley Nature Center was always a special place to me because of its tranquility, and the beauty and cheerfulness of the little birds.   It felt like the perfect place to propose marriage to my beautiful girlfriend Karen.  I planned it for a particular weekend, and had to force the trip there a little due to the bad weather that day, but we did it and Karen accepted!  We've been happily married for over 20 years ever since.  One small funny thing I learned later though: Karen has a phobia of birds getting too near to her, so we've laughed about the proposal location ever since. 

Right before the pandemic began, I started dating a girl that lived  on the creek just past the dam of Lake Galena. Poetically, I lived on the north-east side of the lake along the same creek. Though we never did, it was nice to know we were a short kayak ride from each other's back yard. While the lake is no longer our yard, it is still an inexhaustible source of love that renews our appreciation for each other.

Peace Valley Park has been a part of our lives for decades. In May 2021 we went on a very special picnic in the park by the boat launch on the north side of the lake. Special because it was the 40th anniversary of our first visit to the lake. We had just started dating and the company that we both worked for had a get together at the volleyball court that used to be on new Galena Road. It was at that event, where we fell in love with each other and we both fell in love with the park. Somehow we knew even way back then that we wanted to raise a family close to the park and in the years since then we were fortunate enough to purchase a home 1 mile from the main entrance. In the intervening years we’ve raised our three children and together spent countless hours, enjoying peaceful strolls, kayaking adventures, fishing trips and family picnics all the while making memories against a backdrop of beautiful sunsets, sunrises, and moon rises. Growing in love together, we’ve spent countless hours walking the trails with our family at the nature center where our youngest daughter now works and where the enduring main attraction, Pooh Tree Loop, promises to be a favorite of our newly arrived granddaughter.