Faith moves to AK to stay with her brother, Andrew

Luke and Austin fly to AK to spend the week diving with Andrew and documenting a short story about a local speargun builder

Luke met Faith while he was staying at Andrew's house. Once they started playing cards together at night, they didn't stop. Each night, they'd stay up late and talk for hours

Andrew and Austin encouraged the two of them to go snowshoeing through an old mining town in Hatcher's Pass. After Luke returned to WA, they continued to talk each night over the phone. It wasn't long before they were "going steady"

Preparing for Faith to visit WA, Luke and his dad spent two weeks converting the van into a liveable space

Running low on time, they focused on creating a framework and only installed the most crucial systems for this camping trip

After some sleepless nights, Luke finished this bare-bones iteration of the build and picked Faith up for their camping trip

After a night in the Olympics, the couple hopped on the ferry to Whidbey Island where they stayed overnight and cooked dinner on the beach

This trip was loaded with great memories. There's nothing quite like hunting seashells on the shore while transient orcas dance with their young nearby

A couple of nights in the San Juan islands gave Luke a chance to introduce Faith to a long-time friend, Calvin who showed them around the Lime Kiln Lighthouse

Faith and Luke's first trip together went by fast. Before they knew it, he had dropped her off at SeaTac and they were back to talking over the phone

Luke continued to work on the van but at a much slower pace since Faith wouldn't be back for a couple of months. They set a date and planned for her to return in July

Then it was summer time and Alaska's waters were calling. Andrew offered to pay for Luke's plane ticket if he brought his diving gear, so Luke hopped on a flight as soon as he could

While the diving in Seward was wonderful, and the whales - grays and humpbacks - were out, it was watching Faith's horse riding lesson that Luke cherished the most

If you know Faith, you know that she loves horses and she feels the most alive up in the saddle. This was the first time Luke had witnessed that in person

When their July camping trip came around, the weather was hot and the van was too. Unfortunately, Luke had disabled the AC while working on the camper and couldn't get it back online in time. So, naturally, they spent as much time as possible in or near the water

By this time, Faith had already decided that she would like to move back down to WA to be closer to Luke so they both had passports made for an international road trip they'd dreamed up

six weeks later, when Luke returned to the North, Andrew took them out for an Alaskan lake dive in Hatcher's Pass. It was an exciting send-off for their long drive south

Day one on the road was the harrowing trek across the Alaskan-Canadian border and the hundreds of miles of moon-crater-sized potholes that they encountered

Leaving the Yukon and entering BC, they made sure to look for new flavors of potato chips and Canadian snacks at every stop

There is nothing quite like exploring new places and drinking applesauce on the road with the person you love most

Before leaving Canada, the happy (and road-weary) couple made sure to try their first cup of Tim Horton's coffee. Having only been together for six months, Faith and Luke were constantly encountering firsts like this

While Faith wanted to go fast, Luke took every opportunity to stop and take pictures along the way. She was very patient with him

Faith came to find out that their mini-anniversary picnic on the bluff overlooking Lake Chelan created the perfect backdrop for Luke's proposal

On the final morning of their vacation, the Manning family celebrated this engagement with a beautiful breakfast and sent Luke and Faith on their way

September 20, 2024 Thankful for today's interconnected world, Faith and Luke look back on the last 8 months with gratitude. Despite being 2,400mi apart, they talked every day. Now, they're getting hitched and saving up money for the future by trying the Van-Life. Thanks for helping us send them on this next adventure together!