Today is the 21st Anniversary of the day Steve “DOS” and I met! We officially met at EPCOT at Disney World, although we had corresponded on-line ( a travel site, not dating site) for a while before we met in person. Steve had a Pilot-like username, and I had a cruise like username, so we immediately had travel in common, which gave us lots to chat about. I don’t have a photo of our original first visit, but he’s an early photo of us taken at EPCOT by a Disney photographer, and was etched on the murals at in the Spaceship Earth area (the giant “golf ball icon” where it stood along with the thousands of other people for years, although the murals were moved away from the EPCOT entrance a few years ago.
We officially met on the last day of the Walt Disney World marathon, (which is normally the Sunday of the first full weekend of January) although we didn’t plan it that way. In the years to follow, we would volunteer for the WDW Marathon, and did this several years in a row, until one year there were freezing temperatures in Orlando, and we decided against being there in the freezing cold at 6am! We really enjoyed volunteering for the marathons though, and here are a couple photos of us with our Disney friends. Here’s a photo from January 2008 of us; wow we looked younger (and thinner way back then!) LOL!
Steve “DOS” and I met at a tough time for me, and I wasn’t looking for any relationship then, as in 2004 (the previous year before we met) my house was in shambles and uninhabitable due to the unusual three hurricanes that attacked the Orlando area: Hurricanes Charley, Francis, and Jean, all within a short month of each other!
I was traveling virtually nonstop for work back then, and in fact was out of town when the first and most furious Hurricane Charley partially took the roof off my house in August 2004. The other two hurricanes a week or two later, sealed my doomed house’s fate, and I was officially “homeless”, although my caring neighbors across the street Kenny and Mary took me in indefinitely. Kenny was also a contractor and was able to expedite a lot of the repairs I would not have been able to do as most contractors where so busy they wouldn’t even call you back. As bad as it was, I look back at this time period as a good thing; quite miraculous actually, that I had great neighbors and the damage wasn’t worse, although it was quite serious.
Flash forward to late November 2004, and I had a Trans-Atlantic cruise booked (solo) on Celebrity Cruise Line’s Millennium from Europe to Florida. I almost canceled the trip as there were so many repairs being done on my property, but I went anyway, and contacted my neighbor Kenny via ultra slow email (at the time on cruise ships internet was new and 75 cents a minute!) to answer any questions he had on my house updates; i.e. bath fixtures, colors etc. Looking back, I’m so glad I went on this cruise, and made some lifelong friends, including a couple from England, who Steve (DOS) later met.
Anyway, long story short, I met Steve right after the cruise and Christmas/New Year’s Holidays in early January 2005. Out of nowhere, I firmly believe God placed Steve (DOS) into my life, as it was a particularly difficult time for me living out of a suitcase, while my house was being rebuilt, and traveling every week for work in the midst of the chaos. Steve stuck by me, even with my mood swings and anxiety in between work trips, and when he first visited my house that was in major repairs; kitchen, floor tiles roofing etc, he was like “no problem” I had repairs to my previous home up north, and I understand!
So, here we are 21 years later, and we are in Daytona Beach Shores for a couple weeks, a short hour’s drive away from my/our home in the Orlando area. It’s amazing to believe it’s been a quick 21 years since we met! We’re staying at the Hyatt Place Daytona Beach Shores, which is oceanfront and this time of year is a quiet time, although leading up to the Daytona 500 in February it will be crazy busy.
Us at Daytona Shores Beach.
Over our 21 years, we’ve been thru lots of changes, yet we’re still going strong. We’ve both retired from our careers, traveled the world; both of us have been thru some heart issues, with a major one for me in 2022 including a medical evacuation from an Alaska cruise 3 years ago etc, and yet we have gone on stronger than before! I always tell people who ask us about travel, 2 important things: 1 – Do it (travel) while you can and are able-bodied, and 2 – ALWAYS get travel insurance! Here are a few pics of us over the years of our travels:
Anyway, sorry to digress; a trip down memory lane for us. This year, January 2026, I’ve been pretty good so far on my keto (light) diet (hamburgers without the bun are ok), but no fries, and have had salad instead as a side. Tonight we celebrated our 21st anniversary at Hyde Park Prime Steakhouse in Daytona Beach proper, as opposed to nearby Daytona Beach Shores, a few short miles south of Daytona Beach proper.
When we sat down, we had a nice table for two with a Happy Anniversary card and some real rose petals scattered on the table. We ordered a nice bottle of Freemark Abbey Merlot, which our waiter decanted for us, and it paired wonderfully with our steak.
We had a wonderful dinner, with Shrimp Cocktail appetizers for both of us, and a huge 36 day Dry-aged Rib Eye, which we split, as well as a shared sautéed spinach for vegetable.
We had a leisurely two hour meal, and our server (who I had earlier told I had just recently started the keto diet) apologized jokingly when he brought a complimentary dessert for two of chocolate and cheese cake. He asked if we wanted it to go, which DOS said yes; he could have it, but not me; and we took it with us on our Uber ride back to the hotel.
We had a wonderful 21st anniversary, and look forward to many more! Happy Anniversary, Steve “DOS”!
