Where the Oaks Still Stand

Valley Forge Soldier's Arch to Lake Tahoe's Emerald Bay, 1993. Scott & Beth Celebrating 32 Years Today!

With a couple of hours to spare before my next job, I drove to my favorite place in Valley Forge National Park—Soldier’s Arch, where massive oaks rise like guardians of history. Their branches stretched wide, whispering of Washington’s Army enduring the bitter winter long ago, the hillside once dotted with cabins that sheltered those soldiers through unimaginable hardship.

As I drove past those cabins that August afternoon, I noticed a tall, handsome man walking nearby. He suddenly turned, our eyes met, and he smiled. Caught off guard, I looked away in embarrassment and kept driving. By the time I reached the end of the road, I tried to brush it off, spreading my yellow blanket beneath the shade of a giant oak tree. The cool shelter of its branches was a welcome comfort in the summer heat, and I settled in to read my book.

But fate had other plans. To my surprise, the same stranger walked up and gently said hello. His presence was warm, his smile easy, and before long we were lost in conversation. Hours seemed to slip through our fingers unnoticed. When evening fell, he asked me to join him to watch the sunset. Together we stood, gazing at the golden sky, and when we turned, the harvest moon was rising on the opposite horizon. It felt like the world itself had conspired to mark the beginning of something extraordinary. That date—August 3, 1993—became the first chapter of our love story.

He was in Philadelphia for two weeks of military training, and from that day forward, we spent every possible moment together between his classes and my work. When my annual two-week vacation arrived, I made a life-altering choice. Instead of heading overseas, I booked a flight to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, where he was stationed. Beneath the wide Hawaiian skies and the gentle crash of waves, he asked me to marry him.

Two months later, on October 3, we came from opposite directions—he from Hawaii, I from Pennsylvania—and met in Lake Tahoe, California. There, with the mountains as witness and family and friends gathered, we exchanged vows. Our whirlwind romance surprised many, but it was met with joy. Everyone could see we had discovered something rare, something true.

From that beginning, our journey has carried us across the country, through seasons of change and chapters of growth. We built a family and a life together, moving from Hawaii to Arizona to Colorado and, finally, to Florida. Through every move, every challenge, every joy, the magic of that first meeting beneath the oaks of Valley Forge has never left us.

Now, three decades later, with hearts full of gratitude for all we have shared, we prepare to celebrate our 32nd wedding anniversary—still standing side by side, as in those first golden days, with the sun setting and the harvest moon rising on a love that has only grown stronger.