When Rick took the leap to move back to Michigan in 2015, both him and Julie were on different paths with different expectations. Rick was moving back to be with someone else, and Julie was in a difficult relationship. With personal relationships not working out and feeling like endless turmoil, they threw themselves into work and side jobs.

The friendship grew through side jobs, bike rides, disc golf, geocaching, and hiking. They became close friends to the point that some of their coworkers thought they were dating when they weren’t. As time went on, the coworkers switched gears and so did Rick and Julie.

They found it easy to communicate with each other on any topic. So much so, that one evening when Rick was taking Julie home, they found themselves in deep conversation. As they were driving and asking each other random questions, they continued through intersection after intersection, not really focused on their surroundings. A little while later, they realized a turn was missed while lost in conversation, leaving them an hour away in the opposite direction.

A few days later on November 11, 2018, they spent the day geocaching. That evening Rick had a plan up his sleeve. Driving over to Port Austin, he took Julie out on the beach, under the stars and next to the crashing waves he asked to take the friendship to the next level. Without much hesitation, Julie agreed. After past experiences and the work situation, they decided it was best to keep things to themselves for a while; if by chance things weren't meant to be, no harm done and no explanations needed. The secret meetups were thrilling and some of the highlights to their days.

A whole year went by before they told their parents. Rick gifted his parents' tickets to a Bob Segar concert for their anniversary. Since Julie attended as well, it was kind of a dead giveaway and Rick was questioned after the fact. With one set of parentals down, they had one more to go. Julie opted to take her parents, brother, and future sister-in-law out for lunch at the Royal Diner. Some were excited and some were quiet, but operation “tell the family”, was now complete.

As the years went on, Rick and Julie would take 2–3-week vacations together in the fall. First, they started out fall color peeping and waterfall hunting in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, otherwise known as God's Country. With Covid, they were “forced” to look for more remote waterfalls, only adding to the adventure in 2020. When 2021 rolled around, they tackled more of the UP and continued on to the north shore of Wisconsin and Minnesota.

2022 (and 2023) brought new excitement. Julie finally convinced Rick to take the leap of faith and drive out west. Julie had been to many places as a kid and wanted to share her love of the mountains with the one her heart loved. They made it as far as Devil’s Tower National Monument, along with several other National Parks in South Dakota along the way. While at the Badlands, they discovered the National Park Passport Stamp Book, which became a game changer for planning the current and future trips.

2024 was a life changing year for them. In March, (long story short) a deer totaled Julie’s Chevy Trax. Car hunting was a stressful process. By the middle to end of May, Julie was now the proud owner of a new Ford Bronco. But little did they know what owning a Bronco would do for them. In June, with less than 1,000 miles on the Bronco, Rick and Julie attended their first Bronco the Mac Event, and they were hooked.

In August, they attended the Bronco Birthday Bash with breakfast at Ford’s Garage and a tour of the assembly plant in Wayne, MI. Moving on to September, Rick and Julie cashed in on Ford’s Off Roadeo experience, where Ford provided the trainer and the Bronco and they basically just had to get themselves there. Out of the five different destinations, Rick and Julie quickly agreed on Moab, the home of off-roading. What better place to learn? This slightly terrifying thrilling adventure of a lifetime would lead them to a passion that neither one knew they had.

October held even more as the 3-week vacation was just getting started. While camping out on the rim of Goosenecks State Park in Utah, Rick had to think on his feet. Coming up with a ploy of how to dig out the ring, he threw all of the breakfast making supplies out of the truck. Leaving Julie and the supplies on the rim, Rick drove the Bronco away. When he arrived back, Rick made breakfast and then he prepped the spot and prepared to pop the question. Shortly after Julie said yes, the parentals were notified and some of them even asked “when’s the wedding?”. Soon, Vegas was thrown out as an option given the couple's current location but quickly rejected by the parents. About a week later, after some of California's beautiful National Parks, Rick and Julie attended their first Bronco SuperCel Event in Nevada. Meeting Tom and the crew was amazing, and they made some great friendships along the way.

2025 has been one for the books so far. Besides planning the wedding, they have attended Bronco the Mac, two Super Celebration Events, the Bronco Birthday bash at the Silver Lake Sand Dunes, and the Woodward Dream Cruise. Who knew that buying a Bronco would lead them to a family that they wouldn’t have ever met otherwise. They feel truly honored and blessed to have each and every one of them in their lives!

Cheers to many more adventures and Bronco events! The best is yet to come!