Our romance started in the mountains; we met through mutual friends in 2015 on a weekend ski trip to Sunday River as the token singles. Coons would wait for Kourtney on the slope and tell her when to keep her speed or challenge her to dance with older white-haired men in exchange for free beer all night at Suds and the Funky Red Barn. From then, we remained friends but would gravitate towards each other when we would run into one another in town. We watched the Patriots win the Super Bowl in February; we celebrated when Kourtney completed her Master’s Degree in Education in May; and finally in August after a weekend Saco River kayaking trip, Coons asked Kourtney out on a date.
It would have to be a week later because of our crazy schedules. Coons was getting ready for a solo vacation to Japan & China in between a job change. In between scorpion bowls and sushi rolls, we both discovered a passion for travel in each other — her mostly in the United States and his abroad.
Coons made a point to contact Kourtney every day while on his trip to share stories of his cliff walk on Hu Shan Mountain, bobsledding down the Great Wall of China, or his tour of the Terracotta Warriors Museum. Our reunion was something out of a rom-com — those few short weeks felt like an eternity.
We took our first trip together in June of 2016 to Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. We rented a KuKu camper van that we drove in, slept in, and cooked in in order to drive the Ring Road in Iceland and stop at all of the waterfalls we could find!
In Norway, we hiked the tallest mountain, Galdhøpiggen, and slogged through the mud to reach Trolltunga. In Sweden, we enjoyed a nice meal in Stockholm and a walk through the Fotografiska. Luckily for us, the trip was a success as we had decided to move in together before we left.
The idea to travel the world was born on a drive to our ski condo at Sunday River. During the drive, Coons asked Kourtney if she would ever consider quitting her job to travel for a year. Kourtney began to weep as Coons wondered whether this was a good cry or a bad cry.
“Of course. I’d go anywhere with you! I never thought I would have an opportunity to do anything like that ever.” Kourtney replied between sobs.
We knew a trip like that would take a lot of preparation (not to mention money!), but we were determined to keep traveling while we planned and waited for the right time to go. In February 2017, we started a tradition with our winter-loving friends in Austria at St. Anton to ski the various off-piste trails and visit the towns that adorn that beautiful country.
Later that year we took a trip to Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam where Coons visited his 30th country in as many years! We hiked with pumpkin-loving elephants; took an ATV tour out to the outskirts of Siem Reap to see how the locals lived, and cooked a traditional Cambodian cuisine with a man on a mission to feed, clothe, house, and educate children. In Vietnam, we rode around on scooters touring the best local restaurants even though that meant eating frog, goat, and quail egg!
In April, we took our first trip together in the United States to Utah to hike in Bryce Canyon National Park, boat around Lake Powell, and explore Zion National Park. On April 24, 2018, at the top of Angels’ Landing, Coons got down on one knee to surprise Kourtney with a proposal.
We took one more ski trip with our friends to Portillo, Chile where, collectively, we missed plane connections, got hospitalized, and fell victim to the norovirus. However, we nailed the slingshot lifts, helicopter skiing, personalized t-shirts, and homemade videos!
After that trip, it was finally time! We both quit our jobs and on October 1, 2018, we packed our bags and took off. While Portsmouth will always be our home, it’s now time for our next epic adventure — a year abroad!