I tell you what; this went back and forth so many times I wasn’t sure who was going to win! In the end, it was decided that since all the finalists had such great stories, there should be gifts for everyone! With a little help from William Grassie Wine Estates and a surprise, to even me, from Orenda Winery too. Because what is Valentine’s Day without a glass of vino to go along with that romantic candlelight dinner, right?
But first the winner!
The winner is Xander and Samantha!
The couple says,
“We have enjoyed participating and look forward to hearing the results.
Earlier this month, we took a long weekend in La Conner to celebrate Valentine’s Day and enjoy a short “babymoon” vacation. We enjoyed exploring the small art town full of Victorian homes, quaint restaurants, live street music, and waterfront views. It was on this trip when we wrote our first contest entry and enjoyed reminiscing about our love story and what future adventures life will bring. In addition to sharing a name with the ballroom where we first met, the roots of the name Avalon date back to early King Arthur tales where Avalon was the name for the “Isle of Apples.” Driving home from our vacation, we decided to embrace this and purchase new apple trees to plant in honor of our soon to be daughter.”
Xander and Samantha have chosen as their prize to take advantage of the $100 Gift Card from Infusion Bar & Grill. Located at 7725 Center Blvd. SE on Snoqualmie Ridge, Infusion is an American grill featuring a fresh and hand-selected menu, which is sure to keep you coming back for more.
The first runner up is Ron & Debbie!
When asked about their life since that first meeting Debbie said,
“Both Ron and I were born and raised here in this beautiful Snoqualmie valley. We raised 2 kids, which is our greatest accomplishment, whom both Rachel and Chad still live here in the valley and are raising our 4 grandsons, who we love spending time with!!
Over the years, we’ve bowled in league together, we played co-ed softball, fitting it all in while Ron coached little league for both kids, I coached soccer and going to all their games… believe me, it was a lot!! LOL
We now love to play pool, golf and camping, which we also do with our kids! Over the years we’ve met so many people and made so many friends and they are also an important part of our life. In the last 40 years, we’ve bought and sold 4 homes, this last one we bought and remodeled over the last 3 years and now we are enjoying it.
Ron retired from Boeing after 32 years there. I retired from Snoqualmie Valley Hospital after 15 years, and many people will also remember me from Sno Falls Credit union and The Railroad Cafe that my parents owned for 20 years. When Covid allows, we will start doing some traveling and finally enjoy our retirement.
Ron and I have had a rich and satisfying 40 plus years together.”
Debbie and Ron will receive a $150 gift card from Erika Laureano Design. Located at 107 Main Ave N in Downtown North Bend, Erika Laureano creates unique, one of a kind, organic, sophisticated jewelry designs right here in the Valley.
So, those were the two prizes for the contest, however, the vote difference between our second and third place was so slight that we decided to add an honorable mention prize which will go to, Terry & Winston.
Since that first meeting long ago Terry said of their life now,
“This weekend, on February 13th, we celebrate 17 years of that fateful first meeting. We actually love celebrating that anniversary even more than our wedding anniversary. This year though, sadly, due to Covid restrictions, this will be our first time in those 17 years where we won’t be together as parent duty calls. Winston will be in California with our daughter for lacrosse and I will stay behind with the rest of our troop. But we have made a commitment to pour a glass of wine and FaceTime an anniversary toast together Saturday night. We will officially celebrate when he returns with a much needed and very rare date night.”
Due to a generous donation from William Grassie Wine Estates, Terry & Winston will have a bottle of the World-class award-winning 2014 Le Cadeau, 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot, 8% Syrah, and 4% Malbec. Plus a 2019 dry Rosè from Sangiovese grapes to help celebrate that first meeting.
William Grassie Wine Estates has a wonderful tasting room located on Snoqualmie Ridge at 7802 Center Blvd SE. They are an intimate Washington State winery committed to producing premier Bordeaux style wines.
Lastly, Xander & Samantha had a generous offer for all the finalists,
“We were honored to have our love story be selected as one of the finalists. We enjoyed reading other stories as well and we would like to invite the other four finalist couples to Orenda Winery for a winery tour and tasting. We’ll schedule a get together in the next few weeks and of course would love to invite you and a guest to join as well.”
So maybe me and my other too.
We think all the stories and writers deserve recognition. It’s hard to write, I feel you. So if you like to read all 23 love stories and see the folks who wrote them, follow this link to read them all.
Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone!
