The realisation steadily grew that we had something very special, in fact, we were falling in love. Even before I had seen a photo of Chris I knew it, seeing her beautiful smile confirmed it (although it was a while, being a shy, retiring type, before I could admit it!)
In January we decided we had to meet and so I booked a flight for the Easter holidays. The months passed very slowly, with our email/phone call relationship becoming stronger every day. On April 6th 1999 I took the night train from Penzance to London, where I killed the hours until the BA flight over to Washington State, landing at Seatac airport. After getting through immigration, customs and the strange baggage system they have there we finally came face to face. I was astonishingly tired and must have looked like hell; Chris hadn't slept much either. However our nerves and tiredness melted away as we fell into each other's arms.
The trip was everything we hoped it would be. I had a great, but very short time with Chris. I met her son Ryan and her mom Terri, and we all got along really well. We went to Mount Rainier, Seattle, and the zoo, and had fun just being together. We couldn't believe how quick the time went and parting was hard. The Sunday after I came back I was on the phone to Chris, talking about the time we'd spent together and I said that I wished I could prove how much she meant to me. Chris, not surpisingly, asked 'how?' I paused, and then asked her to marry me. Whoa! I would have thought, 'Where did that come from?' if I hadn't been too eager to hear her answer, which was thankfully, YES! It felt like exactly the right thing to do; even though I hadn't planned it I knew it was what I wanted.
Not long after this I decided I had to go over again, so I booked another flight for August, during the school holidays. Another difficult waiting period where the phone calls and emails kept our relationship growing. During this time we had decided that I was going to move over to be with Chris in Washington, and I first heard about the dreaded K1 process!
We had an even better time in August, despite me having a very bad cold. Parting was just as hard as the first time. We knew it would be our final parting, but there were the nine months to get through. It seemed an impossibly long time. So it proved to be. By October we realised we couldn't wait that long. So, after 5 long, hard months apart, in February 2000, Chris and Ryan flew into Heathrow! This time it was their turn to meet the family and friends, and it was a very special time together.
We had a couple of nights in London and visited some of the attractions before driving down to Penzance, via my birthplace, Salisbury, and Stonehenge. In Penzance Chris and Ryan got on really well with the family and we had a great time driving around the Penwith peninsula and visiting Lands End, St Michael's Mount, St Ives and Zennor.
Once again, before we knew it, it was time to part. This time we knew it would be the last parting. Around three months later I had my interview at the US embassy in London and gained my K1 Fiance Visa. A week and a day later I, two overflowing suitases and my cat Tessie joined Chris, Ryan, Terri and Storm (Chris's cat) in Washington State. We married at the Space Needle in Seattle in July.
Three years (not to mention 3 apartments, 2 different cats, 1 new daughter, 1 dog and 1 rented house) later we decided to move to the UK and settle there permanently. So in August 2003 we flew back to Heathrow (via Copenhagen) and moved in with my parents in Penzance for a few months before moving into our own home near Redruth. Ryan is staying with his dad in the States, and our 2 cats (Tessie and Mr Kitty) and 1 dog (Speckles) have finally come out of quarantine, and have taken over the house!

Adrian and Christina
Adrian comes from Penzance, which is a lovely harbour town at the far end of Cornwall, England. He is a teacher, who has worked mostly in Cornwall. In May 2000 he relocated to the USA to be with Christina. Following that he worked for Top Foods (very briefly), Target (a little longer) and then (longest of all) at Cooper Elementary School in West Seattle. Now he is back in good old Cornwall and still teaching. He is into photography, walking, visiting historic sights, listening to music- all his old CDs and current chart music, and enjoying Radio 1 again. He strums the guitar, and occasionally it sounds like music. He likes watching TV and drinking a good red wine with a meal (especially Chinese or pizza). Mmm! Also loves a good pub quiz.
Chris lived in Washington State, for most of her life before emigrating to the UK. She worked at a retail store, managing the food services department, and in a Cornish pub, amongst other things during a varied career! Chris likes mostly the same music as Ade, recent artists she likes are The Rasmus, Will Young and Joss Stone. She is also into visiting historic places and, along with Ade, has started to make a family tree. She loves a good meal out, especially if it is Mexican! She also likes a good pub quiz.

Ade and Chris married in 2000 and had a daughter in 2002.