Even though Kinyon and I were both born and raised in Kansas City, we actually met in 2022 in Panama City Beach, Florida! I was on vacation and he was there for work; a mutual acquaintance informed me that he was staying at the same hotel, and I thought it would be nice to connect with someone from my city while I was in town.

I was given Kinyon’s social media handle and I sent him a message, not knowing if/when he would see it. He responded pretty quickly, and we agreed to meet at the hotel bar that evening.

We introduced ourselves and clicked almost immediately, discovering that we had so many things in common that it was almost scary. One of the first things that Kinyon and I bonded over was our mutual love for classic Hip Hop; I decided to impress him by rapping the first verse of one of my favorites, “They Reminisce Over You” by Pete Rock and CL Smooth.

Our conversation continued to flow effortlessly until we realized that we’d lost track of time and were still sitting at the bar, well after it had closed. Kinyon had originally been scheduled to head back to Kansas City the next day, but he decided to change his flight; we walked along the beach that evening, met for an oceanside breakfast the next day, and spent the rest of the day together. Not long after we’d both returned home, we realized that we had fallen in love with each other, and the rest is history!

Registry