It all began in the small idyllic Sierra mountain town called Truckee. A few mutual friends and a big loving dog, Here's Nakia's take on how things went down.
It was the midst of "dirty August, the busiest of times for wild-land firefighters , For normal Tahoe residents, it was high time for tip money, bike rides, river floating, hiking, and camping. When you’re an only dog-child sitting at home while your roommates feed and walk you, it's only natural to start searching for someone to be more of a mother figure. Then one day this cute little blonde gal started hanging out. She liked bike rides and hiking and gave me treats (what really matters). So one particular day, I planned for James’ roommate and Brooke to go on a little bike ride, while they were recovering after the ride James came home (all dirty and sexy) to find this babe sitting on the couch. There was some causal talking and flirting. The hook was set. Some hanging out here and there, a moonlit swim on her birthday and occasional get togethers followed. By January, I'd had it with the dirty boys living in a mouse-infested house. We invited Brooke to a party at our house. We laughed, we cried, and we headed to Casa Baeza with 30 friends. After a few clay pots (It’s a Baeza thing, You should really stop by before heading home), Brooke built up the courage to make her move. A couple of tequila shots and a terrible Brooke joke later, she cast her spell, By the end of the night James was firmly wrapped around Brooke's finger. The next few months consisted of numerous adventures including snow camping, backcountry cabin trips during blizzards, Mt.Tallac ski trips, and plenty of opportunities for James to prove to Brooke that he is, in fact, a “local everywhere.” With him, there is no such thing as lost, just a lot of taking the long way. Almost six years later, they still love taking the long way and Brooke has learned how to humor James' geographic know-how.
I hope you can join them as they set off on their next great adventure, I'll be looking on as they venture on together for more bad jokes while they take the long way.