Open House

Technically the story goes back to 1996 at Tri-North Middle School…

…or outside Wrigley Field sometime in 2008.

…or at numerous IU soccer games over the last decade.

There have been lots of random encounters over the last 15+ years, but the most important of them happened on a random spring morning in Bloomington at the most romantic of places: 7th and Dunn (Formerly Poplars, then an empty lot, and soon-to-be The Beverley). Phil was out for a run, going a route he’d done several times before, and Katy was walking toward the law school as she had done countless times as well. For whatever reason, on this morning the timing was such that they saw each other.

Within 2 minutes there was a plan to meet once Phil got back into town from various work travels (which would last a month). But once they finally got to go out together, they kept figuring out ways to see each other again. Within 2 weeks they were asked by random softball strangers how long they’d been married; within a month they spent a week together in the most romantic US city, Pittsburgh (not a joke); and ever since they’ve managed to find places local, national, and international to spend time with each other. To date, they have explored:

• Pittsburgh, PA

• Louisville, KY

• Chicago, IL (3x)

• Denver, CO

• Washington, D.C.

• Dublin, Ireland (2x)

• Cork, Ireland

• Galway, Ireland

• Salt Lake City, UT (2x)

• Seattle, WA

• Monterey, CA

• Milwaukee, WI

• Cincinnati, OH

• St. Joseph, MI

• New York, NY

And when they haven’t been traveling, they’ve found ways to enjoy each other’s company in Bloomington: coffee and the Farmer’s Market, an IU Soccer match, random walks through campus along Spanker’s Branch (look it up), cooking together, or just enjoying the couch with Dudley.

No matter where they are, they continue to find ways to make the world better for one another. They have no plans on stopping.