Meeting on the Mayflower

A long time ago, David Durtschi and Melissa Hymas met on the Mayflower. Okay, so it really wasn't THAT long ago, July 3rd to be exact, but we really did meet on the Mayflower. It's true. Not the Mayflower the Pilgrims sailed across to the New World on, however, it was a replica. It was a life-sized portion of the aft part of the Mayflower II.

David was volunteering through his Singles Ward. Melissa was there with the Alpine School District.

Here is an inside look at their perspectives of that day:

Melissa: "Wow. That was a hot day! Holy Cow! I was drinking water like crazy and talking to people non-stop. I was exhausted. I had noticed David, but we had a lot of volunteers that day coming and going every 2 hours. I didn't think anything of it, until the end part of our shift. We had introduced ourselves, but nothing more than that. I was tired and wanted to go home to cool off and rest. That is when David asked me out to dinner.

Now, usually, I do not say yes to people I don't know anything about. I had just had a few experiences in the month prior that strange men were asking me out. YIKES! So the fact that I said yes, crazy. Wait, that could sound bad . . . . David wasn't strange. :)

After I agreed, however, I wanted to take it back for this reason . . . I was in full costume, sweating like crazy, and didn't have a change of clothes with me. You see, last year, I took clothes to change into and it was a pain. First of all to store the clothes somewhere and secondly to find a place to change. So, there I was with my 1600s clothing and going out for dinner. You have to understand that I am NOT a public person - meaning that I am introverted - - to go out to dinner in full costume . . . let's just say, I was a little embarrassed. Okay, truth be told, A LOT embarrassed! However, David was such a gentleman. He offered to wear his costume too so I wouldn't feel uncomfortable. So there we were - - both in costume, drenched, and tired. Great first date material! I noticed from that night that David was kind and considerate of others. It is one of the qualities I admire most in him.


David:
I had volunteered for colonial days on a whim. It was hot. I mean hooooot, like so hot. I was a little nervous about doing the volunteer work. Joyce introduced me to the guy I'd be taking over for on the Mayflower. I watched him give the spiel a couple of times. He handed me a copy of the fact sheet. I spent the next 10 min feverishly memorizing some key facts. I did the intro to the Mayflower a couple of times and this girl came up and stole my people. I wasn't very secure in my knowledge as it was and here's someone who's got a better costume, a British accent and knew a WHOLE lot more and could express it better. I have to admit my poor male ego had a hard time with it for a bit. After about 5 min I got over myself and decided that I should listen to her and hear her spiel and see what I could learn. As already stated, she knew what she was talking about and I didn't. She led people though a couple of times and I listened and learned some stuff that I incorporated into what I told people. After a bit we had a break in the rush of people and she came over and introduced herself. Her name is Melissa, not Elizabeth Tilley.

The rest of the day passed with out much happening. A lot of people came though and a lot of water was drunk. Near the end of the day, I kept getting an impression I should ask her out to eat. I thought about different ways to ask and decided after about 5 min to offer a very open, easy to reject without drama invite. "I'm hungry, I haven't had anything to eat since this morning (it was 9:30pm) would you like to grab some food with me?" I didn't expect her to say yes. Like at all. I was frankly shocked when she said yes. We agreed to meet at Los Hermanos.

I got there fairly quickly and found a parking spot that was really small and hard to get into. I went to the front window of the restaurant and tried to find the entrance. Yeah.... that took a while. I went one way and it was an emergency exit, went the other way and there were stairs going up. I'm going to look WAY suave taking a girl to a restaurant that I don't even know how to get into. I was a little paniced for a bit. Finally, went past the stairs and saw the second door. Not very well lit nor instantly recognizable as "The Entrance.” I put my name on the waiting list then went back outside.

I had figured it would take Melissa a bit to get to the restaurant, due to the insane 4th of July traffic. So, I wasn't really worried til I'd been waiting for 5-10 min after finding "The Entrance,” which took me at least 6 minutes to find. I continued to wait and was rewarded for my patience. For behold and lo there she was, walking down the sidewalk toward me. She attracted some attention due to being in her costume. I had as well, but mine wasn't nearly as noticeable as hers.

I showed her the entrance (I was quite proud of me for finding it, don't remember if I told her about that adventure) and we went in. We were instantly attacked by 12 robot ninja monkeys.... wait different story. We were seated by a entergetic blond who's name I don't remember. Kim or Michelle or something. She brought us two pitchers of water and two glasses full. We downed nearly all of it.

I don't remember everything we talked about, however, I do remember that the conversation was fun, involved, and quite enjoyable. We talked for hours and not just about fluff. It was one of the most enjoyable dates I'd been on in awhile.

I told her that I had a lovely (wonderful? great? some highly positive adjective) time and I'd like to see her again. Then asked, “May I have your phone number?” She agreed and gave it to me. We walked to my car, which was relatively close and I drove her to her car.

Some end thoughts on that first date. I didn't expect it. I certainly didn't expect it to develop as it has, however, I'm very glad that it has. At first, I wasn't physically attracted to Melissa – understandable beings we both were sweaty, tired, and in weird clothing. Her personality and how well the conversation went are what drew me. They still draw me to this day (usually with a funny mustache and googly eyes). And I love her for it.