Erica Laxson & Travis Huffman

Ages: 25 & 25
occupations: Manager-David’s Bridal Pensacola
University of West Florida, Educational Doctoral Fellowship Student


First Date: (50 words)
After first meeting in 2004 we did not go on our first date until 2005 (after spending most of the summer getting to know each other via
lengthy phone conversations from 10 hours away) Travis invited me to meet him at the UWF gym for our first date upon return for the
upcoming fall semester. If you know Travis, this fits him perfectly!

Tell us your love story in 350 words or less.
Travis and I met in 2004 during move-in day at Martin Hall on the University of West Florida campus. As the semester proceeded,
I would occasionally chat with Travis in the hallways or he would catch my eye outside the Martin Hall dorms while I sat wrapped in ice
(because I played softball at UWF). Throughout the year we would continue to develop a casual friendship that consisted of these brief
encounters. After our first year at UWF we each ventured our separate ways home for the summer. Shortly after our departure from school,
we began to message each other on facebook. We eventually began to call one another and converse for what quickly evolved into hours
on end. We realized that we shared many things in common and could easily entertain one another even from such a great distance apart.
When we returned to campus for the 2004 Fall Semester, Travis invited me to the UWF fitness center for our “first date” (if you know
Travis this is standard operating procedure). The chemistry did not seem as strong in person as it had over the phone all summer long
and our “date” did not develop into anything further. We simply continued on our separate ways and realized that timing wasn’t right
for a relationship between the two of us.
After a few failed attempts at love from both sides I was randomly “facebooked” on my 21st birthday by Travis once more in 2007
while on my summer vacation home. We immediately picked up right where we left off years ago and decided that we would give it
another shot. Upon our arrival back to school in 2007 Travis took me on our first “real” date in August. The classic “dinner-and-a-movie” format
won out this time over the previous gym offerings. On September 5, 2007 after our lunch at Jerry’s Drive-In I asked Travis if I should tell my
grandmother if we were courting. His response to the old-fashioned inquiry was a definite yes! Three years, 10 months, and some odd days later we have
been happily together ever since!