A remote island surrounded by beautiful turquoise waters is an idyllic backdrop for any romantic getaway. It comes as little surprise that Amy Overstreet cites the island of St. Thomas on the Caribbean Sea as the site from her favorite date.

However, it isn’t the island’s lush peaks or sugary sand beaches that play heavy on Amy’s emotions from that day, it was hopping into an open-air cab and careening down winding roads with her best friend and co-thrillseeker, Corey, at her side.

Without a map or an itinerary, the two spent the day hopping from beach to beach, snorkeling, sunning and simply enjoying each other’s company.

The date was perfect, because Amy and Corey don’t seek out one particular destination or attraction to have an exhilarating experience. For them, it’s all about the adventure of the drive. And on that date, the couple knew they had no set routes, but one thing was certain: they were meant to travel together.

Understanding the Key

Like any good map, Amy’s and Corey’s relationship had a key, it just took the couple some time to decipher its meaning. In fact, when the two first met as coworkers in 2003, it seemed as though nothing in their lives would change other than having someone about their own age to pass the time with at the Target pharmacy counter.

Amy, then a high school junior, had been working there as a technician and hoped to gain experience towards her intended career as a pharmacist. Corey, then a senior at Minnetonka High School, was simply looking for an escape from the doldrums of Target’s Food Avenue.

“For me, it was an opportunity to get out of the deep fryer and flipping burgers,” Corey said.

Amy said she remembers being excited to learn a guy and fellow teenager would be joining her crew, and that upon first setting eyes on Corey, he passed her cuteness test, but that she was “too shy” to talk to him. The two were also so busy assisting the pharmacists, counting pills and entering information into the store’s computer system that they scarcely had time to chat while at work.

About three months passed before Corey eventually found time for some on-the-clock talk with Amy, and the two discovered their first of many connections. Amy and Corey learned that they had a mutual friend despite the fact that at the time they attended different schools.

Through more conversations at work, Amy and Corey learned they had an uncanny amount of similarities. Both had lived in California and Oregon before moving to Minnesota. Both were left handed. Both had parents who were, or were at one point, nurses. Both had brothers with the same middle name. Corey’s mother had interviewed for a job at the same small-town hospital in Oregon where one of Amy’s brothers was born.

The two seemed to be traveling on parallel paths that were designed to eventually intersect. 

“It’s kind of like my whole life I’ve been following (Amy) around,” Corey said. “From Portland, to California, to Minnesota, to the same high school, to the same Target store, and finally to the same department in that store so that we would finally meet.”

Initially, it was the impressive amount of shared experiences that drove Amy’s and Corey’s relationship forward.

“I thought (the similarities were) interestingly weird,” Amy said. “I wanted to learn more.”

But the teenage lifestyle almost put a roadblock on Amy and Corey ever becoming more than just coworkers. The two were engaged with school, home life, and their jobs. They found the best way to keep up with each other was through America Online (AOL) Instant Messenger, a computer software program that allowed the two to communicate in real time without actually talking in person or on the phone.

Through their cyber conversations, Amy and Corey realized they were drawn to each other by more than seemingly identical backgrounds. They also enjoyed the same activities and shared similar perspectives on life. They both noticed the same fact right away: This relationship was going to be different from any other.

“There was an instant connection,” Amy said. “We would have these three-hour-long conversations that would go until early in the morning. ... We’d talk about road trips we wanted to take, teenage dreams — and hot chocolate.”

Making it official

The couple’s late-night conversations ultimately led to Corey asking Amy out on a real date.

With Amy’s parents working in the evening and overnight, she would look after her younger siblings and often had to stay close to home. So when Corey showed up at her doorstep and asked to speak with her in private, Amy made the excuse that she had to take out the trash in order to steal a few moments with Corey.

When Amy left the house, she was greeted by Corey standing in the driveway holding a single rose. He decided to partake in the right of passage for every teenage boy and mustered up the courage to ask: “Will you go out with me?”

There was a quick hug and a kiss before Amy had to run back inside and get back to looking after her younger brothers and sister.

“I thought it was pretty romantic,” Amy said. 

The next night, Corey could already tell his relationship with Amy would be like no other, and made another leap by telling Amy that he loved her.

“It was destiny,” he said.

Corey’s final year of high school was marked by the couple getting to know each other’s families, going to movies and driving around in Corey’s 1997 black Volvo 850, replete with a number of his own personal modifications.

Whether it was shooting the breeze in the parking lot at Wendy’s (a favorite teenage haunt), going bowling, or simply tooling around Lake Minnetonka in Corey’s notorious sedan, the couple was always content knowing they had each other along for the ride.

Corey graduated Minnetonka High School in the spring of 2004. The next year, Amy went on to graduate from the same school, and followed Corey to the University of Minnesota, Duluth, (UMD) where the two would continue to add to their catalog of identical experiences.

The Next Destination

There wasn’t an instant or a defining moment when Corey realized he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Amy. Instead, it was the culmination of years filled with adventures together that propelled him forward.

“I think we always thought we were more than just boyfriend and girlfriend,” Corey said. “I was just waiting for the right time.”

Once the couple had both graduated from college, Corey with a degree in business administration from UMD, and Amy with a degree in human resource management from St. Mary’s University the following year, the right time had come for the couple to move on to their next destination in life.

The opportunity for a romantic proposal presented itself when Amy and Corey booked a seven-night Caribbean cruise that would coincide with their sixth anniversary of being a couple. They both love the ocean and to travel, so it was a fitting location.

Corey’s nerves switched from stressing about simply making it through the airport security checkpoints without his plan being revealed, to realizing he was actually going to propose on their trip shortly after their first stop in Haiti.

Corey focused on how happy Amy made him feel. This, and the fact that she took care of him and always laughed at his jokes and sarcastic comments, made him feel a bit more at ease before popping the question.

The couple made their way to a beach and grabbed a couple of chairs so they could bathe in the sun. Corey leaned over his chair towards Amy and told her how much he loved her before presenting the ring from a small box in his cargo shorts pocket.

“Will you marry me?” he said.

Though Amy was expecting the proposal somewhere in the near future, she said she was still in disbelief.

“Are you serious? Are you kidding me?” Amy exclaimed. “Of course!

“I was in awe. I just sat in my chair and took pictures of [the ring]. I was too scared to go in the water.”

The two dried their eyes, grabbed a bite to eat and quickly called their families to share the news before getting back on the ship. The rest of their vacation was spent celebrating the engagement.

Twists and Turns

Five months after their engagement, Corey learned he was being promoted from his role as a marketing associate for Capital Safety — a company focused on fall protection — to the company’s Sales and Marketing Manager for Latin America. 

As an intern, Corey was asked to develop a business plan for the company to expand in Latin America. After helping to design the plan, Corey was asked to implement it and move to Mexico. Within five weeks, he and Amy were moving from Minnesota to their new home in Mexico’s capital city.

To make the transition as smooth as possible, Amy and Corey held a civil ceremony at the Minnesota Court of Appeals before they moved. At this point they were married on paper, though they both look to their July 2011 nuptials as when they officially became husband and wife.

Amy and Corey don’t know exactly how long work will keep them out of the country before eventually making it back to their families in Minnesota. No matter what happens, the couple is looking forward to the journey knowing they’ll have each other along for the ride.

“(Corey) has been my best friend ever since we first started talking,” Amy said. “Life with him has been so much more interesting and full than when I was without him. I feel like no matter what happens in life that with him everything will be okay.”