The Buried Treasure of True Love
Tony and Lu
"In February 1985, Tony invested a small amount of money into Mel Fisher’s search to find the Nuestra Senora de Athocha, the treasure-laden Spanish galleon that sank off the coast of Key West in September 1622. On July 20, 1985, Fisher found the ship after searching for 16 years. A week later, Tony was in Key West to help recover the treasure.
"The same week, and out of the blue, my cousin called and asked if I wanted to go diving in Key West at the end of July. Absolutely! And off we went on a very impromptu vacation. On the morning of Aug 1, we were up early to dive the waters of Key West.
"Tony, taking a break from salvaging treasure, was on the same dive boat. I noticed the dark haired, good looking guy and made sure I heard his name when the dive manifest was read. After the first dive, he approached me as I was wearing a pair of running shorts with my alma mater logo on them, WVU, and he was from West Virginia.
"We discovered that we were born three months apart in Morgantown, WV. We learned later that he lived in an apartment right across from the hospital where I was born. I grew up in southwestern PA and he grew up in southern WV.
"After the dive, we went our separate ways. Later that day, I walked into the lobby of my hotel. At that moment, Tony walked in and picked up a house phone. I asked him if he was, by any chance, calling me! He invited me to dinner and when we arrived at the restaurant, we found it didn’t open for 15 more minutes. We put in our names and then went to the deck for a drink and to watch the sunset. Three hours later, we finally got around to having dinner.
"On Saturday, Aug 3, Tony proposed and I said yes. We were officially engaged 6 weeks later. That was 26 years ago. Tony likes to say that he found double the treasure in Key West!" ~ Lu
