Robert Jr. Whitall (aka Junior) brought his girlfriend Shirley Mae Owens (aka Sugar) to the Sleeping Bear Dunes in August of 1998 for camping, swimming, and hiking. They also attended the Dunegrass and Blues Festival. Sugar fell in love with Robert Jr. and the beautiful Sleeping Bear Dunes. Robert Jr. has been exploring the area since the 1980s. The following year Junior proposed to Sugar in New Orleans at Mardi Gras on Lundi Gras at Harry Connick Jr’s Orpheus parade. Junior remembers, “I had my grandmother’s ring and Sugar caught it!”