HOUSTON — If you are looking for some place unique to celebrate Valentine’s Day with your special someone, how the Love Lock Bridge right over Allen Parkway in Eleanor Tinsley Park.
"The feeling that you get when you get on the bridge is just blissful," describes Unique Tripplett. "I could actually feel the love of other people that have been there prior to me going there."
There were many before Tripplett surprised her wife with a visit last fall.
"She was like, ‘Whoa, what is this?’ And I was like, ‘This is the Love Lock Bridge. And we get to, you know, add our little piece of history, to add our own little lock,'" Tripplett recalls.
The Trippletts' lock is simple, marked with a heart.
Jessica Brown and Damien LeDay added some sparkle to theirs.
"(It's a) brass lock with rig glitter glue on it with our initials," says LeDay. "It was near the gap where you can see downtown in the fence."
That view adds another layer of love.
"It’s not only the love of yourself, the love of your partner, but love of the city of Houston and to be able to get to see it while you're on the bridge is amazing," Tripplett says.
For all those reasons, Houston's Love Lock Bridge is a photographer's dream and most people, Tripplett included, end up learning about the bridge via social media.
"(I saw) one of my friends was at the Love Lock Bridge. And, to my knowledge, the only Love Lock Bridge that I know of, the big one is in Paris," says Tripplett.
That's the one Brown had always wanted to visit.
"When I found out there was one here, I was like, ‘Oh my god, let's do it and take some cool pictures’ because I love taking pics," she says.
Now that Brown and LeDay secured their love on the bridge, they hope to return once they have kids.
"We can find our lock and put a little lock on that one, you know, like a family thing," explains Brown.
In the meantime, they’ll keep looking for more semi-secret spots like the Love Lock Bridge.
"I just encourage everybody to go out there and explore the city. No matter how long you've been there," LeDay says. "We're constantly finding new little niche things to do and see. It makes you fall in love with the city again."