"Meeting Other VTers" Personal Page by SONG

Let's see......... WHO lives in Key West who is an active VT member? That was my thought when I was planning my trip to Key West. The locals always have good tips, so I emailed someone I had never spoken to via the email system here in VT. Immediately I got both a response and an invitation to join him for coffee and some local lore. Barb and I were so pleased to meet Chris and we even shared a nice sailboat sunset cruise with him as well as some yummie food at some of his favorite spots. Another example of a "local" VTer extending a warm welcome to other VTers. Try it. You'll like it. :-)

DonnaFl lives so close to me that we decided that we MUST meet and become friends.
So recently she and her husband met me at Ybor City, Florida (near Tampa) for a nice
spaghetti dinner and a quick tour of the area. Donna and her husband are both natives (also known as Florida "crackers") of the area and were able to give me lots of good information about the area and its history. It was a fun evening and one which I hope the three of us can repeat frequently. It always amazes me how easy it is to meet and enjoy what had been total strangers and ends up being friends with another VTer.
Both Donna and I carried a VT flag to the meeting, thinking that it would help identify us to the other. Don't be shy about venturing out and meeting VTers whenever you can.
It is addicitve, just like VT.

Kristi (Dabs) , Sharon(Sharonov), and Rich(RioRich55) were nice enough to host a wonderful VT meet in Chicago during June 2011. On the last day of the meet, Barb (mathIsFun) and I decided to spend a little extra time with Kristi(Dabs) and get to know her better.
Barb and I met Kristi and Ed (Kaspian) for Sunday brunch at The Purple Pig, which was voted one of the 10 best new restaurants in America by BonAppetit Magazine 2010. http://thepurplepigchicago.com/. The food was great, the weather was perfect and the friends enjoyable. What more could you ask for?

Travelgourmet (Larry) and MissyWQ (Margie) and SONG (Kathy)
met at a restaurant right on Stearn's Wharf overlooking the beautiful Pacific
Ocean and enjoyed a leisurely and long lunch. Lots of common interests
and of course travel stories and ideas were exchanged. Once a VTer, always a
VTer and friend. So much fun meeting folks at every corner of the world.
I was out in Santa Barbara visiting friends and was so pleased to be able to
meet in person two very nice friends.

SONG, Homanded, MathIsFun

For years Homer and I have exchanged forum postings and emails, so when I had a chance to meet him in person in the Miami area, I was thrilled. He met Barb (MathIsFun) and me and treated us to a lovely Thai dinner at one of his favorite restaurants. As always, VT was the center of discussion as well as upcoming trips. Virtual friends can indeed become real=life friends.

Flag, hat.......true VT fans!!!

Kiki and I had lunch with Ed at a nice restaurant overlooking one of Florida's many lakes. Afterward Ed purchased a few postcards to send out and then we toured downtown. Here it is mid-November and we were out in "shirt sleeves".....
Compared to the Canadian weather, Florida's seemed like heaven to Ed.
Once again, a great time with fellow VTers.

JumpingNorman posted both Paul's jumping picture and my jumping picture on the same album. Being curious who Paul was, I went to his homepage and noticed that he and his wife and twin boys were going to be near my area. Bingo! An opportunity to meet another VTer. So arrangements were made and four of us had a lovely evening together. Paul's wife and Kathy's husband enjoyed the get-together as much as the VT members. Where else can you meet someone on the internet and then in person and be so pleasantly surprised? We told the waiter that we were total strangers at the door before coming into the restaurant, and he simply did not believe us since we were chatting away!!!! and having such a good time. Notice the pink VT sign on the table. "Just look for a blonde carrying the pink and black VT sign" was what Paul and his wife were told when looking for me......and it worked!!! Guess I should break down and buy a VT flag.
Do original members get one free???????????????