face to face with friends...

We are home...after three weeks on the road. How fun to arrive home just in time for a picnic at Anneliese's cabin on the lake......and visit face to face with a great group of friends! 

We had such a good time catching up. Oh...it's not like we never talk. It's just that most of our visits happen in our 'google group' chat room. And we hadn't met face-to-face in several months. It's the best way to meet!  (The guys were there too...just not climbing trees yesterday! But if you would like a proper account of our evening together, check it out here.)

Now let me tell you about two other face-to-face meetings that took place 'along the trail'...meeting up with two different blogging friends in two separate states.  

Come with me to Maine...where we met my long-time friend, Vee.  We connected many years ago...when we both started blogging about the same time. Her blog A Haven For Vee is a popular one...where she freely shares her life with all who come by to visit. 

 
We followed the winding road to the designated meeting place...a country cafe that serves up hearty breakfasts. Would the Vee in flesh-and-blood be the Vee I had come to know from blogdom?   At the appointed time...Vee and John pulled into the parking lot. Right from the start...it was as though we were old friends. There were many things to discuss...from politics to the economy to the grands and double yolked eggs. Vee invited us to her haven after breakfast...thinking we would enjoy some coffee cake together (fresh out of the oven and featuring local blueberries). But after downing all those double-yolkers...we had no room for cake. Instead...John took Elmer on a tour of the shop he had built and I asked Vee if I could snoop...inside her haven. It's funny...reconciling all the images I have seen over the years with the reality of what I was seeing. It all made sense now! And yes...it is a cozy, warm and welcoming place!  And her back yard?  It is rather like a park!

  We took a 'parting shot' there....a memento of our face-to-face meeting on August 14, 2013.
   

 
And when it was time to go...Vee insisted they would lead us through the backroads...a short cut that our GPS Jane would never know about. And so...we had a pilot car through an interesting area...where tourists rarely go. And when they had us at the entrance to the highway...they raced on ahead and parked on the overpass and waved. And that was our introduction to Maine...a very warm and friendly one. 

Oh...and I must mention the goodies that Vee sent along with us. For our snacking pleasure...the blueberry coffee cake that we had turned down at her place....was our treat for the next three days. And I have a bag of goodies that I will un-pack properly one of these days to remind me of our face-to-face meeting. In it is my favorite beverage, some treats for the road, something for the grands, and an apron made by Vee. Thank-you, Vee and John...for being such gracious hosts and such friendly ambassadors for Maine. We thoroughly enjoyed our time in your state...our time in Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park...and the friends that made our visit special.


We carried on with our travels down the east coast, and by the time we arrived in Pennsylvania we had an invitation waiting for us in our 'in-box'. Would we like to come for dinner that very evening? We would...and we did! The invitation came from Judy who blogs at 'Just a Little Something For You'...and has been my blogging friend almost from the start. Judy's blog is where to go if you need a reason to smile...a word of encouragement...a place that emphasizes those things that matter most in life. What a delightful evening we had!

We ate on Judy's back porch (the one I know well from her blog)...enjoyed a fabulous dinner...and talked about our families, cars from by-gone days, and our faith. The hours flew by...and before we knew it...the candles had burned to the bottom of their wicks...and the porch was dark.

It was time to go...and so much remained unsaid. I'm hoping we meet again...and can carry on where we left off. Judy sent along a pan of homemade blueberry baked oatmeal...which we enjoyed for breakfast the rest of the week. So good!

I'm so thankful for all those friends with whom I can visit 'virtually' on a regular basis. But how much more special to visit face-to-face.

It is a wealthy person, indeed, who calculates riches not in gold but in friends. 

Jim Stovall