> For those who didn't know it, flyingcats and Ellmyruh both managed to get over to my house this morning (!!). We had a great time, and took a bunch of pictures. I've already got mine up--see link (beat you, Ell! :-P).
>
> Aya"I could get used to this RinkMeeting stuff."ko

Ayako did an excellent job on the web page, so I figured I would just add a few words about the meeting from my perspective.

We finally ironed out the details the night before The Meeting, and Ayako sent us precise directions to her house. The directions were great, although I did miss the first exit because I was just flying down the freeway at about 78 miles per hour. (Hey, there were OTHER cars going that speed, too!) It was 50 miles from my parking lot to Ayako's driveway, and it took about an hour to get there. She lives in a beautiful place, but it's out in the middle of nowhere. At one point, I had to cross a one-lane bridge. There are two lanes before and after the bridge, so one side just yields to the other side. I can't imagine driving across that bridge when it's foggy.

I eventually got to Ayako's house, stepped out of my car, and heard--silence. No traffic, no sirens, no honking horns, no planes. There were just lots of hills, mountains, trees and....Manzanita bushes!! (It's been a while since I've seen those.) It reminded me of the place where I spent the first 18 years of my life, only there was no Mt. Shasta off to the East.

The visit was wonderful, and before we knew it, the time had flown by. Both Ayako and flyingcats are even more fun in person than they are in chat. I'm so glad I got to meet them, and I hope we get to do it again someday. Oh, and I'll try to post some pictures when I get a chance.

Ell"That Cheshire-cat grin in my pictures scares me"myruh