Hello everyone! Something wonderful happened late this summer or early fall. I have a "quilting sister" who I "met" in her quilting yahoo group about 10 years ago. She lives in Ohio and I live in central New York State. She and her hubby were going to take a trip to Niagara Falls on the Canadian side and they made a huge detour to come and see us here. We were supposed to meet in a restaraunt next to a craft store. We both were early so we ended up meeting inside the craft store! People must have thought we were crazy two grown women hugging and hugging in the middle of the store aisle. Then we all four started talking at once and we changed out mind about the restaurant and found a small quiet Italian place with an excellent atmosphere, awesome food and wonderful service. Once we finished dinner we went back to their hotel room ( we drove about 30 miles or so to meet up with them) and we talked and chatted like we grew up together! Her hubby and my Maurice got along famously too. It was such an awesome experience I just had to share! I finally figured out how to download the pictures from my phone and though they are fuzzy I think you'll see we all had a wonderful time! Her Name is Dottie and we talked for hours as if we'd done this a million times! If you ever have the opportunity to actually meet an online friend just go for it! I am on the right and Dottie is on the left in the first photo and her hubby John(aka Willy) is on the left and Maurice is on the right in the bottom photo. Maurice said we even look like we could pass for sisters! This was the best part of all of 2016 for us and we're already thinking about getting together again this summer. It's hard to believe we've been friends for 10 years and never had met. This was a real blessing and I am so grateful to God for helping us get together. I'll get off my soap box now! lol

Love to hear stories about friends getting together and meeting face to face for the first time. It's almost like getting to be there also when you post pictures of it. Thank you for sharing /Lillian

It's great to meet a best friend, isn't it! I'm so glad you finally got to meet and give each other real hugs. It is certainly a high point to celebrate. I hope you get to meet many more times.

How wonderful!! Glad you had a great time!

Hasn't the world opened up to us all during the past 10-20 years with the Internet? What a lovely story Meri, I was so pleased to read that you met up with a like minded friend. I've done this with a few people on this site from overseas and another quilter through another group.
I was happy also to read that your husbands got on too. Looking forward to hearing of your next 'meeting'. Love Chris, Newcastle, Australia

What a wonderful story! I'm so glad that you shared it with us. I can tell by all of the happy faces what a good time you all were having.

Lovely story! I too have met an email friend who I had been corresponding with for a few years, in person. She is so nice, we discovered our birthdays are one day apart, but one year apart in age, and our husbands celebrate their birthdays in the same week, and of course, we both love patchwork and embroidery!

So nice to read your nice story, fantastic to meet at last , and that you all got along so famously. Hope that the future is bright for all, and you are able to keep in contact and meet up again soon to continue your friendship. Sandra.

It is so much fun to meet someone you have been in contact with and meet them in person. I have had that experience and hope to do it again in the future. Glad you two hit if off and that hubbies got along too.

Glad you had a great experience. Crafting people have a lot in common, like being into color, being picky and neat when it counts, being artsy, being persistent, hard workers....