If I Only Had The Guts

I got the weirdest reaction at work Tuesday. When asked what I did on my holidays last week, I told my co-worker that I travelled hundreds of miles to meet a man I met on the Internet.

That stopped her in her tracks.

Eyebrows raised.

Her mouth dropped open, but words failed her.

I was so tempted to regale her with a story of lust and daring... Man! If I only had the guts, I could have spun such a tale:

"Oh yeah. After numerous messages sent back and forth between us for months, I left the country to finally meet him face-to-face. When I arrived, I recognized him in an instant, waiting for me beside his motorcyle..."

Nah. I couldn't.

No one would believe it anyway.

In reality, the only lust and longing on the trip was from my seventeen year old daughter as we headed to The Land of Hollister, Abercrombie and Fitch. After five days of a gluttonous spending spree, I nearly had to drag her, kicking and screaming out of her shrine called The Mall of America.

Or, as hubby would refer to it: "The Temple of Doom".

But I did meet a man.

And his wonderful daughter and wife. On the trip down Sunday, our family had the extreme pleasure to stop in picturesque St. Cloud and meet Jeff from View From the Cloud, his sweet daughter and fantastic wife.

Jeff and Moi
Two hours flew by in an instant; you would have thought we were old friends the way all six of us were gabbing, laughing and sharing lunch together.

I so wish we could have stayed longer, but Albertville was beckoning daughter to the Dark Side. After contributing significantly to the town's economic prosperity over the next few hours, we headed to our final destination of Minneapolis. I dare say there were a few tears shed when we left the MoA for the last time Thursday.

Tears from the retailers, that is.

Yes, we brought a LOT home (more, dare I say, than Canada Customs will ever know).

But more importantly I brought home wonderful memories of that afternoon tryst at Five Guys Burgers and Fries.

For you see I fell in love.

Those incredible hamburgers will always hold a special place in my heart...

19 People would rather be commenting:

Colleen said...

I can just imagine the look on your co-worker's face! lol Priceless I'm sure... Thanks for the giggle!

Deborah Carr (Debs) said...

Glad you had a wonderful trip, and that the meet went so well.

Babs (Beetle) said...

I bet your co-worker's mind was going berserk!

Lovely that you could all meet up like that. It adds another dimension to blogging.

Jeff and Charli Lee said...

Isn't that funny how we so casually talk about meeting up with strange people we've "met" through our blogs? And trying to explain it to non-bloggers is pretty much a waste of time. It all comes down to "What? You met on the internet?" in their minds anyway.

We too had a great time that afternoon. I had no idea we had burned up 2 hours until we got home. And like you, I wish we could have stayed longer.

Great post Maureen. And NOT just because it includes me. ;b

JoJo said...

Glad you had such a good time! But way to gaslight your coworker!!!

I, too, have brought more than my fair share of contraband back into the US from Canada myself... "you mean Cuban cigars are illegal? Why, I had NO idea. Honest!" lol

Kathy said...

Boy, that Jeff sure gets around, doesn't he? I had the exact same reaction when I told people I was meeting bloggers I'd only met online. It's as though they thought I was risking my life and these people would somehow wind up being ax murderers. It bothered me they thought that, as though I was being naive. I think I'd know if they were ax murderers or not. For the record, they weren't.

p.s. Still laughing about your unfortunate toilet experience. That got good mileage.

Bruce Johnson said...

Ow my goodness, you Internet TART! Cavorting with other bloggers, in foreign countries no less!

toners said...

What a fabulous time! Fun!

Maureen said...

Colleen: Yeah, she really doesn't understand ... so I didn't try to explain it.

Debs: It was fun, to be sure!

Babs: Ha! Yup! It was great to finally meet up with Jeff. It seems like we've been visiting each other's blogs for a long time now, so it was wonderful to meet IRL.

Jeff: I know! I don't want people at work to know I have a blog, so I just use "internet" instead. Which, unfortunately, has a bad rep... but hell, I'm not 15. Some people at work don't even want their NAME on our work website; they are too afraid of "stalkers" ... Yikes. Too bad for them; they don't get to meet great people like you and your family!

JoJo: Heh, heh...

Kathy: At least I didn't freak out the Customs guys by declaring THAT the reason for our trip outside our country (unlike some OTHER blogger I know - cough, cough) ;)

Lotus07: I KNOW! (And I love that term, "Internet TART"! Har!!)

Toners: It was fun... now if I could only get back to Colorado and visit one of my favorite card-makers...

MYM said...

LOL! I can just imagine their shock. I wouldn't be able to keep a straight face, lol.

So cool that you got to meet Jeff & family! :D

Gattina said...

You should have told her a tale, lol ! and then take a picture of her face. How nice to meet a blogger in flesh and blood, so far I hadn't the pleasure yet !

Irene said...

I have yet to meet a blogger face to face, but I feel I know many of them already and consider them my best friends.

Maureen said...

Drowsey: Yeah, I wouldn't have been able to keep from laughing as well... and yes, it was great to meet Jeff. He's as nice in person as he is on his blog.

Gattina: I wish I had known you back in 1976! That is when we were in your fine town of Waterloo... on a school trip to the UK, The Netherlands, Belgium and France. I loved it!

Irene: And me as well... in fact, one is named Irene! ;)

Anonymous said...

I've never been to the Mall of America. I want to go so badly.

Tara R. said...

I don't think I would be able to keep my sanity if we had a Mall like that near us. How cool that you got to meet a blogging friend. Hopefully I'll that same chance next month at the BlogHer Reach Out.

Karen MEG said...

Fantastic that you got to meet up with Jeff... and family ;). I suspected he might be "the man". You must have been laughing the whole time... you both have such wonderful senses of humour!

Cupcake Blonde said...

You are so naughty! Letting your co-workers think you ran off on some tryst. How fun!

Sounds like a great time. I have been lucky enough to meet two blogger buds. I hope someday to meet many more (including you!)

I want to go to the MoA too, but surprsingly not to shop. I want to ride the roller coaster! :)

Jo Beaufoix said...

Sounds fabulous. Some people just don't get blog friends do they?

Lisa @ Boondock Ramblings said...

Look at Jeff...He looks so...how can I say it? Normal?

:-)

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