Hi folks. Took a week or so off to recharge the ol’ batts. Didja miss me?

Next week will mark two years that Tumblemoose has been around the blogosphere. I have no idea where the time went. It seems like I just wrote my one year anniversary post.

In the two years that I’ve been blogging, I’ve never met one of my online buddies – until last week. I’m certain that geography plays into my isolationist behavior, but I know that there are other factors that are part of the equation. I tend to be not too much of a social creature and I enjoy the solitude of just me and the laptop laying waste to white space.

Now don’t get me wrong. There are a lot of folks that frequent my haunts that I would love to get a peek at and even hoist a mug (or shot glass. YOU know who you are).

Last spring, one of my favorite writers let me know that he and his wife would be visiting Alaska in the summer. Since he’s one of my favorite peeps and since I’m proud of my state (except the freakin’ weather) I offered to show him around and at a minimum to meet with him.

I received an email from him a bit later outlining the dates they would be in Alaska and we agreed to meet in Seward. Seward is one of my favorite places in Alaska. It’s right on the ocean and when the weather is good, there isn’t a more beautiful place in Alaska. Even when the weather is rainy and miserable, Seward just can’t be beat.

It was a Maddy week and she loves Seward like I do so we made a little trip of it. We left early Sunday morning and headed south. It’s a beautiful two hour drive from Anchorage.

Wildlife count: 1 pod of beluga whales, numerous bald eagles, some jellyfish and two dead porcupines (which fascinated Maddy even more than the whales did).

We were to meet my friend for lunch at about noon. I was excited to be meeting him and his wife. I wasn’t nervous at all. Everything about it felt “right.” When I stepped out of the car, I heard Wayne call out. I grinned, waved and walked right on over and gave him a big hug. No formal handshake here, folks.

You see, Wayne Long and I have a connection. I think it has been there since we first discovered each other. Long time readers will recognize Wayne from his thoughtful and striking comments that he leaves as he frequents the Tumblemoose site.

Lunch was great and our time was too damned short. Maddy was enthralled by Wayne and his gracious and lovely wife. I could see why Maddy was taken with him. Wayne is a big, gentle, bear of a man. Soft spoken and kind eyes that reveal the depth of the man.

We chatted about life, writing, his HAM radio shenanigans and how great it was to connect.

The good-byes were brief and a bit sad. It was amazing. I spent two hours with Wayne yet when we left, I felt as if we had been friends for years.

I’m happy that my first in person meeting with an online friend went so well. It has set a very high standard, though. I hope that in the future I can meet more of my online buddies.

I’m curious to know of your experiences. How many of you have met someone in person that you originally met online? (Craigslist doesn’t count but if you want to privately email me with all the juicy details then I’m all ears)