LIFE SPEEDS BY

We do many fun and interesting things that don't make it to the blog. I have the best intentions of sharing, but it doesn't always happen. I don't have good photo for illustration, or I get caught up in other online activities, or I have so MANY photos I can't decide which to post, or how to tie them together.

Every so often I "clear the decks" and accept that certain "noteworthy" items will remain undescribed; believe it or not, this includes some memorable meals (like the delicious Thai-Style Curried Mussels we had last night - we are on a mussel-eating binge).

Still, I couldn't let this photo languish, as it represents to me one of the fun experiences we have in our travels: meeting in person an individual we have only met online. (It is more accurate to say "I have met online", as I am the official correspondent for this team.)

It is a big step to go from the enjoyment of a "virtual" friendship, born of similar interests shared in thoughfully crafted posts on online forums and later nutured in personal email exchanges, to the reality of meeting in the "real" world. Actually, I seldom suggest it.

However, I didn't want to leave this area of the Pacific Northwest without giving a hug to a particularly interesting online friend, so Odel and I spent a recent afternoon matching a face to signature. It was a grand time, and I snapped this photo from her porch as the sun disappeared behind the Olympic Mountains, towering over the Hood Canal, while we relaxed with our new friends.

Traveling as we do has widely expanded our circle of friends, both in the real world and in the virtual reality of forums, blogs, and emails. I had a funny experience the other day: an email friend wrote to me with a link to a blog that described the Epicurian Excursion walking tour that Odel and I had taken in Portland. After reading Jo and Fred Wishnies' wonderful blog, I contacted Jo to rave about it.

In her reply, Jo revealed to me that it was our blog that turned her on to the Epicurian Excursion in the first place. Funny, huh? The Wishnies' Trip Journal is excellent; I hope we can meet up with them someday.