I have always had a hard time meeting new people.
That was a contributing reason why I joined Alpha Phi Omega, a national co-ed service fraternity, while I was at Texas A&M University. Since I enjoy helping others, I could do that while basically being forced to meet others through the fraternity system.
I think the main (maybe the only) reason I like Facebook is because I can meet people without having to meet people. Then, once I’m comfortable meeting them, if I go to where they are, I will try to look them up.
Blogging is the same thing. People find my blog, I find theirs, we become Internet friends, and maybe somewhere down the road we’ll meet, either at their place or mine.
Yesterday, Barb (Life in the Foothills) and her husband (Paul), came to San Diego after their Carnival cruise had docked in Long Beach. Long Beach is about 110 miles from me, so they certainly didn’t have to go out of their way to come down here instead of going directly back home to life in the foothills. I don’t know whether or not they came here specifically to see me, but they sure made me feel like they did.
Jim and I took them to the San Diego Zoo, where we spent 4½ hours traipsing around watching the animals and, of course, taking pictures:
After we wore ourselves out at the Zoo, we had drinks and food at On The Border.
Barb makes the fourth WordPress blogger that I have met in actual reality since I started using the WordPress platform on January 7, 2012. Here is my complete list now:
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Rommel (The Sophomore Slump) — Rommel and I went to the USS Midway Museum on May 27, 2012. See his pictures and my pictures.
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Bashar A. (2 Rivers Photos) — Bashar, Jim, and I went to the La Jolla Cove on October 17, 2012, to take pictures of a negative tide and a beautiful sunset. See his pictures and my pictures.
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Marsha Lee (Marsha Lee) — Marsha came down with some long-time friends of hers on January 5, 2013, just to spend some time in San Diego. She and her friends introduced Jim and me to a new restaurant here in San Diego. See her pictures and my pictures.
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Barb (Life in the Foothills) — Barb and Paul were on a cruise that originated in Long Beach. After their cruise, they came down to San Diego to visit Jim and me. They just got home today so keep an eye on her blog for pictures of their cruise and trip to the San Diego Zoo. I’m still cataloging the 380 pictures I took, so stay tuned here, too, and I’ll have some pictures this week.
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Will YOU be next on this list?
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This is a very cool post, Russel…thanks for sharing this story. 🙂 Oh, and if you’re ever in the San Francisco area…let me know!
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Will do!
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🙂
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thanks for sharing Russel! WOW, didn’t know you could actually meet fellow bloggers in person.. 🙂
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Pretty neat!
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Awesome! 🙂
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I wouldn’t mind being next on the list! Unlikely to travel that far, though. Sigh!
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That’s fantastic!
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It is always great to meet your virtual followers. Great to finally see a picture of Barb (or is this her?).
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That’s Barb! I would have had a few more pictures of her and Paul but I also took quite a few videos which really eat up camera battery power. Thus I ran out of camera batteries while at the Zoo. I ordered two more batteries yesterday.
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Paul and I wanted to give both you and Jim huge hugs for such a wonderful time at the zoo and at dinner! We thoroughly enjoyed our time with you both! And, yes, we did come down to specifically see you! My photo count from the zoo: 418! Total trip count: 999! I will be busy for quite some time! Hugs to you both, and our door is always open to you! Barb and Paul
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I had 380. I would have had many more but I ran out of batteries just before the red pandas. I took quite a few videos which really eat up camera battery power but I had never used up both of my batteries before. Thus I ordered two more batteries yesterday. Maybe I’ll be able to get by with four………lol
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I thought I had 999 photos. I actually shot, all told throughout the entire vacation, over 1400! I will be posting an article tomorrow with some of the bird photos that I took. I hope that you check it out! Loved meeting you and Jim! We had a wonderful time with you both, and that dinner was truly amazing! Thank you for the tickets into the zoo and the discount coupon for the shirt and hat we bought! Please do come and visit!
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As a full-time RVer I’d like to know about the RV Parks and Campgrounds in and around San Diego. Maybe you can post in the future about some of the more interesting ones. If you ever have a moment of “oh, what ever shall I post about next?”
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https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=rv+parks+in+san+diego&fb=1&gl=us&hq=rv+parks&hnear=0x80d9530fad921e4b:0xd3a21fdfd15df79,San+Diego,+CA&ei=_l99UbTGHanziwLa6YCABw&sqi=2&ved=0CNcBELYD
I have had friends stay at A and B on the map and can recommend them since I visited them while said friends were here.
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Don’t think I will make it. Nice to know you went to A&M though ( I did not but live in Texas) and this post was very interesting.
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Hi Russel,
Yep, I’d love to! 🙂 Thx for the invitation. 😉 California is certainly on my bucket list, especially as my wife’s daughter lives and works there [in San Jose]. Btw, my wife is just visiting with her, while I’m here, holding the fort and looking after our “zoo”. But I really want to go there some time soon. My idea would be to go one way by train, from San Antonio. A few years ago we did it by car, and that was a great experience, too.
Best regards from southern Texas, and have a great Sunday,
Pit
P.S.: I agree with you that I have found many friends via the internet, especially by blogging. Oh, I even met my wife on the internet! Most important day of my life, that March 5, 1998! 🙂
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AWESOME! What a fab day. If I hadn’t had such a terrible cold in San Diego I could’ve hooked up. Next time, my treat.
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very nice..i love zoe’s cool cat photo.
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I too feel like I’m making friends through Facebook and blogging. I’m also getting to know other authors through my marketing and while we are not meeting in person, I do feel that my “world” is explanding.
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expanding – not explanding!!!
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I was jealous because your world was explanding. I wanted my world to expland, too!…………lol
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Hi Russel,
Fun post! If I ever get down to San Diego, you may be sure that I will look you up. Let me know if you are ever going to be up Seattle way. Our Pike Place market is very picturesque–perfect for a photo shoot! Thanks for another great post.
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Jim and I love Seattle (#2 behind San Diego), and Washington (#2 behind California). We went up there annually from 1994 to 2001. We have not flown anywhere since 9/11 nor traveled outside of California since we got married. Since our marriage isn’t recognized in many states, we don’t want to get caught in one of those states and have something happen to one of us that the other would not be allowed to resolve.
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I am proud that Washington has finally recognized the need for equal rights for all citizens, and legalized same-sex marriage. I love Washington, and Seattle, which is on the green side of the mountains, and a progressive city.
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That is really neat that you’ve been able to meet some of your blogger friends and even have a chance to show them around! I love it!
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wonderful post 🙂
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I have dreams of meeting people I speak to here at WP 🙂 sigh,…who knows when they turn real
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I have plans to visit my college friend in Long Beach, Mississippi in 2014! So, will definitely “tune in” when you talk about where you are now!
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I was the 2nd???? I thought I’d in double digits!! Thanks for the mention and hope to hang out soon… once this school thing is over.
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You were #2 from my WordPress friends. Probably #22 if I include the place where I was blogging from July 2007 to January 2012.
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I’m with you on this. Jody and Greg from http://beachtreasuresandtreasurebeaches.com/ came for a short visit. I wish it were longer – there’s so much to see here up in the redwoods. I, too, have a list. 😀 Darylann in Crescent City.
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I just think the fact that you have met some of your blogging friends is really cool.
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What a great post Russel. I will definitely let you know when I’m in San Diego one day. I don’t get across to the States as often as I’d like but California is on my list. Blogging friendships are great things, I agree. Best wishes from this Brit in Hamburg, Germany.
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Hello Russel, I’ve been having a great time perusing your blog since you followed us. When I came across this post I thought “How Appropriate for a first comment!” I’m curious how you found us in this great big wordpress world…we are pretty new to this whole blogging thing.
It is very nice to meet you! and I’m really looking forward to your tips on your ‘How I Did It’ section!
k- of k&p Catalano
http://pibbsdreamquest.com
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I found you by clicking on a link in the blog of someone else I follow. Don’t remember who it was, but that’s how I find people. I figure if I’m following Person A, I must like Person A. If Person B comes by and leaves an intelligent comment on Person A’s blog, then I’ll click on the link to Person B, look around real quickly, and usually follow. Then, a day or two later I’ll stop back by Person B’s blog to do some reading, liking, and commenting.
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That does make a lot of sense. Much better than being just ‘tagged’ by someone looking to generate ‘followers’. Before I follow back I like to see their comment history. If I see a ton of “Hey thanks for following My blog” but the person can’t even be bothered to respond, I’ll generally skip the ‘follow them back’ part. It’s important to us to have genuine readers, folks that can interact on our blog because we really mean it when we say we value their comments. When you are trying to help others and ‘problem solve’, the more suggestions our readers come up with the better the quality of information.
Have a great day Russel! and thanks again for following and commenting back!
k- of k&p Catalano
http://pibbsdreamquest.com
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Comments are an issue with me. I refuse to reply to each every comment. I dislike the person who feels it necessary to reply to each and every comment with something like “Thanks” and “Appreciate it.” It gets tedious to do that, not to mention dull, boring, and uninteresting.
I prefer to spend my time writing in my own blog and reading someone else’s blog rather than commenting for the sake of commenting.
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