It never fails to amaze me just how vast the web really is! Just imagine what your life might have been like a hundred years ago: Your best friend lived in the same town as you; your entire world consisted of what happened in a five-mile radius.... If you happened to move away...your ties were broken...you made new friends! You had no choice; you might not ever see your old friends again...Out of necessity,they were replaced.

But that isn't the case anymore. My best friend lives not in my town, not even in my country. She lives in a town that I never even heard of. Not a conventional friendship by any means; we met online!

Actually, I met her husband online. I had signed his guestbook and he, for some reason or other said, "you should message my wife. I think the two of you would have a lot in common!" He had no idea ! It all started with a simple message and it has blossomed into a full blown friendship.

You see, I wanted to have a web site of my own and I 'm not technically Inclined, but Debbie and her husband Ray are! When I think of the questions that I sent to them and all of the answers that they patiently sent back, I am amazed!

And when I couldn't figure something out on my own, they would go in and actually do it for me! Talk about being a friend! Two total strangers that I happened upon by accident, and they were willing to go all out to help me!

Now, after a nine-month friendship we have decided that it is time to meet. We are packing up our families and we are meeting face to face in August. She is busy getting their campsite ready and we are going to spend four days together.

So how do I feel about our meeting? A little scared I must admit. While we have become best friends across a computer screen, what do we do when we come face to face? Do we throw our arms around each other or do we take it a little slower and shake hands? After a few minutes of deliberation, I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with the big hug!

Debbie and Shirley and Becky too!...Face To Face!

Yes, the story takes a twist. Not only was I going to meet one cyberfriend, I was about to meet two! Small world or what?

We left Canada late morning. All I could think about was this meeting. The closer we got to our destination of Hudson, NY, (which would take us seven hours), the more nervous I got! What if we had nothing in common? What if there were strained silences? And there was a little matter of the warnings we had been given..."Are you crazy? These people could be axe murderers! You are just asking for trouble."

All of these things were running through my mind when we pulled into the boat launch . I scanned the parking lot looking for the yellow stationwagon, and there it was and there was a man stretched out on the hood. It had to be Ray, Debbie's husband. It was too late to turn around now. By this time, I was so nervous, I felt sick.

Okay, the first encounter was a little strained on both parts: polite, but the noise of the boat that was to take us to the ISLAND prevented any conversation. Everyone was virtually silent. Finally we arrive at the island. It seemed to take forever when you are wondering what you've gotten your family into. Suddenly, I spotted someone waving. I assumed it was Debbie, and I nervously waved back.

Actually there were a few more people on the island. What I thought was Deb's daughter turned out to be Becky. (Whatever that woman uses on her face, I want some too.) There was a cute little blonde (more about her later) and a six year old boy, Becky's son Devin. Now was the time of reckoning...to hug or not to hug?

Suddenly, all of the tension just melted away. The sunny smiles of excitement on all the faces diffused all thoughts of axe murderers, and it was hugs for everyone. It seemed silly now but it appeared that we had all been warned about each other. Becky had been warned about us being mass murderers! Instead, friendships started to grow.

And it just wasn't among Deb, Becky and myself. Ray and Gary (my husband) hit it off and that cute little blonde...she had an eye for my 18-year-old son Jamie. To his amazement, she followed him around the island and then crawled into his lap. He was at a loss, much to his sister's amusement. Exactly what do you do with a three-year-old?

Britt (my 16-year-old) enjoyed herself as well. She taught Becky's son the finer points of baseball with a plastic bat and ball. And then it was time for dinner. We all headed for the Rayville pavilion. While we ate corn on the cob, barbecued chicken, and a multitude of salads, the rain fell all around us. What a wonderful afternoon!

Dessert followed, which must have kept Deb busy for weeks. We ate chocolate pudding cake, double chocolate cookies, apple dumplings, fresh cinnamon raisin buns and oodles of whipping cream. I'm surprised that we didn't sink the boat on the return trip to shore.

Our visit was far from over however. The next day we were going to the County Fair. I had never been to even one and that this fair was older than my COUNTRY amazed me! Believe it or not, there were two more family members to meet: Ray's son Ray3 and Deb's daughter Missy both had jobs at the fair!

I also tried my first "fried dough". I had never heard of it and to tell you the truth, the name didn't exactly inspire me. But all around me people were walking around with plates of this "delicacy." "You've got to try it," I was told, and it was surprisingly good! (It's on my list for next year.)

As the night progressed, Becky, with a two-hour drive ahead of her called an end to our three-way get together. More hugs and we all called it a night. Good thing too, because Ray had work the next morning!

Our holiday wasn't quite over. My family spent the next day shopping, and Britt practiced her New York accent. She has mastered "hot dawg" and she's working on "caw-fee." Those are the only two words that we could hear that sounded different to us.

Then we were back to Deb's house by 3:30 that afternoon. I planned on staying maybe an hour or so; it turned out to be eight! We went through lots more coffee, more desserts to sample and lots more conversation...yes...eight hours' worth...

This time, it was to be our last good-bye. We would be heading back to Canada the following day. These hugs were a little more tearful. We had spent three days together and the friendships were stronger than ever and it was more of a family thing now.

So where do we go from here??? Plans are already underway for another get-together next year ...same time...same place...

if not sooner!