Well I know that other people's holiday photos are dead boring, but you did ask.... Well, Monkeybiter did, anyway.
I've been friends with Dave Richards, of Sketchup fame, for quite a few years now. Probably a decade. We chat on Skype every Sunday. It started as a shared interest in wookwork and SU, but we found we had lots of other things in common, too. We always say "When you come over, we'll do this", and "When you come over, we'll do that", and "When you come over, we'll do the other". A couple of years ago, Dave was going to come to the UK for a training course, and we sort of got used to the idea that we would meet up. But it fell though.
Last summer we were having one of our "When you come over, we'll do this" conversations, and I pointed out that as neither of us was getting any younger and it was no use waiting until we were hanging on to zimmers, that if we were going to do it, we should do it.
Then I figured that if I was going to fly over New York, I should jump off for a few days and take a look. I've not had a holiday since the domestic balloon went up six years ago, so my mate Bob and I went to the Big Apple, where we saw this
and that
and the other
then he came home and I went on to Dave where I was made very welcome indeed. Though it did not start well. I'd bought a very nice bottle of Bowmore, but travelling domestically it had to go in my checked luggage. Despite being in a box, it did not survive and I pulled a suitcase off the carousel which smelled divinely peaty but was rather soggier than I had hoped for. So our first conversation was along the lines of
"Hello, you must be Steve"
"Hello, you must be Dave, can I use your washing machine, please?"
So I then spent the happiest week I can remember, eating the best steak I've ever had, making fish pie and bread and butter pudding (we drove for an hour to get smoked haddock, what sort of country is this?) and pretending to be Captain Birdseye. Or Pugwash, not sure which.
I also bought up Rockler
We even did a bit of woodwork together.
So despite a 30-odd hour journey home I feel better than I have done for years. Long may it continue. Thank you Dave.
I have Ray and CemPanel coming on Wednesday.