Blogging and real life

People who don't blog have trouble understanding blog friendships.

Recently one of my sons asked me, "Do you actually KNOW any of these people?" "These people," of course, being the people whose blogs I read, or who read my blog.

"Yes, actually, I do," I was able to answer. Boy, did I feel proud.

And I have photographic evidence.

You see, recently my friend Amanda from Serenity Now mentioned that she'd be traveling from her home in Virginia down to Siler City, North Carolina. Siler City is just one hour away from my home. So I asked Amanda if she might have any free time while she was in North Carolina, so that she and I could perhaps meet in person.

Here's the cool part. Amanda was traveling with her mother and her two little girls, Natalie and Michaela. They were visiting her grandmother. Four generations of girls in one house. Not when you'd expect anyone to have any free time. But Amanda made some free time for me. I drove to Siler City and she and I had lunch at the coolest little diner downtown. Just look:

This could be a set for The Andy Griffith Show, couldn't it?

Not sure why it's called the Sidewalk Cafe', but they sure make a mean grilled cheese sandwich. I'm a sucker for a good grilled cheese.

I had the best time talking to Amanda. She's just as witty and personable and fun in real life as she is on her blog, and it was wonderful to have her all to myself! Actually, we had so much fun that we didn't notice that they were closing down the diner all around us. Finally the manager turned off the overhead lights, which prompted us to pause our conversation. We were embarrassed to learn that their closing time had been about 45 minutes before. Can you imagine that level of graciousness? They let us just sit there and talk while they worked all around us getting things closed up for the day. That's Southern hospitality, folks.

We thanked the manager profusely, then asked her to take our picture. Do you think that was going too far?

Notice the "Closed" sign in the window? Ahem. If you go to Siler City, check out the Sidewalk Cafe'--but be sure to get there before two o'clock!

Now, on top of all the fun of meeting Amanda, imagine my delight when she presented me with a gift bag just as we were parting. She said, "This is just a little gift to thank you for driving all the way here to meet me." Wasn't that the sweetest thing? And just look at the fun goodies she gave me:

If you don't already read Amanda's blog, this week would be a good time to start. Tomorrow she's hosting one of her parties. Amanda is the one of the best party-givers in Blogland. Her parties are fun times of interacting with other bloggers.

So tell me. Have you ever met any of "these people" in real life?