What a day!!!!   It is Wednesday night when I write this and I am recovering resting easily in my hotel room after a fun filled evening with Bernie of One Mixed Bag fame.  I “met” Bernie awhile ago through a blog hop and have followed her blog religiously ever since I found her.  She is funny and witty, gifted and creative, open and sincere and has the biggest heart of anyone I have met recently.

When Bernie told me she was coming to visit her awesome friends in Duluth and beyond I was hoping beyond hope that I could actually arrange to meet her in person.  Our mutual blogger friend, Audrey from Minnesota Prairie Roots, hoped to join in the fun also and many emails went back and forth from Iowa to Minnesota to Montana in anticipation of Bernie’s arrival.

My sweet husband suggested I just get a room in Minneapolis so I didn’t have to drive back at night and I took him up on that generous offer since I was to meet Bernie when her flight got in this afternoon and we were to have dinner before she headed to Duluth.  Unfortunately it did not work out for Audrey to make it this time but next time we will make sure it happens.

My youngest son questioned if I really “knew” her and I assured him that she was a good person and I would be fine.  He said that it probably wasn’t much different than online dating which he does all the time and I told him that I bet I knew more about her than he knew about any of his dates!!!   i think I am right.

The flight was early (thank you Delta app for telling me the new arrival time) so I hustled to the airport and waited patiently.  Well, maybe a little impatiently if truth be known but there she came!!!  What I neglected to do was take her picture with her tiara and great glasses on —-I totally forgot to do that but I did make her a sign so that she knew who I was!

We got her luggage and headed out of the airport where we chilled out at the hotel and had dinner and talked and talked and talked.  So here’s the thing—Bernie is even better in person than she is in writing!  Not that I really had any doubts but when you meet someone for the first time it is sometimes awkward.  None of that with us!  We have a ton in common including the gift of having people just tell us their life stories without prompting which happened at dinner with the hostess.

A nice dinner, about 5 hours of non stop conversation and I am hooked.  I am a number one Bernie fan and so glad that I had the chance to meet her and one of her unique purses….

Oh and did I mention she gave me presents??? Wonderful presents!!!!

Bernie was catching a ride with the brother of a friend whom I named “The Transporter” to Duluth and he doesn’t get the whole blogger scene and was a little concerned for her safety.  I, on the other hand, was a little worried about sending her with The Transporter but when he showed up all was well.  He even snapped a picture of us before they left (can you tell tomorrow is haircut and color day for me??? Not a moment too soon!  Of course the 100 mile winds today did not help me any.).

So that, my friends, is my story of my meeting with Bernie. The time went much too quickly but it was wonderful to actually meet in person. Life is so short and I have realized that if I have the chance to do something that I want to do I just need to do it. Today was the perfect example of that.  Being able to actually meet Bernie in person was the best thing that I could have done today.  I am blessed.   And Bernie—Happy Birthday and have a wonderful time in Minnesota with your friends!!!!