VJ Meetup (NYS/ON Area....).....July 11th, 2010!

[antda 13]

P.P.S. We'll be the ones with the baby and the blue shirts....We won't be hard to miss....

Though just in case you do get lost and/or have other problems along the way....

I'll PM all those who have RSVPed with my private cell phone number, so you can contact us just in case.....

Hope that helps too...

Ant

Edited July 10, 2010 by Ant+D+BabyA

[OBX 51]

No allergies here!

I actually forgot to bring my camera...I believe it is sitting on my desk in NJ wating to be packed. I'll just borrow my son's.

Looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow.

Edited July 10, 2010 by OBX

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Have fun everyone! I'm looking forward to seeing the pictures! I've had great experiences meeting up with other VJers so I know you'll have a super time.

[sdw 10]

No allergies here. Going to put my camera in my bag no so I don't forget it tomorrow.

[antda 13]

OBX and Sdw- Ok...Glad to hear about the no food allergies...(didn't want anyone to get sick because of that)...

On that note...I just finished packing the goodie bags, filled with all sorts of snack food treats.....Hope you all enjoy those too...

And yes, the views will be great...You'll catch some great ones with the cameras...

Kathryn41-Thanks for your well wishes...Glad to hear that you had a good time in your meetup, and likewise, I hope that this meeting will be a great experience too...

I'll definitely post a "review" of the meetup here on VJ! So you can all read about that too..

(someone else can help me with the photos..as I still can't figure out how to post photos on VJ)....

Ok...So I'll log off for the day/night...We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow...

Looking forward to seeing OBX, SDW, Pauley, and guests for tomorrow!

Ant

[antda 13]

P.S. I'll stick an American and/or Canadian flags on Baby A's stroller..That can help in finding us too...

Ant

[Pauley 2]

I'll probably take quite a few pics on my new iPhone 4, and photo privacy is no problem; I'm happy to share preferred-private pics offline or via email. Some friends here had a similar request at an airshow once -- they had no problem with me posting pics of them, but none with their 6-yo daughter's face, for safety concerns.

Good to hear on food... Wish we could bring our frisbee; we won't be able to retrieve it from Toronto until next weekend. looking forward to seeing everyone there!

[sdw 10]

Had a blast today. Was great meeting everyone and sharing our stories. Will post pictures later on or tomorrow.

[OBX 51]

What a great time! It was so nice to put faces to names and share all of our crazy stories. I am sure there will be more details to follow once we all rest up.

[antda 13]

Hi Everyone,

Likewise, we had a great time meeting with all of you at Niagara Falls yesterday...

And yes, it's nice to put a face to the names and to hear all of your stories too....

Thanks for being there OBX, Sdw + spouse, Pauley + spouse....

Thanks too, for the drinks, food, treats, and gifts....

Lol.....

OBX- You win the prize for the most complicated story...

Sdw- Did you get one of those local souveniers on the way out?...

Pauley- Make sure you don't lose that backup file!.....

We didn't get home until very late last night...And are still pretty exhausted...

So I'll post more about the meetup (in this message thread) by this week....

Until then....Glad that you all enjoyed the meeting...

And yes, feel free to post about your prespectives on this message thread about the meeting too...Thanks for posting....

It would be interesting to hear the 'coverage' from 4 different points of view.......

Ant (+D+BabyA)

P.S. I'll keep in touch via e-mail too.....So you'll probably hear more of a personal reply from there too....

Edited July 12, 2010 by Ant+D+BabyA

[Pauley 2]

Lots of fun meeting everyone yesteday! Looking forward to keeping in touch!

[OBX 51]

I just got back to NJ tonight. Thanks for the snack bag Ant, I had lots of tasty leftovers for my drive home

I haven't taken my camera out of the case yet but I'll get to the photos tomorrow for sure and post my "review".

[OBX 51]

Okay I've downloaded my photos, I'll post a few of the park. I hope everyone's "ROC evidence" photos turned out..well except mine. Pauley, feel free to photoshop mine and substitute any appropriate male for my missing husband, alternatively the soccer ball icon will do

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised at how nice the US side of Niagara Falls was. The grounds and pathways were well maintained and meandered throughout the park unlike the Canadian side which is pretty much a straight walk. I enjoyed the park atmosphere rather than the touristy Canadian side. While the view of the Horseshoe Falls isn't direct you get a much closer feel for the rapids and the edge of the Falls from the US side.

Crossing into and out of the US was no problem at all. Having never used the Rainbow Bridge in all of my over 20 years in Niagara I was surprised at how busy it was with people visiting both sides. Going into the US I had no wait but going back to Welland it took me 20 minutes just to cross the bridge! (I should have found that washroom before I left the park. )

Meeting everyone was great. As anyone who has met up with fellow VJers knows there is an instant connection with others that have gone through the same thing. It was lots of fun (and very entertaining) to hear everyone's "How did you meet?" stories. It was a nice change for me to hear all of the "Canadian" accents for a bit instead of what I get here in New Jersey.

All in all it was a great time. I hope we can do it again and for those of you traveling down my way let's do dinner in NYC

[antda 13]

Hi Everyone,

Here is the written general review of the meeting, from my perspective…..

Hope all you VJers find this review to be helpful and informative…..

"VJ Canada/America Meetup (Niagara Falls, NY, USA)...July 11, 2010"

Ant's Perspective...

12pm-2pm:

It was a bright and sunny summer morning. Packed with the snack bags, camera, other things, we (Ant+D+BabyA) were ready for the 2hr drive to Niagara Falls State Park for the VJ meetup. I was surprised to see the parking lot full, and so many people at the park, but I guess at this time of the year it is a popular attraction there. We quickly went into the air-conditioned visitors center to feed and change the baby, and then went back outside to meet with the others by the flags in front of the building.

2pm-6pm:

It took us awhile to find each other (lol..I guess I should have given more precise directions and descriptions), but we somehow managed to do such. We met first with Obx in front of the visitors center when we first got there, and then with Sdw and Sdws husband immediately after that at around 2pm or so. We chatted and walked together to the nearby rapids and then walked around a bit more before returning to the visitor center for the later meeting with Pauley and Pauleys wife. As soon as everyone showed up, we decided to have some refreshments before we continued on our way. So we all sat in a semi-circle around the tree on the lawn in front of the visitors center, and had our VJ Canadian picnic there, with Obx bringing the beverages/drinks and Canadian souvenirs, Sdw bringing the cinnamon rolls, and us bringing the snack packs.

We as a group started introducing ourselves, and along the way talked about some of the following general topics: How we met/married, the immigration process/immigration-related stuff (consulate reviews, green card processes, citizenship), Canadian culture (bagged vs. jugged milk, word/vocabulary differences, other cultural differences), life in America (moving, educaton/jobs, what we liked/disliked about America, our new areas/communities), our families and friends, other funny stories, etc. Throughout the conversations, it was great to see how the VJers connected with each other and realized that we had similar things in common too, especially as Canadians and Americans.

Afterwards, as a group, we then walked around the winding trails and paths around the falls, taking photos of the scenic view, individuals/couples, and a few group photos, while we talked more along the way as a group and individually amongst the couples. Green card evidence, we all joked, as our photos were taken, with our many cameras that we had all brought. The views of the three different falls and of the bridges and green park areas were absolutely magnificent on this bright and sunny summer day, as we could see all the way to Canada, from our side of the falls on the American side. It was funny too, how Baby A fell asleep and was relaxed in the stroller, while D helped push him along the winding trails.

And before we knew it, it was about 4 hours later, it was getting late, and we were all getting tired too. So we exchanged contact information, and headed out of the park in our separate directions back home (or to wherever else we were headed to)…

Overall, I and my family enjoyed the meeting. It was definitely nice to put a name to the faces and nice to hear and share about similar experiences too.

Thanks everyone, for such a great VJ Canada/America Meetup!

Ant

Edited July 14, 2010 by Ant+D+BabyA

[antda 13]

Glad you all made it back home safely after that long trip.

Looking forward to keeping in touch too...

You're welcome about the snack packs. Lol..Glad that that filled you up on the ride home too.

Thanks too, OBX, for posting the scenery photos (they look great!) of Niagara Falls, and for posting your description about such too. I agree, that the park-like setting of the American side of the falls is better than the Canadian touristy side of the falls. And hence, I thought that it would be a good place for us to all meet.....

Ant