The Ricky Maveety/Desertgrandma meetup

desertgrandma · 03-04-2009, 07:11 PM

Well, we finally did it. We had breakfast this morning, at a Village Inn. Great food, great company.

Now, before I get started on our adventures, let me just say this. Ricky is every bit as genuine as she seems to be online. We only got to spend just over an hour together, but I'm already feeling i found a good friend.
So picture it. She finally calls at midnight last night, (home phone) to tell me she's been trying to call my cell for an hour and a half but just gets my voice mail.

Guess she didn't get my email about a bottle of water opening up in my purse and drowning my cell phone, something I didn't notice until the water seeped into my shoes......my brand new cell....

But, she calls, and tells me she was going to take the exit to Surprise and get a room, but in their infinite wisdom, the City had closed several exits for freeway roadwork. So she winds up 20 miles further up the road, in a not so nice area, and is allowed to pay an exorbitant price to stay there.

We talk a tad, and decide to meet for an early breakfast....I am not familiar with the area she in at all, and am stressing out over where to meet. What if I choose a place and the food is crappy? Will I never hear the end of it on MR? That kind of stuff.

As planned, I call her at 7:30, and she's actually awake and brushing her teeth! She jumps into the shower, and I jump into my car, for the 18 mile drive, which turned out to be easy peasy. Find a Village Inn close to her, we talk again, I give her directions, and settle down with my Kindle to wait.

A few minutes later, I get a call. I gave bad directions, she's passed where I am and I have her turn back and come the other way. She's calling out landmarks I can't see and I'm wondering if she's even in the same town.

Finally, I get out of the car, walk to the roadside, and tell her (we're still on the phone) "look for me, I'm on the road waving my Kindle around! Realize, this is an extremely busy road right next to the freeway, and its still rush hour. People are looking at me like I'm nuts, Ricky finally says "oh yeah that must be you, walking aimlessly in circles!" Unfortunately, it was.

She pulls into the driveway, and stops to talk, blocking a car behind her. She just had to inform me that I was fired ("forever", as she put it)as her navigator.

Finally, FINALLY, we meet. We hug. We walk into the restaurant and have breakfast, and talk about...a little of everything and nothing in particular.
I never got around to asking why it took so long to get out of the dealership.

She knows a few of my secrets and I know a few of hers.

I called and spoke to her at 4:30 my time and she was hurting, but wanted to drive as long as possible. I believe she's somewhere around Demming (sp?) About 450 miles from home.

She's promised to try and log in tonight if she can.

All in all, well worth all the hurdles we had to go thru to get together.

zelda_pinwheel · 03-04-2009, 07:15 PM

thanks for the update dg ! i'm so glad to hear the two of you were able to meetup and have a nice breakfast together (note to self : do not let dg do your navigating for you.

). i bet ricky was really glad to see a friendly face on her trip, particularly during this difficult time for her. i'm sure the next time either one of you is in the vicinity of the other one the logistics will go smoother ! it sounds like all the little mechanical details were working against you ! i'm glad you got it all figured out in the end. (so : was the food good ?

)

desertgrandma · 03-04-2009, 07:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

thanks for the update dg ! i'm so glad to hear the two of you were able to meetup and have a nice breakfast together (note to self : do not let dg do your navigating for you.

). i bet ricky was really glad to see a friendly face on her trip, particularly during this difficult time for her. i'm sure the next time either one of you is in the vicinity of the other one the logistics will go smoother ! it sounds like all the little mechanical details were working against you ! i'm glad you got it all figured out in the end. (so : was the food good ?

)

You know, I just don't understand.....but my husband says the same thing.......

And the food was good...

zelda_pinwheel · 03-04-2009, 07:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

You know, I just don't understand.....but my husband says the same thing.......

Quote:

And the food was good...

glad to hear it !!

lilac_jive · 03-04-2009, 07:34 PM

That's great you guys got to meet! I'm so jealous (well, except for the bad directions part

)

RickyMaveety · 03-04-2009, 07:48 PM

I only made it as far as Mesilla, NM tonight. As it happens, I was born here, and know the area fairly well. To top it off, while I paid $90 (and that was WITH the AAA discount) for a fleabag room last night, the AAA room rate here in Mesilla was only $70 AND they gave me an additional $20 "Hit by a truck" discount ... and the room is beautiful and I have free internet.

So, I'm going to wander over to Applebee's for some dinner and perhaps a drink (it's a short walk .... I'm too stiff to drive anywhere else tonight). Likely, I will watch the boob tube and hang out here a little bit tonight (unless my left hand gets a little too stiff to type).

I had a GREAT time this morning!!! Oh, and the why I got out of the dealership so damn late ....

Yesterday morning, Marian wanted to show me (and I really wanted to see) her studio (she is a brilliant artist ... and she's doing a series of murals called "Animal Dreams" for the Carnival Cruise line). That meant that I didn't even get to the dealership until 11:00.

So, then I ask for the guy that had been helping me, and I'm told that he won't be in until 2:30. I tell them that I really need to get this car purchased and get the hell out of there so I can get to Phoenix by 6:00.

Sales guy comes in to work two hours early, but now I've wasted a few hours just sitting around waiting for him. Then, they start the process of all the paperwork. All I can say is, thank the maker for my iPhone, because there were materials I needed to complete the sale that I only had on my notebook or in the cloud, and the dealership had no internet access and no way to hook me up to a printer to print any of it off from my notebook.

However, I realized that I could download those items to my phone and then email them to someone in the dealership so that they could print them out.

Of course, after he got a look at the car, Jack started driving back to San Diego, and right after he left I realized that, while I had my laptop bag with me, all of my clothing and toiletries were still in his car. I called his cell phone in a complete panic ... and luckily he picked up his cell messages before he had gotten very far.

In any event, it took them something like 5 hours to get me out the door with the key in my hand. And .... apparently that was an all time speed record. Now I remember why I hate car shopping so much.

I need a drink and then some serious pain meds. I'll talk to you all later.

ShortNCuddlyAm · 03-04-2009, 07:49 PM

Glad you finally met and even gladder you had such a great time!

zelda_pinwheel · 03-04-2009, 07:50 PM

glad to hear you're all right ricky !! have a quiet evening and get some rest. we'll all be here to keep you company if you get bored.

desertgrandma · 03-04-2009, 07:55 PM

Glad you stopped. I do take a tad bit of offense at the "fleabag" description of your motel in my great state tho.

Actually, I"m just hoping none of those fleas jumped on me this AM..........

RickyMaveety · 03-04-2009, 09:05 PM

Can't help it ... it was a crummy hotel and certainly not worth the insane price. However, I figure they probably heard I was coming and tacked on the standard "serial killer tax" to the normal price of the room.

I've had two lovely appletinis and a bunch of fried shrimp. I'm going to watch Lost and then crash ... maybe read a bit. But, I've got everything I need here in bed with me, and I'm not getting up unless there is a desperate need to pee.

RWood · 03-04-2009, 09:28 PM

I am happy for both of you (and a bit relieved) that you finally got together. I remember the fun I had at the Herndon Meet-up.

Now, are there pictures of the meeting that you want to share? We would love to see them.

lilac_jive · 03-04-2009, 09:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RWood

I am happy for both of you (and a bit relieved) that you finally got together. I remember the fun I had at the Herndon Meet-up.

Now, are there pictures of the meeting that you want to share? We would love to see them.

FYI I'm thinking there should be another NoVa meetup. It's a few hours from me, but I grew up in the area and would love to go to one.

daffy4u · 03-04-2009, 10:07 PM

Glad you made it out before the rains hit this morning! In my head (a bad place to be), I didn't even have you arriving in L.A. until Wednesday.

Enjoy your mellow drive.

RickyMaveety · 03-04-2009, 11:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daffy4u

Glad you made it out before the rains hit this morning! In my head (a bad place to be), I didn't even have you arriving in L.A. until Wednesday.

Enjoy your mellow drive.

Eeewww .... normally I love rain, but I'm not crazy about a 1400 mile drive in it. I measured it tonight .... it's actually quite a bit longer going from LA than it is from San Diego to HSB.

I wish that I could say the trip was mellow. It's been a bit painful for me so far ... nothing screaming painful, but it feel like half my body has the flu, and the other half is just tired from the drive.

I'm mellow tonight, though. Mellow, in bed and going to sleep early. I am going to try my best to drive the final 600 miles all in one day. Ouch.

GeoffC · 03-05-2009, 08:32 AM

Great stories, a good time was had by all (including the fleas).....

03-04-2009, 07:11 PM	#1
desertgrandma Enjoying the show.... Posts: 14,270 Karma: 10462843 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Arizona Device: A K1, Kindle Paperwhite, an Ipod, IPad2, Iphone, an Ipad Mini & macAir	The Ricky Maveety/Desertgrandma meetup Well, we finally did it. We had breakfast this morning, at a Village Inn. Great food, great company. Now, before I get started on our adventures, let me just say this. Ricky is every bit as genuine as she seems to be online. We only got to spend just over an hour together, but I'm already feeling i found a good friend. So picture it. She finally calls at midnight last night, (home phone) to tell me she's been trying to call my cell for an hour and a half but just gets my voice mail. Guess she didn't get my email about a bottle of water opening up in my purse and drowning my cell phone, something I didn't notice until the water seeped into my shoes......my brand new cell.... But, she calls, and tells me she was going to take the exit to Surprise and get a room, but in their infinite wisdom, the City had closed several exits for freeway roadwork. So she winds up 20 miles further up the road, in a not so nice area, and is allowed to pay an exorbitant price to stay there. We talk a tad, and decide to meet for an early breakfast....I am not familiar with the area she in at all, and am stressing out over where to meet. What if I choose a place and the food is crappy? Will I never hear the end of it on MR? That kind of stuff. As planned, I call her at 7:30, and she's actually awake and brushing her teeth! She jumps into the shower, and I jump into my car, for the 18 mile drive, which turned out to be easy peasy. Find a Village Inn close to her, we talk again, I give her directions, and settle down with my Kindle to wait. A few minutes later, I get a call. I gave bad directions, she's passed where I am and I have her turn back and come the other way. She's calling out landmarks I can't see and I'm wondering if she's even in the same town. Finally, I get out of the car, walk to the roadside, and tell her (we're still on the phone) "look for me, I'm on the road waving my Kindle around! Realize, this is an extremely busy road right next to the freeway, and its still rush hour. People are looking at me like I'm nuts, Ricky finally says "oh yeah that must be you, walking aimlessly in circles!" Unfortunately, it was. She pulls into the driveway, and stops to talk, blocking a car behind her. She just had to inform me that I was fired ("forever", as she put it)as her navigator. Finally, FINALLY, we meet. We hug. We walk into the restaurant and have breakfast, and talk about...a little of everything and nothing in particular. I never got around to asking why it took so long to get out of the dealership. She knows a few of my secrets and I know a few of hers. I called and spoke to her at 4:30 my time and she was hurting, but wanted to drive as long as possible. I believe she's somewhere around Demming (sp?) About 450 miles from home. She's promised to try and log in tonight if she can. All in all, well worth all the hurdles we had to go thru to get together.

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03-04-2009, 07:15 PM	#2
zelda_pinwheel zeldinha zippy zeldissima Posts: 27,827 Karma: 921169 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Paris, France Device: eb1150 & is that a nook in her pocket, or she just happy to see you?	thanks for the update dg ! i'm so glad to hear the two of you were able to meetup and have a nice breakfast together (note to self : do not let dg do your navigating for you. ). i bet ricky was really glad to see a friendly face on her trip, particularly during this difficult time for her. i'm sure the next time either one of you is in the vicinity of the other one the logistics will go smoother ! it sounds like all the little mechanical details were working against you ! i'm glad you got it all figured out in the end. (so : was the food good ? )

03-04-2009, 07:34 PM	#5
lilac_jive Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,870 Karma: 27376 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Pennsylvania Device: PRS-505	That's great you guys got to meet! I'm so jealous (well, except for the bad directions part )

03-04-2009, 07:48 PM	#6
RickyMaveety Holy S**T!!! Posts: 5,213 Karma: 108401 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: San Diego, California!! Device: Kindle and iPad	I only made it as far as Mesilla, NM tonight. As it happens, I was born here, and know the area fairly well. To top it off, while I paid $90 (and that was WITH the AAA discount) for a fleabag room last night, the AAA room rate here in Mesilla was only $70 AND they gave me an additional $20 "Hit by a truck" discount ... and the room is beautiful and I have free internet. So, I'm going to wander over to Applebee's for some dinner and perhaps a drink (it's a short walk .... I'm too stiff to drive anywhere else tonight). Likely, I will watch the boob tube and hang out here a little bit tonight (unless my left hand gets a little too stiff to type). I had a GREAT time this morning!!! Oh, and the why I got out of the dealership so damn late .... Yesterday morning, Marian wanted to show me (and I really wanted to see) her studio (she is a brilliant artist ... and she's doing a series of murals called "Animal Dreams" for the Carnival Cruise line). That meant that I didn't even get to the dealership until 11:00. So, then I ask for the guy that had been helping me, and I'm told that he won't be in until 2:30. I tell them that I really need to get this car purchased and get the hell out of there so I can get to Phoenix by 6:00. Sales guy comes in to work two hours early, but now I've wasted a few hours just sitting around waiting for him. Then, they start the process of all the paperwork. All I can say is, thank the maker for my iPhone, because there were materials I needed to complete the sale that I only had on my notebook or in the cloud, and the dealership had no internet access and no way to hook me up to a printer to print any of it off from my notebook. However, I realized that I could download those items to my phone and then email them to someone in the dealership so that they could print them out. Of course, after he got a look at the car, Jack started driving back to San Diego, and right after he left I realized that, while I had my laptop bag with me, all of my clothing and toiletries were still in his car. I called his cell phone in a complete panic ... and luckily he picked up his cell messages before he had gotten very far. In any event, it took them something like 5 hours to get me out the door with the key in my hand. And .... apparently that was an all time speed record. Now I remember why I hate car shopping so much. I need a drink and then some serious pain meds. I'll talk to you all later.

03-04-2009, 07:49 PM	#7
ShortNCuddlyAm WWHALD Posts: 7,879 Karma: 337114 Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Mitcham, Surrey, UK Device: iPad. Selling my silver 505 here	Glad you finally met and even gladder you had such a great time!

03-04-2009, 07:50 PM	#8
zelda_pinwheel zeldinha zippy zeldissima Posts: 27,827 Karma: 921169 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Paris, France Device: eb1150 & is that a nook in her pocket, or she just happy to see you?	glad to hear you're all right ricky !! have a quiet evening and get some rest. we'll all be here to keep you company if you get bored.

03-04-2009, 07:55 PM	#9
desertgrandma Enjoying the show.... Posts: 14,270 Karma: 10462843 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Arizona Device: A K1, Kindle Paperwhite, an Ipod, IPad2, Iphone, an Ipad Mini & macAir	Glad you stopped. I do take a tad bit of offense at the "fleabag" description of your motel in my great state tho. Actually, I"m just hoping none of those fleas jumped on me this AM..........

03-04-2009, 09:05 PM	#10
RickyMaveety Holy S**T!!! Posts: 5,213 Karma: 108401 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: San Diego, California!! Device: Kindle and iPad	Can't help it ... it was a crummy hotel and certainly not worth the insane price. However, I figure they probably heard I was coming and tacked on the standard "serial killer tax" to the normal price of the room. I've had two lovely appletinis and a bunch of fried shrimp. I'm going to watch Lost and then crash ... maybe read a bit. But, I've got everything I need here in bed with me, and I'm not getting up unless there is a desperate need to pee.

03-04-2009, 09:28 PM	#11
RWood Technogeezer Posts: 7,233 Karma: 1601464 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Virginia, USA Device: Sony PRS-500	I am happy for both of you (and a bit relieved) that you finally got together. I remember the fun I had at the Herndon Meet-up. Now, are there pictures of the meeting that you want to share? We would love to see them.

03-04-2009, 10:07 PM	#13
daffy4u I'm Super Kindle-icious Posts: 6,734 Karma: 2434103 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Long Drive, Calinadia Candafornia Device: KDXG, KT, Oasis	Glad you made it out before the rains hit this morning! In my head (a bad place to be), I didn't even have you arriving in L.A. until Wednesday. Enjoy your mellow drive.

03-05-2009, 08:32 AM	#15
GeoffC Chocolate Grasshopper ... Posts: 27,599 Karma: 20821184 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Scotland Device: Muse HD , Cybook Gen3 , Pocketbook 302 (Black) , Nexus 10: wife has PW	Great stories, a good time was had by all (including the fleas).....