San Francisco TravBuddy meetup at the Jade Bar

My cousin (Julz) and I arrived fashionably late around 6:30 to a raucous room full of TravBuddies engaging in lively and loud conversation.  Almost immediately I spotted Ekua (worldcitizen) and gave a quick 'hello' from across the room.  We surveyed the scene for a few moments before squeezing our way up to the bar for a "couple bowls of loudmouth soup" to get into the swing of things.  The first two people I met since they were also standing by the bar were Amit and David.  I greeted each with a handshake and learned shortly after that David was 'THE David' of TravBuddy co-founding fame.  It was so different and nice to walk into a room full of strangers and be able to just greet anyone without any hangups since they weren't actually strangers.

  They had just previously been 'virtual friends'!

Once we ordered drinks, it was time to shed our coats and find name tags to help with the introductions.  Right away I noticed Portia taking plenty of pictures to document the occasion.   When I spotted name tags on a nearby table, I leaned in to find a pen and that's when I met Will.  He definitely seemed to be the man on the task except we couldn't find the pen.  My cousin did a quick search of the place and returned with Sharpie in hand.  While she was searching, I learned that Will came all the way from Las Vegas for the occasion which was impressive but even more than that, seeing Mark come all the way from Kansas and later learning we had Catalina coming all the way from Ecuador!  WOW!  People really travel for a good party (and for a chance to travel of course)!

Some people I only met briefly, like Racquel, Rowena and Theresa, but look forward to more meetups in the future.

  Others I didn't get a chance to meet at all but again, here's hoping for a chance next time.  There were so many of us that it was nearly impossible to mingle with everyone although Mark did a great job of encouraging us to move along to the next group and not stay in one place so we could meet more TravBuddies.  Another person I met soon after arrival was Jay (who can't believe I called him 'nice') and it was when we were talking that I got a chance to find out who David really was.  He made the mistake of asking what could be improved on the web site and of course, I always find things that can use improvements so he got an earful.  Don't worry, when he asked what we liked, I had plenty of positive feedback there too!  As the night went on, I got a chance to chat with Jane and Tom, who doesn't remember making the best trilling 'grrrr' sounds ever but I'll be refreshing his memory shortly!  I also had the pleasure of meeting Roger and Judy (a. k.a. x-drive & hummingbird), not one Chris, but TWO (Chris-in-sf and busky) and of course, our other TB ambassador, Mark!  Then there was Lauri and Erin and Nicole and Michelle who were all most excellent and added much sparkle to the occasion.  I look forward to getting to know them more in the future!  I may have even recruited a few new TravBuddies who were caught by surprise in our meetup frenzy.  I couldn't stop gushing about how great the site was and how it attracts the nicest people!  My only regret is not having a chance to chat with everyone but I just keep saying 'next time'.  However, as our night drew to a close, Ekua was finally free from a conversation so we had our chance to talk.  I always thought she seemed great on-line and now I know she's great in person too! 

After saying our goodbyes to the other remaining TBers, we left the cozy lounge and headed off to get some grub!  Those drinks at Jade were not only tasty, but potent, and we had to get something in our stomachs to reduce the severity of any potential hangover the next morning!  So that night as I curled up in bed, I kept thinking what a fun night it was and how great everyone was.

  Thanks for a great time, TravBuddies!