I mentioned on the long Toronto GTG post what a good time I had, but I thought I'd start a new thread.
There were 7 of us last night at the mini Toronto GTG. We met at Milestones downtown Toronto, and it was great there. I enjoyed the food..
but it was the company!! I think I can safely speak for everyone and say that we had a really good time.
We met at 6:30 and I didn't get home til 11:30.
Everyone was wonderful.. better than I even imagined. The conversation flowed... and the laughter too.
IT's amazing that 7 people who have never met, could have so much in common... well, I suppose travel! and it seemed as though we already knew each other.

I'm not sure if any pictures will be posted. We all decided that the pictures taken did not look like us. Then Toedtoes told us she knows how to remove wrinkles , so that is really exciting. We'll wait for her to touch up the photos!!! She has said she can make us look 20 years younger. I'm in for that!!

Toedtoes was our honourary Canadian, coming all the way from California ( Ok, strictly speaking, not just for our GTG!), and she is amazing. SHe knows more about Canada than I do.
A special HI to LoveItaly. You should have been there!!

I'm so glad we had this mini GTG and thanks to you ladies that attended. Thanks for the great evening.

It was such a fun night! As I said at the table, I felt like I was coming to have dinner with old friends I hadn't met yet.

I made the mistake of telling SO I'd pick him up at school after 9:30 and it was 9:40 before I even noticed the time and had to rush away. Now I read that there was a whole hour of partying after I left! Dang -- hope I didn't miss any good gossip! What a terrific and fun group of fodorites. I hope pictures are posted because there's a great one of Toedtoes on the Maid of the Mist taken earlier in her vacation. And boy, is she ever organized -- Toed, I think there's a career there somewhere for you.

Great, fun evening and just a preview of the fun you'll have at the bigger GTG on the 12th.

Kodi and hdm, I was so pleased to meet you both as well as the others! Here's what I have written about the evening:

The Fodor Party of Seven met at Milestones in the Toronto entertainment district last evening for four hours of conversation and laughter, an amazingly compatible group. None of us had met in person before last week when toedtoes and myself, moolyn, got together to ride the Maid of the Mist in Niagara Falls. But that’s another story.

It was great to put faces to names we had encountered online. I brought my camera and photos were taken but you may never see the results because none of us looked like ourselves so the photos may not pass self-censorship. Hdm might not mind; she came out looking like Elizabeth Taylor in her younger days. I blame it on the dim restaurant lighting and the fact that all of us were too busy talking to actually take time to pose as a group.

Where did the time go? Well, for perspective, we shared background info and identified where we usually hang out on Fodor’s. We talked about some current threads and how we came up with our screen names. Kodi and Raquel shared their experiences with Priceline and Kodi told us about Women Welcoming Women World Wide. I'm going to google it. We discussed Fodorites we love and others that we love to hate. But as hdm put it, on the forum you can fight with someone one day and agree with them the next. Although there are some people we will probably never agree with. We discussed Fodor editors, past and present; we all love Katie. Hdm and toedtoes are hilariously entertaining, by the way. It’s a great loss that neither can attend the main event.

Toedtoes, our honourary Canadian, traveled the farthest, all the way from the Bay area, bearing loot bags with California candy: Jelly Bellies, Ghirardelli chocolate and Flicks. Very sweet of her! Raquel, using her AC pass, flew in from Winnipeg just yesterday with a friend. Checking out the Canada forum to see what was happening in Toronto, she discovered the mini get together and she and her friend were welcome last minute additios. Kodi, who got the ball rolling in the first place, drove into the city for the evening, picking up toedtoes en route. Sally Canuck, hdm and I all live in the city so we had the least distance to travel. In fact, I walked home afterwards, along brightly lit city streets, with a smile on my face, recollecting a lovely evening amongst friends.

Well, my dears! I read that whole post and all I remember is the Elizabeth Taylor part! Moo, I don't know what you've been drinking this morning but you should bottle it and sell it!

I'm ashamed to say that I'd eaten all my saltwater taffys before I even got as far as Yonge street. But the chocolate and the jelly bellies are here at work with me this morning -- they and visits to fodor's will be my 'rewards' if I get any work at all done today.

If I could change anything at all about last night, it would be to put us in a quieter venue because I missed a lot of the conversation down at the other end of the table. So take heed when you go to the Hot House and ask them to put you somewhere a bit quiet because as you may have noticed, we fodorites are a chatty bunch!

Enjoyed myself hugely AND ate the all jelly beans when I got home. I would have eaten them on the streetcar but forgot about for a short time.

Your wonderful follow-up posts are really whetting my appetite for our full GTG on the 12th!

Sounds like a great time was had by all, ladies !

Looking forward to the 12th as well.

M.

I notice that there were no men allowed at the mini - or were they scared away?
Sounds like you had a great time - see you on the 12th - is Moolyn going to be at the main event?

Oh honey, a REAL MAN wouldn't have been scared away! We're just a bunch of pussycats.

robjame, the evening was open to all so it was just by chance that no men appeared. It will be different on the 12th. I'll be there for sure and look forward to meeting you in person!

LOL

moolyn I look forward to meeting you!
It sounds like a great time.

Its me raquel_z checking in. There actually is a computer here at the Marriott on Bloor. Just haven't had much time to use it.

It really was wonderful to meet everyonrewho came - Kodi, hdm, moolyn, toedtoes, SallyCanuk

I first had to convince my friend Pat that not All the people you meet out in cyberspace are axe murderers.. Not one to be found in the group.

great reports by all who were there and posted.

For those of you considering the Sept 12 GTG, do make a point of coming. Its great to put faces to names and share experiences and stories.

As one of the others noted - I was a late addition. I really only had known Kodi from the Latin America Forum - though I sometimes have a look at the lounge. I just chanced upon the thread on Saturday night since I was headed for Toronto. Everyone was so warm and welcoming and we had alot of fun.
Thanks to those who put it together. I realize its hard to co ordinate a bunch of people....

Going home to Winnipeg tomorrow.

raquel

I am still excited about our mini GTg and I'm so happy to read that everyone had a good time.
I'm sure Toedtoes is very busy seeing Toronto , as we all return to our 'normal' day to day routines.

As Raquel says, anyone even considering joining the group on Sept 12, should definately attend. I'm sure my friends are already sick of hearing about what a great time I had!

You ladies sound like it was wonderful gtg. I hope photos will be posted and wish you all didn't live so far away.

Hi, Everybody! Sounds like you had a wonderful time...a great warm up for Sept 12th! Wish I cld have been there & wish I cld get there on Sept 12. How many will be @ the Sept 12th Toronto GTG, Kodi?

Wow, check the RSVP post and you'll see everyone who is coming on Sept 12. IT looks like we'll have quite a good turn out. I hope you can make it.

Cigalechanta, I wish you could make it. I'm not sure about the pictures. None of us were happy with them..

Hi, Kodi! Unfortunately, I cannot make it on Sept 12. Have a great time! Looking forward to a report.

I am so glad to hear about your GTG, thanks for posting kodi.. I would have loved to have been there with all of you. Toedtoes photography is beautiful..bet you will all look movie stars the time she is through editing the photos.

Toedtoes and I will see each other after she returns home from your beautiful Canada. I will so enjoy hearing about her trip!

LoveItaly, Toedtoes was having a great trip so far. Boy she is SO organized. All of us were impressed!
I'm sure she'll have good tales to tell you.
One that she will tell you, I'm sure, is how excited I was when she said she actually new LoveItaly!! It was like she knew someone really famous... I mean other than on Fodor's!

Oh kodi, silly you!! Famous for what I don't know! But did toed tell you how excited I was when she told me she was going to meet you? I had had no idea.

And yes toed is organized, very intelligent, fun and interesting and a very good woman. But shhhhh, don't tell her I said so as we don't want her to become conceited do we? She is a love and I am so glad we only live about an hour from each other.

One of these days I hope we can meet each kodi..maybe we can talk you into coming out to San Francisco?