What a wonderful idea for a thread!

Many years ago when I was just out of college I traveled via backpack and train across Canada by myself. One of my first stops was Newfoundland. As I wandered about St. John's, an elderly man (in his 80's but very hale and hearty) struck up a conversation with me. When he found out I was visiting from the US, he insisted he wanted to give me a tour of the area. The next day he picked me up in his car, spent the entire day taking me to various local sights - I especially remember a cranberry bog for some reason! - and then took me to his house where his wife had prepared a lovely dinner.

I had a wonderful time learning about their lives. I remember that his wife was very proud of the fact that her ancestors had fled the Colonies during the American Revolution: after all it was the low-class riff-raff who supported the Revolution, those with any pretensions to aristocratic connections left. Anyway it was a very eye-opening perspective for me as a young woman who had been raised on the usual US view that the Revolutionaries were heroes. ;->

I'm sure that I have had some memorable encounters, but I can't remember any.