Well, this thread goes into the TRACE file for sure! Anytime I get to feeling low, I will come back and read the lovely things that have been said here and will most certainly be uplifted.

It has always been a privilege and a pleasure to meet every one of the somewhere-near-two-hundred 'Catters I have encountered. Those I have met or revisited in the past month or so were such a treat. For those of you who don't know, I have traveled some 10,000 miles in recent weeks, driving more than 3,000 of it myself and meeting 'Catters all along the way. I was fortunate enough to be able to visit England in time to attend the Yorkshire gathering. I was also blessed with an opportunity to visit Ireland. In both cases, I was blessed with the presence of our own dear Morticia who was only too happy to serve as guide.

Meeting the bunch at Yorkshire was a thrill I am sure to never forget. And after a few pints, I was singing along with songs I had never ever heard before! As always, it was a joy to finally put faces with the many names I had come to know on the Mudcat. I won't even try to list the names of the many I met and spoke with. However, I must tell you all that it was a distinct pleasure to be invited to tea at Selby's home and to meet his wife and family. It was also a special treat to have the chance to spend a couple of nights under the roof of Bill Sables and his lovely Lorna. I have wanted to do that for a long, long time.

I was only able to visit Ireland for three days and although I didn't encounter any 'Catters there, I had the time of my life! Due to a small mix-up at the car hire, Morticia was unable to be authorized to drive the car. This left me behind the wheel on the "wrong" side of the car and on the "wrong" side of the road, driving in downtown Dublin (and later on the roadways of southeast Ireland.) There is more to this tale, but suffice it to say that I hope that guy on the motorcycle wasn't as frightened as Morty was. I should tell you that Morty and I spent an evening at the Brazen Head where Morticia received a standing ovation for having sung a couple of songs so beautifully. The rest of the visit was spent motoring down to Wexford and back to Dublin by way of Kilkenny. We had many fabulous adventures along the way and ate like royalty!

There is no way to convey how much I enjoyed my two week visit to England and Ireland except to say that all there should be forewarned that I will return as soon as it is at all possible and next time you won't get rid of me so quickly!

Almost as soon as I got off the plane back in the States, I left for the West, stopping in Montana to say a "howdy" to Mudcatter, Alice. It was on the way back from there that I zipped past Sorcha's bailiwick and phoned her. I also kept in contact with kat who was nice enough to keep track of my whereabouts during my trek so that someone might know where to look for the body should something go amiss. (Nothing did, I am happy to say!) Thank you kat! SINSULL was along for a portion of the ride by phone as well.

2,430 miles after I left Alice's home in Montana, I arrived at my own in Virginia. However, the last leg of the journey led me to 'Spaw's door. I have been wanting to meet this man since his first posts on the 'Cat. I was quite nearly heartbroken that the route Bill and I needed to take during the Adventure was too distant from Ohio to include seeing 'Spaw. But now, as he says, both Bill and I have finally met him.

I suppose I could say that 'Spaw was no surprise as well and in many ways that is quite true. Some of the few other 'Catters who have met him and others who have come to know him by way of regular phone calls, etc., had let me know a bit more about him than can be found in his posts. It was a pleasure to meet Karen and Michael and Tristan as well as the increasingly famous Wayne. Let me summarize my feeling about the visit by saying that he and I talked with one another, almost non-stop, for almost six hours and probably could have gone on for quite a few more except that I had to leave. There aren't many people I would find that interesting.

I spent a night or two at home in Virginia before hitting the road again to travel to North Carolina. I was on a mission. It seems that sometime after I headed for England my good friend and 'Catter, BarbaraLynn had sent word to Bill Sables that she wanted me to bring back a stone or two from a small town near Selby where her family roots had once been. Bill immediately contacted Raggytash who lives in the town in question. Raggytash not only gathered a few stones but also assembled a variety of informative publishings about the place which he included in a bag which eventually got to me at the Yorkshire gathering. My mission now was to deliver this bag of goodies to BarbaraLynn. I am happy to report that the goods have been delivered and BarbaraLynn was totally thrilled to receive the bounty.

Because BarbaraLynn lives not very far from where the 'Cat's own Dani has her restaurant and where 'Catter, Janie lives, it only seemed right that I should drop by to see them as well. It was fabulous to see them both again and especially nice to discover that Dani's restaurant was doing so very well. Dani was pleased to tell me that Judy Cook has been booked to perform there in August. I very much hope to be able to attend.

I am now finally back at home and have had to put an end to my wandering for a while so I can earn enough money for the next time. Once again, it was a tremendous pleasure to visit with so many of the wonderful 'Catters who make up this great community of ours. I sincerely hope more of you will make the effort to get to do something of the sort someday soon. It is such fun!!