TravelTalkOnline?

Anyone unfamiliar with TravelTalkOnline and travels to the Caribbean frequently needs to become a part of this great family.  It is essentially an online discussion Forum for travelers to the Virgin islands, Caymans, Jamaica, and southern Caribbean.  Membership consists of a wide variety of people from all North America, including the Caribbean islands themselves.  Members and visitors post questions about travel to the islands and receive numerous, well-informed responses.  The Forum is well moderated, so nasty responses and flaming does not happen.  As a result, the membership has grown to appreciate each other and it really has become an excellent experience.

TTOL North Party

TTOL-ers have a username that they all operate under.  Nobody really knows where anybody lives, except that every once in a while, somebody asks.  This phenomenon occurs to a point where it is discovered that many of the people we exchange ideas with live nearby, and they sound like fun people!  Once in a while, somebody suggest a get-together, and a TTOL Party happens.

That is pretty much the way TTOL North started.  Jacomien (a.k.a. looniewhite) and Michael (a.k.a. mc4d) suggested hosting a TTOL party in Oakville Ontario (near Toronto), and within a week, had commitments from two dozen people.  People from as far away as Montreal (CarolCox and her husband Danny) planned to attend.  A few e-mails and some coordination and we had food, Painkillers, and Bushwackers planned.

Here are the events of April 5, 2003.

One Balmy Day

A freak weather system the night before dumped six inches of ice pellets on the region and closed many highways.  As a result, Carol and Danny decided not to risk the drive from Montreal.  Five of the Usual Suspects selected the planes, trains, and automobiles method of transit to arrive first.  Finding Michael and Jacomien’s residence was easy - we asked the taxi driver to watch for the TTOL flag on the front of the house.

Let The Bullshit Begin . . .

In no time, twenty five guests had arrived.  Only small groups of people knew each other, but it did not take long to get acquainted.  Everybody wore a name tag with their real name and their TTOL username displayed.  In many cases, the username was familiar from something they posted on TTOL.  “Oh, you're raven, I've read your comments - great insight!” was a typical exchange.  Food, drinks, and the load roar of quality storytelling flowed like water.  At 120 decibels of noise, a good time was being had by all.

l-r: Douglas, Chris, Susan, (back of) Mike, Daniela, Michael, Cyndie, Wendy, and Winston

l-r: Michael, Jacki, Cyndie (raven), Annette, Scott, and Dave

Prime Suspect with a defective bottle of rum

Janice (baby Nolan’s mom) with Aunt Susan

Four Sheets to the Wind

The team of Michael, Jacki, Cyndie (raven), Annette, Scott, and Dave put together a superbly-professional video, complete with the original song Four Sheets to the Wind (great tune!), of their previous trip to The BVI.  They played the tape for all of us, and we were well entertained.  Wish we had been there.

What are YOU doing Hervé?

On the morning of the party TTOL prankster Hervé (MamaCocha) posted a sarcastic message on TTOL - he had learned of our winter storm and uploaded a photo taken from his back yard in Naples Florida (sunshine, warm temperature, green grass, swimming pool, boat tied up to dock behind house), just to irritate us.  We retaliated.

At 7PM, we decided to upload the photos taken at the party up to that point, to Webshots, then post a message on TTOL providing an online mid-party report.  The following photo was referenced with a direct attack on our pal Hervé - “We’re here partying Hervé, what are YOU doing for fun right now?”

TTOL North Party group photo - observe the index fingers Hervé

Online Photo Album

The complete album of photos is online at:

http://community.webshots.com/album/68685620HhHdEZ

Special Thanks to Our Guests

Before long, it was time to leave.  A great time was had by all, as noted in several TTOL posts in the days that followed.  It was a real special event; one thoroughly enjoyed by all.  It seems unusual that, despite the winter storm, the war in Iraq, the SARS outbreak, 27 total strangers could find their way to one location to meet and share stories about their passion - the love of travel to a warm climate.  We all thank our hosts, Jacomien and Michael Ford of Oakville Ontario, for their efforts in making this wonderful event a reality.

We will see you all at next year’s party!