How Far Would You Drive to a Meeting?

Just before 8 yesterday morning, I left home and drove to Regina to pick up Karen - another Prairie Chick . It was cold with the temps hovering at -30C/-20F.

With Karen for company and a cappuccino for comfort, I settled in for the 2.5 hr drive north to the city of Saskatoon where our writing group, the Saskatchewan Romance Writers was holding its monthly meeting.

I’m afraid poor Karen had to sit there and list to me go on and on as if I was starved for adult company. Well, it wasn’t the adult company I had craved but the interaction with another writer. And once she got in my van, I had a captive audience and wasn’t about to miss out on the opportunity.

So far, the only negative part of the day had been rushing out the door without checking http://www.prairiechickswriteromance.com/ and greeting Renee Ryan, our guest blogger. But when I arrived at the site for the SRW mtg, our hostess Myrene, booted up her computer and I was able to ensure the blog was fine without me. Renee was responding to questions and her awesome list to overcome rejections was accessible to all.

The mtg was fun and educational. After the business side was dealt with, we discussed the pros and cons of using a prologue and what was happening on the Prairie Chicks Write Romance blog. Other discussions included the SRW on Facebook and how we would handle critiques at our upcoming mtgs. And then we shared what we were working on and our upcoming goals.

Before I realized, it was 5 pm and the mtg was over. I quickly borrowed Myrene’s computer again to check the Chicks blog and send a comment that we were headed home.

Unfortunately for Karen, I talked all the way to her house, too. In fact, I even remember interrupting her a time or two to start off on another tangent when she hadn’t even finished what she was saying. Poor Karen. So patient with me. We stopped for supper along the way. I can’t even remember when I dropped her off but it was probably around 9:30 or so.

I still had over an hour to drive so I stopped at the 7-Eleven, got a cappuccino and a Bubblegum and Gatorade slushie, and drove home, arriving around 11:30, tired but happy.

Yes, it was a long day. And, a long drive to get to a meeting. But, it was such a thrill to sit with like-minded women and discuss writing and our works in progress. Last month it was too cold to make the drive up. Hopefully next month, we won’t have a late March blizzard because I’m already looking forward to my next meeting.

And you thought I was kidding when I said I lived in the middle of the prairie, eh?

How far would you drive to get to a mtg like this?
What’s the farthest you’ve driven in one day to get to a mtg that you didn’t have to attend?
Does anyone have any duct tape they can lend Karen for next month?