Recent meets

[Steve63130]

If you can overcome your shyness or embarrassment to make friends on this forum, those friendships can often lead to real life meetings and lots of fun. I had three of them in three days, a new record for me!

On Thursday, July 26, HappyInHeels, on his way east to visit family, stopped here in Ohio and we had happy hour and dinner at our retirement community. He met some of my friends and was warmly welcomed by the spokesperson of our "Meet and Greet" happy hour committee. She's only 99, sharp as a tack, still drives, walks without help from a cane or walker, has beaten cancer, and will celebrate her first century in September. HiH and I didn't have any opportunities for shoe shopping this trip, but we've done it in the past. He brought some new acquisitions and showed them to me; nice wedges and knock-out stiletto platforms! I showed him some of my newer shoes as well. After breakfast on Friday morning, he continued his eastward travels.

Then my wife and I drove to western New York, where Bluejay and I got together for an evening of shoe shopping. We went to an upscale mall, where DSW was our first stop. I found a fantastic pair of navy David Tate pumps in 12W which fit perfectly and were very comfortable. Unfortunately they were priced out of my range and the sales gal didn't have the authority to mark them down at all, so I didn't get them. Bluejay tried on some casual shoes but didn't buy them either. The store wasn't very crowded but there were a few other customers. Nobody stared or commented. We had fun looking at all the shoes and trying some on.

From there we went to Macy's where we were both appalled at how messy the clearance racks were. It was awful. I don't understand why sales people can't straighten out such a mess in their spare time when they aren't helping customers. It's just bad management. We left Macy's and went to Payless, where they had one of the biggest collections of Sizes 11, 12, and 13 I've ever seen! We tried on several styles, and Bluejay bought a nice pair of shoes which he liked. They were brown suede sandals with an ankle strap, which looked very nice on him. From Payless we went to Torrid, where I splurged on two pair of flared jeans, but we didn't see any shoes we wanted. So we went to have dinner and a beer in a local pub and then went back to Bluejay's place. I brought a gym bag with about a dozen pairs of my latest shoes, and he had a couple of bags of his own. We spread our shoes out on a table and proceeded to try on each others' shoes. We had a great time and learned a lot about shoes we hadn't considered. Bluejay isn't into mary janes, but looked great in mine. I'm not into platform wedges, but he had some comfortable ones. He also demonstrated what good a pad on the ball of the foot can do to keep feet from sliding forward in sandals.

On Saturday my wife and I attended the wedding of Vector, who posts here on occasion. I first met him in June of 2011 at a Canton, Ohio, heel meet, and we hit it off well. His girlfriend was with him then, too. We have kept in touch and a few years later they visited us in central Ohio. They finally decided to tie the knot and Saturday was the big day. I always thought Vector was quiet and reserved, but he sure knows how to party! It was a fabulous event and we really enjoyed ourselves! No, he didn't wear high heels to the wedding, but I'm sure he wanted to! I wore my Naturalizer "Taylor" loafer pumps with 2" heels. We took satisfaction in seeing lots of women dressed in some beautiful heels, including the bride herself! Anyway, our best wishes to Vector on his new journey with his lovely bride.

So that's it! Three heeling friends in three days! Gotta love HHP. If it weren't for this forum, I wouldn't have the privilege of meeting these life-long friends with a common hobby!

Steve

 

 

[pebblesf]

I am so envious, am always looking for boot buds to meet up with, go boot shopping while showing off our boots publicly. 

For me, being out in boots with a buddy is a great thing indeed....Confidence in numbers I guess. 

I work for the airlines, so layover in many US cities frequently, maybe yours....

[Cali]

3 hours ago, Steve63130 said:

I found a fantastic pair of navy David Tate pumps in 12W which fit perfectly and were very comfortable. Unfortunately they were priced out of my range

Here's a trick for DSW.

Go to their website and put that in your shopping bag and the exit the website. DSW will continue to email you and will tell you when they go on sale. Then you need to move fast.

What missing from your story of Vector's wedding was what heels HE wore and what heels YOU wore.

I meet HiH when he was up here in northern California.

[SF]

Wow, that sounds like a really fun trip.  I have had occasion to meet two other hhplace members and unfortunately missed the opportunity to meet with two others (you being one of them).  

It's good to get out....   Neat post, glad you had a good time....    sf

[vector]

It's been an honor to make the acquaintance of Steve63130 and his lovely wife.  It was a double honor to to see them at my wedding.  My new wife wore a fabulous pair of red high heels sandals and looked absolutely stunning.  Steve63130's wife sported a wonderful looking hat!  I got more lucky Monday and found the Mossimo D'Orsay pumps at the Goodwill for just under $7 with tax included!

All in all it was a great time and good to see two old, er, long time friends!

[Steve63130]

Vector,

It was a privilege being party to your party! The entire afternoon and evening were awesome! We had a great time, and so did everyone else!

And the bride's shoes were spectacular under her white dress with long train. She was beautiful! And you looked radiant, too! Your flat, men's tuxedo shoes didn't do you justice! You should have worn the Mossimo D'Orsay heels!

Several people we met at the wedding did ask how we knew you, and like you and I planned beforehand, I just related that we happened to meet at a restaurant in Canton, Ohio some years ago (seven, as I later found out - 2011), we got to talking and quickly became fast friends and have stayed in touch. All that is, of course, true; I just left out the part that we were all there to attend a high heel meet and go shoe shopping! LOL

Enjoy your honeymoon with your honey! Safe travels!

Steve

[Steve63130]

Cali,

I did state that Vector didn't wear heels, and I wore loafer pumps with a two-inch heel.

Good idea on the DSW web site. I found the navy David Tate pumps, "Sabra," on their web site, but the size of the pumps I tried on (and which fit perfectly) was 12W. The only width available online in navy 12 was extra wide, which would be too wide on me. It's possible either that the pair was sold since I tried them on, or maybe that DSW's computer system didn't list them because they were on clearance. But I'm not heartbroken. I knew, as I walked away from the deal, that I would probably never get them, and I'm ok with it. I would have preferred a higher heel anyway.

Thanks again for the good idea, though. It was worth the try.

Steve

[HappyinHeels]

Steve63130 made great points about the merits of making online friends which then became friends in-person. I made my fourth visit (it's easy to do when someone lives within 10 miles/16km of a transcontinental highway as Interstate70) to central Ohio as I was headed to see immediate family in eastern Pennsylvania.  I indeed felt privileged to have met several of his retirement community neighbours. I kept it low profile with a knit cap, yellow polo shirt, boot-cut jeans, and some closed-toe 5" wedges. I have long held a special regard for talking to people much older than I. Their calm demeanour and keen insights are a delightful tonic for the soul.

I now know a place in central Ohio I have visited four times now, which has become familiar to me, and home to Steve and his lovely wife whom I look forward to seeing each and every time. Granville is the precise place where the great Midwestern plains which, along Interstate 70, begin in the eastern suburbs of Denver, Colorado and extend for 1250 miles/2000km eastward until one reaches the Granville area. The land then develops a noticeable roll as one prepares to enter the higher and more rugged terrain in Pennsylvania. The more one can work in a visit whilst travelling somewhere else the more efficient the use of time becomes. The quality of that time also improves as one creates meaningful new memories from what otherwise may have been a humdrum trip. Just 2.5 hours after I left Steve and his wife I had the radio on (WWWS in Pittsburgh) and they blasted "Power of Love" which my wife and I played at our wedding in 1985. I then activated the video phone and made a short driving video as I climbed the Laurel Mtns in Pennsylvania's Somerset County. The trip would turn out to be one the best I can remember back to the Keystone State. It was preceded by my visit to see my friend Steve in Ohio. I cannot recommend enough the value gained by meeting the members on this forum. HappyinHeels  

[Steve63130]

It's been fun to host you each time, HiH! I look forward to our future get-togethers! Thanks for the kind words. I'm glad you had a good trip east.

Steve