I arrived at the airport about ten minutes before Moe's plane landed. There was a mix up, and I thought his flight arrived about 7:30p.m. At 6:50p.m. the word "arrived" was blinking next to his flight number. My heart jumped, but I didn't have time to develop any butterflies. I strategically placed myself near a counter opposite the entrance/exit, where I was sure he wouldn't be looking for me... mostly to make him wonder if I hadn't forgotten about him *grin*, and because I wanted to get a peek at him before our eyes actually met for the first time. Why? I don't know. I just did.

I spotted Moe right away as he entered the terminal, and although he was taller than I'd imagined a little heavier than he looked in his pictures, he was not unappealing. When he turned in my direction, the first thing I noticed was his pleasant smile and his eyes... and I loved both. We exchanged the customary "glad to meet you" kiss and hug, then started in with conversation just as if we'd known each other forever.

First impression: No overwhelming attraction or love@firstSITE, but not a turn off either. I was glad that I wasn't having any of those "instant attraction" feelings. I learned long ago, that kind of instant, overwhelming feeling wears off quickly and really isn't genuine.

I wasn't quite sure what Moe was thinking or feeling. He was hard to read. He didn't look too disappointed and he didn't hesitate to give me a big hug and kiss. I didn't have a clue as to what his impressions were. Mr. Poker face. As we talked during the hour ride from the airport, I realized immediately that I loved (the "friendly" kind) Moe for who he was... just Moe. I felt as though I had one of my best friends sitting beside me. Conversation came easy, just as easy as it was in emails and on the phone.

The first few days we drove around the city, went out to eat, talked, talked and talked some more. If there's anything I love about Moe, its his sense of humor and the fact that he never seems to run out of things to talk about. At night, we'd laid on the bed and talk for hours in the dark (I have a room mate and my bedroom was the only place to go for privacy). Moe liked to cuddle up and rub my back while we talked... and I liked it too.

We kissed, the first time, just lightly... then later, he really kissed me. He stroked my face and hair, looked into my eyes as we talked, but I could never really tell what he was thinking, or maybe what he was trying to say to me, if anything. His lips were soft and I liked the way they felt on mine. There was some passion, and I enjoyed it, but no lightening bolts were flashing and there were no large displays of fireworks going off... but again, I was glad. If things were going to progress and build for us, I wanted it to happen slowly and naturally. The last thing I wanted was a firecracker beginning that fizzled and died just as quickly as it began. To me, it was more important that we cement our friendship with this meeting, rather than establishing ourselves as lovers.

Moe and I travelled to Washington D.C. for two days, one night. We tried to work in an overnight stay on the ocean where relatives of his had invited us to drop in and spend the night, but there just wasn't enough time to do that and still have enough time for D.C. We discussed it, trying every possible combination of trips to cover both places, but no matter which way we tried to work it, there would be too much driving time involved and little left over for site seeing. Moe seemed a little disappointed. I know he wanted to see the Atlantic ocean *sigh*. I feet really bad. There was so much I wanted him to be able to see and do.

D. C. was crowded for a weekday. We crammed all we could into our first afternoon. Moe posed for the camera in front of the White House. He's a bit of a ham when it comes to pictures. That night we kicked back and watched a movie, not talking much. I think we were both too exhausted. The next day we were back out doing the tourist thing for most of the afternoon and then drove four hours back to my house. Whew!