I am so glad that I was able to attend this incredible event.

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After having been to the Wisconsin Steemit Meetup nine months ago and the Ozark Area Steemian Meetup five months back, I was excited to that the Steemy Summer Party in Kansas City was coming and that I might be able to make it. However, my truck seemed to have other ideas.

After having it worked on, it ended up needing more work before I would be comfortable driving it that far. But, thankfully, much like a superhero, @bluerthangreen swooped in with a solution. I was able to borrow one of his vehicles from his wife, @allforthegood. It wasn't until about noon on Saturday that I finally lined up transportation, and the party (which was starting at 4 pm) was about four hours away. Quickly, I grabbed the nearest one of the @little-peppers I could find and we were off!

Upon arriving at the park, I immediately located my crew of steemians. Thankfully, when @stellabelle is dressed up like a steemit version of Flava-Flav, it makes locating her easier! There were already a good number of steemians gathered and discussing when I showed up, which helps for making an entrance.

What set this event apart from the other steemit meetups that I have attended was that it was at an outdoor venue. I had been to one in the commons area of a library and another in a back room at a coffee shop, but the park had a different feel to it. For one, there were more people around, who periodically became curious about what we were up to. (Remember, I was in my usual camouflage with my STEEM-Chain on and @stellabelle had on here chain too. Plus, with @jessamynorchard closing out the event with a set of her original music, there were some things going on to attract attention.)

Another difference with the outside venue was that there was a great tree for "Monster Truck the Pepper" to climb around in. They did not have one of these at the library or in the coffee shop.

With the beautiful sun shining down, no sign of rain, and enough food and refreshments for everyone, it was a great day at the park, especially because the steemians had gathered.

THE STEEMIANS THAT I MET

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In no particular order for no particular reason, here are a few of my thoughts on the folks that I met at the party.

@stellabelle

This is the one who was the main force in putting this thing together. I appreciate her effort and passion. We had already met up at the Ozark Area Meetup and then @stellabelle joined me for the Steemit Talk Podcast with @giftedgaia, @winstonwolfe, and @sykochica. I would describe @stellabelle as raw and fun, to use a couple three letter words, and it was great to meetup once again.

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@sykochica

Speaking of @sykochica, I had heard the voice before but never had the pleasure of meeting @sykochica prior. I was able to observe the digital skills of @sykochica when I was at on the steemit talk podcast, but only @winstonwolfe and @giftedgaia were in the studio. It was a blessing to finally meet @sykochica and to talk a bit face to face.

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@virtualgrowth

Last I remembered, @virtualgrowth had been in Florida, so when I found out that @virtualgrowth was going to be at the party, I really wanted to come. It was great to meet @virtualgrowth and I was impressed with the technical knowledge that @virtualgrowth has, since I am not so techy. Though you may see the body in some of the meetup posts, you will not be seeing the face of @virtualgrowth. That's one of the cool things about steemit too; even when someone wants to remain anonymous online, they might still come out to meet you face to face!

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@rebeccabe

I knew that @rebeccabe and her husband Michael were coming because of the reply from @rebeccabe on the attendance post from @stellabelle. I was interested to meet other steemians that I had not interacted with much, and @rebeccabe was one of those. I had a good time meeting @rebeccabe and Michael, and look forward to checking out their stuff in the future.

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@jacobts

I've been meaning to meet up with @jacobts for some time now. Currently, @jacobts is in St. Louis, and @bluerthangreen and @papa-pepper have four businesses in St. Louis that we do lawn maintenance for every other week. However, work is work and often we try to get in and out and quickly as possible, so I have not been able to meet up with @jacobts until now. I really appreciated our conversation, and it was good to meet someone willing to sacrifice some of their life and freedom to take care of a relative in need. I am looking forward to hopefully meeting up with @jacobts again soon and getting to hang out some more. Thanks for the shirt man!

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@jasonrussell & @melodyrussell

It is cool to see how many couples are on steemit. @Jasonrussell & @melodyrussell are one good example of this. Since they do not live all that far from me (some hours and a state away) we may be getting together to go on some outdoor adventures together. They enjoy taking photos and enjoying the outdoors, so we have some things in common for sure! It is so cool to meet up with people in real life who have similar interests, plus, we are all steemians!

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@fungusmonk

Now @fungusmonk is one cool dude! I remember many months ago competing in some steemit talent contest and @fungusmonk was one of the other steemians entering. Interestingly enough, @fungusmonk just happened to be in KC around the time of the meetup. We share an interest in music, and in general @fungusmonk is just a cool guy to hang out with. Maybe we can meet up again when you move to KC.

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@reedracer

@Reedracer was another steemian that I hadn't really interacted with online before. Interesting how that works. some people you meet online and then meet up in real life and others you meet up with in real life and then interact online. Although @reedracer joined steemit way back in June 2016, @reedracer hasn't been as active as some users. I enjoyed hanging out and talking to @reedracer and on a side note, @reedracer is apparently huge on twitter. Thanks for coming out!

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@jessamynorchard

After originally meeting up and hanging out at the Ozark Area Meetup, it was great to see @jessamynorchard in person once again. Not only does @jessamynorchard have some great initiatives going to help build up the steemit music scene, but @jessamynorchard also provided some great tunes for us to enjoy at the meetup. Great job and excellent to see you once again!

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@alfonso1003

Now @alfonso1003 was an interesting character. At the time of the meetup, @alfonso1003 had been a steemian for about a day. Since @alfonso1003 brought his daughter, my son "Monster Truck the Pepper" form the @little-peppers had someone his size to play with. At one point during the meetup, @stellabelle brought @alfonso1003 over to @virtualgrowth with an important question. We were intrigued to see what it was. "How long until I am a millionaire?" was what he asked! Before @virtualgrowth had a chance to answer, I jumped in by asking "How long have you been on steemit?" @alfonso1003 replied "One day." I told him that he needed to be more patient, and wait at least a week.

Now I know that does sound absurd, but, I want to use this opportunity to point something out. Hypothetically, and very hypothetically at that, STEEM could perhaps reach BTC prices one day. IF, and that is a big IF, it ever did, then someone would only need 400 STEEM to be a millionaire. Since it is possible to earn 400 STEEM in a week, given enough time, my answer to his question could be accurate... just saying...

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@goatgarden & @clickinchicken

This was another interesting couple. I originally found out about @goatgarden through @bluerthangreen resteeming a post. Since we are all on one level of a homesteading adventure or another, we had a lot to talk about. Also, we cut lawns in the town that they live in too, so who knows when the next time we will meet up will be. It was a lot of fun to meet them in person and to get to share ideas and stories.

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@pierrefilms

Now @pierrefilms was really interesting to meet. We did not get to talk a whole lot, but @pierrefilms has an incredible memory for movie release dates. Being a local and a steemian, @pierrefilms came on out to meet up with all of us. If you have not already seen it, you should check out his video. Keep it up man!

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@bluerthangreen

@Bluerthangreen is another person originally from Wisconsin who moved his family to Arkansas and joined steemit last July. We bought land right next door to one another and will be raising our families and building our homesteads together. @Bluerthangreen is a true friend and brother and I am pleased that @bluerthangreen was able to make it out and mix it up. I find his perspective refreshing, his knowledge a blessing and his love for others inspirational. Thanks for letting me use the truck to get to KC!

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@sylviategan

Now @sylviategan was a fun one and is even going to be getting her mom started with steemit. They were very fun to meet and I enjoyed listening to the stories that @sylviategan shared. Since @sylviategan grew up just across the border (in another city where @bluerthangreen and I have been cutting lawns) there are certain things in our lives that overlap. I was previously unaware of @sylviategan on steemit, so I was very glad to get to meet up in person and learn about her presence on steemit!

CLOSING THOUGHTS

To the best of my knowledge, those are the folks who were there. It was certainly a lot of fun, and I am glad to at least be able to share some photos and memories from the meetup with all of you who were not there. I had some extra t-shirts laying around too, so I passed out some of them. (I had made some in the wrong sizes, so my "limited edition" shirts became somewhat less limited...)

Also, if any of you are having meetups in your area, let me know. Sometimes, I get around a lot and you never know when I might take a drive over just to meet up with some more of you in person!

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As always, I'm @papa-pepper and here's the proof:

proof-of-steemy-cupcake-at-steemy-summer-party

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Until next time…

Don’t waste your time online, invest it with steemit.com

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