It was March 17, 2006, just three short years ago, that I touched down in the English countryside at Gatwick Airport near London for the first time.

I pulled my coat closed as I walked down the ramp from the plane to the airport terminal as I became keenly aware of the vast contrast in temperature. Just ten hours earlier, I had left the warmth of a Texas springtime afternoon followed by the drowsy cozy comfort of the American Airlines plane that flew me across the vast Atlantic Ocean. The time difference made it necessary to sleep on the trip. I may have left the warm Texas afternoon, but it would already be a cold dreary morning the next day when I arrived in England.

For a moment I began to wonder, "would he be there to pick me up? Would things be as wonderful as I imagined?" It had been over ten hours since we last spoke to each other. Would he get cold feet?

We had been chatting online, first on Yahoo Messenger for months, and then on the phone and Skype for months more. We had so many things in common, yet had such vast differences in our backgrounds. It was a good mix, though. It meant that things were never dull and we never lacked for something to talk about.

My well-meaning friends and family were concerned. They wondered how I could hop on a plane and travel half way around the world, land in a foreign country and meet a man who I had only talked to and never met before. I hadn't even flown out of state before and had never had a passport before this. I had flown only twice before but within the confines of Texas. Worse yet, what if he was an axe murderer? That seemed to be a common concern, for some reason.

Looking back, I guess it really only added to the excitement for me. There is a fine line between being insane and incredibly brave sometimes. I felt confident that I was making the right decision and started looking for signs to tell me where to go. Afterall, I still had luggage to retrieve.

Now able to turn on my cell phone, I called him.

"I'm here, my plane has landed and Elvis is now in the building".

He chuckled at my reference to Elvis because he sometimes called me that because of the sometimes sexy slur of southern slang I sometimes slipped into when overly excited about something.

He replied, "Guess what? I'm here too!"

Whew, what a relief. I now knew we were at least in the same building and could eventually find each other. I soon learned that not only did he make it on time to pick me up, but he had actually been there for hours just to make sure he wasn't delayed and leave me thinking he was a no show.

Now, I just needed to grab my luggage and maneuver my way out of this maze amongst a myriad of travelers from all over the world. As I rounded the corner where the departing passengers first meet their awaiting friends and family, my eyes scanned the faces hoping to spot him. *gasp* There he was. He looked almost as excited as I was.

Our eyes locked as I casually walked towards him and he gave me the biggest smile and hug. It was so nice to finally meet in person. He offered to take my luggage as we tried to find the correct floor and exit to get us to the parking garage where he left our rental car that we had booked for this extended weekend trip. That's all I could commit to at this point in our relationship. I figured I could always come back again if things worked out as well as hoped.

We had our first kiss on the elevator at the airport.

For three days, he chauffeured me all over the English countryside. He wanted to show me the England he loves, not the tourist spots you read about in all the brochures. We zigzagged all over England and Southern Wales. I found him to be an excellent tour guide and as much fun as I thought he'd be to be around. We have lots of memories of those three days. Some of them I have written about in other hubs. The links are provided below.

On my final day in England, we decided it would be easier for me to take the hotel shuttle to the airport instead of paying the hefty parking fee for the rental car to be parked. This would also allow him to get back on the road home to return the car.

As I boarded the shuttle it was evident to me that everyone else, but me, was on a business trip. I was the only one who sat there teary-eyed who had someone standing outside the shuttle waving goodbye. It somehow made me feel special, but yet that much more alone.

Would we see each other again? What if he didn't like me as much as I like him? What if he insisted that I would have to be the one to relocate to England if were going to be together? He knew I had a teenage daughter and needed to remain in Texas. Would he like her? Would she like him?

Boarding the plane to come home was difficult. How could I leave all the enchantment and go back home? How could I resume life as if nothing changed? That's just it, I couldn't. I knew without a doubt that I had to go back to England and I had to bring my daughter. I wanted her to see all the wonderful things I had seen. Within a week of returning home I had booked a flight for us to stay a week in May.

We're now approaching the two year anniversary of him relocating to Texas.

He came across ‘the big pond' in style aboard the Queen Mary 2 ( Cunard Cruise Line). That's the way travel should be!

We married in May 2007.

So, even though our love story began online many months before, St. Patrick's Day 2006 will always be a magical day for me.

Who could ever forget being driven around the beautiful English countryside (on the wrong side of the car, mind you), with snow flurries in the air, seeing castles, and talking to my prince with the smoothest of English accents. *sigh*

Does it get any better than that?