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For months, they wrote one another, sent gifts and e-mailed each other.
Wednesday, pen pals Jennifer Vance, 9, Warsaw, and Kendra Larade, 10, Nova Scotia, Canada, met for the very first time at Center Lake Park.
Because of the excitement, the girls at first shied away from each other and refused to give each other a hug. Within minutes, however, they walked down to the lake together, eager to get away from the crowd of family and strangers.
Their unique friendship may never have occurred had it not been for the Internet.
Both girls have Down Syndrome. It was through a Down Syndrome support group on the Internet that their mothers first began talking approximately a year ago. The mothers, Rebecca Vance and Sherry Larade, then introduced the girls over the Internet.
"They sent (each other) coloring pictures. Jen will send (Kendra) American flags and Kendra sends Canadian flags, little girl things," said Julia Gilbert, Vance's aunt.
"It's so neat how even in Calgary we have contacts even though we don't know each other," said Sherry Larade, referring to people she's talked to through the Down Syndrome support group on the Internet. "I feel I can go anywhere with Kendra and meet people."
For the Larades, the drive began when "we left Calgary Saturday night. We went through Montana, North Dakota, Illinois," said Sherry Larade.
"We've all been on pins and needles" waiting to meet them, Gilbert said.
Why did the Larades make the four-day trip?
Sherry Larade said, "We were in Calgary. We moved from Nova Scotia to Calgary to get treatment for our son, who is autistic." On the way back to Nova Scotia, they decided to take a detour.
Rebecca Vance said everyone told them they were nuts for meeting up with a family they didn't know, but she was eager to meet the family they had been communicating with for a year. "We had no idea what each other looked like," she said. They knew what the two girls looked like because of the pictures they sent, however.
Sherry Larade said they will remain in Warsaw for a couple of days. "We still have another four to five days to get back to Nova Scotia," she said.
The visiting Larade family includes Sherry, her husband Maurice Larade, Kendra, and Kendra's siblings Alyssa and Alex Larade.
