Members drove between 2 and 5 hours, with an average drive of four hours, to attend the first meeting of the California Chapter held in San Luis Obispo on April 8, 1995. With 31 people attending, we wasted no time in getting acquainted, sharing our experiences, bonding as friends, and learning as much as we possibly could.

This was the first time most of the attendees were able to meet others with VHL outside their own families. Unfortunately, our speaker and facilitator both canceled just days before the meeting, but thanks to Patti K's networking we then got two other speakers on the subjects of kidney dialysis and physical therapy relating to spinal surgery, who proved to be excellent speakers.

Our meeting lasted over four hours, and because we were not ready to say goodbye, we continued as a group at a local restaurant for dinner for an additional three hours. The overwhelming feeling of the attendees was that of surprise that they enjoyed themselves so much. We did have a great group with a terrific sense of humor. We laughed almost as much as we talked. Everyone is already looking forward to our next meeting in San Francisco in 1996, and several members are also planning to attend the Hawaii conference next year.

As printed in the VHL Family Forum 3:2, June 1995:. For permission to reprint, please contact VHL Family Alliance, editor@vhl.org. Further information is available from the VHL Family Alliance, info@vhl.org.