It was exactly 5 years ago today that a large group of FlyerTalkers, most who had never met in person before, hopped on airplanes and came from all over the world to the island paradise of Hawaii to meet and party at the first large FlyerTalk gathering...the Party In Paradise.

I remember so well in these early days of the internet and FlyerTalk, how many attendees mentioned to me how nervous they were at going to an event and meeting people they only knew from the internet! Seems so funny now with all the gatherings and Do's and such that have become a normal occurrence of the FlyerTalk community, that it was such a "big deal" at that time.

Anyway, tonight on the 5th Anniversary of the original Party In Paradise, three (Catman, TropicalFlyer and PremEx) of the four Party In Paradise Planning Committee members met at the same location (The Sheraton Moana) to toast the anniversary of this great event from FlyerTalk's past. And to toast all the attendees that made it such a great event.

Sadly, our 4th committee member, Rudi, couldn't make it due to being in the process of moving into a new home in Switzerland. But filling in for him was our custom-made "Port-A-Rudi!"

Here's our Then and Now Photo

And here's TropicalFlyer and Catman having drinks with "Port-A-Rudi."

So here's to all of you that attended back in 1999! Such great times. From the upper deck of a 747 occupied exclusively by PIPsters, to the great times and contributions of all the attendees and Randy Petersen and his crew!

For you newer FlyerTalk members that weren't around at the time, here's some links that contain many pictures:

Party In Paradise Web Site

Live From the PIP

PIP Express UA 57