It was an ink-redible day.

Two cross-country pen pals, who had been corresponding with one another since they were elementary school students in 1980, finally met for the first time in Wayne, PA.

“Only difference is now we’ve been in the same place at the same time,” Krystel Alston of Ontario, CA told ABC6 about her dear friend on paper, Haley Briggs of Douglassville, PA.

They first connected as part of a school project as ten-year-olds four decades ago and have loved every minute of it since.

Alston said the school was “probably” hoping” for the scenario that came to be when assigning students pen pals.

“We wrote by-hand letters for a long time,” Briggs added.

“I think we thought about each other, you know, whether we were in contact or not.”

As the two pen pals got to know each other, they discovered that they each lived distinctly different lives.

“Our differences, we would write about and that’s what I would learn about and she would learn about me,” said Alston. “It was a new experience with a new person.”

Admittedly, during the comparatively recent rise of social media, the two women began talking more online as it was not only easier, but they could share pictures of themselves, too.

“We always stayed in touch in some way,” said Alston.

They planned on meeting in 2020 to celebrate their 50th birthdays, but that plan was stalled out by COVID-19.

Recently, Alston was finally able to travel to the Keystone State for a first meeting at a local Marriott Courtyard and a nice Italian dinner.

“We’ll just continue to stay in contact and stay in each other’s lives,” Alston added.