Twas the year 1997 when we all escaped to LA for the Rose bowl game - 9 girls, one apartment
(my cousin's bless his heart) and
1 mini van - Some of us had been roommates for 4 years at that time - some just one
5 of us were able to reunite in a beautiful condo in Naples - almost 6! Sherry, we missed you!
We landed on a rather rainy afternoon (a good time to arrive right?) and settled in the Condo - Michele's folks rent this condo for a few months in the winter and were gracious to go stay with friends for the weekend so we could enjoy the time together.
That night I managed to get the crew together and head to a liquor store that our friends from our softball days - Lauren and Kathy opened as their retirement project. They were having a HUGE tasting that evening. We managed to grab food and lots of yummy samples - even managed a quick link up with these guys! My folks were staying in Sanibel just one more night and came out to say hi!
One of the best things about the weekend was just the time with everyone - I loved our evenings with a glass of wine talking about life - with many years and directions between us there was really never a dull moment and I never thought we ran out of things to talk about.
Friday we opted to go find the sandy beach - brrrr - it was windy!
We cuddled up for this photo and for a bit of warmth - Love how this photo turned out.
Toes in the water - almost at least.
Next a little walk along 5th avenue to find a kid 'unfriendly' place to eat.
and maybe an alligator
We came back to this beautiful flower arrangement and bottle of Champagne from our sweet senior year roommate Wendy! So thoughtful of her!
Now to warm up in the hot tub
Yes - lots of selfies!
That night was a fabulous dinner at Roy's steakhouse - another 'kid unfriendly' place - well I guess you could take your kiddos, but why??
Saturday was NICE - sunny, warm enough to occupy one of these beautiful chairs and just sit by the pool
So that is exactly what we did.
They brought us drinks and lunch - I am not one for taking photos of my food - but this was a MUST!
There were kids at these pools, but the one we chose was actually too cold, everyone that got in, got right back out. Wise choice for this kidless crew (did I mention, between the 5 of us, 14 kids!)
In the afternoon, Nicole, Lisa and I escaped for a little paddle board yoga - I was looking for an experience that I really just won't do with kiddos - this was it! Anna was our instructor from Germany - we paddled out to a secluded area for no waves and went through a simple yoga class -
Simple until you realized you were on a board.
Well, Nicole made it look very simple! I was amazed at how quickly she was able to steady herself and do this!
I had a few poses
This one is called the disappearing top half - not my shirt, my entire body!
Anna recommended pulling to the side of the road on the drive home and just watching the sunset - so glad we did. The sky was BEAUTIFUL!
Had to try the leaping across the beach photo - didn't work out as I had imagined - but still cool
Pretty ladies
We got home, prettied up and headed out to dinner
Met some golfers on the way home too (this was the appropriate photo)
I brought a photo album I had put together right after college, so there were some great photos in there - figured these ladies were the only ones who might remotely appreciate them, so I hauled them all the way out to florida - here was another favorite combo
Sunday morning Nicole and Michele had a rather early flight, while Lisa, Alaine and I got to soak in another morning by the pool - so rushing, just chatting - again, I just soaked in the extra time with these ladies - we tried not to talk kids because I wanted to know who we turned into, what we loved, what frustrates us, what makes us feel awesome. These ladies walked into my life in 1994 and were a HUGE part of why I LOVED college life.
I love what each of them is doing in their lives right now - their successes, their hurdles - many I thank them all for taking the time out of their daily lives to make this weekend truly possible.
There is nothing simple about putting life on hold, booking tickets finding accommodations etc.. but it was important to us and we made it happen. I hope they truly know how that made ME feel as well. Love you all for exactly who you are!
I feel this year of turning 40 makes me realize how happy I am right now - right here - in this life - with this family - with these friends and these experiences that have made my who I am today. I hope we can all take that with us.
