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| Hanging out on the sand bar! |
I have one sentence written for my religion paper, which is
due in three days. But here’s the thing? I don’t care enough to write it right
now, because my mind is in Gulf Shores, Alabama with my 30 other friends on the
beach. Did you catch that? I don’t care. (Sorry, Mom..)
For seven days I lived in the land of no worries with my
amazing friends. It was the most fun time
of my life. I was sad to be without the entire rest of my family, yes, but
I honestly could not have asked for a better week. And here’s why…
DAD’S SUBURBAN.
Seven girls with a lot of belongings in one vehicle for 18 hours
is a lot to handle. BUT holy cow it was fun and we took shifts to drive
straight through. Lots of snacks, fleece blankets, iPod playlists, delirious
stories, and the occasional shot of 5 Hour Energy proved to be a wonderful way
of bonding.
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| Ready to leave Ames and head to Alabama! |
OUR COMPLEX.
We had a group of around 18 fraternity gentlemen and 14
sorority beauties head down south, which means we required a lot of beds (or
blankets for the floor). Renting out two of the three houses 1.5 blocks from
the ocean was a very good decision on
our part. Our houses were crazy nice for college kids and included our own
pool, sand volleyball court, 20 or so bicycles (on any given day), an outdoor
living space, three hammocks, and three cabanas each equipped with a different
gaming system. I mean, WHOAAAAA.
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| Our sand volleyball court! |
DELTA BAMA.
When we left
Greekland in our vehicles, we had 9 Chi Omegas, 4 Sigma Kappas, and 1 beautiful
Gamma Phi Beta. When we left Alabama, we had founded our own sorority complete
with traditions, hand signs, and officers – Delta BAMA. :) I overheard one of the girls
on the trip saying, “I left Ames with strangers and came back with best
friends,” and I wholeheartedly agree. I have been without them for almost two
nights and I feel like I’m going through sisterly withdrawal.
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| Missing two sisters, but these are my beautiful roomies! |
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| Throwing up the first draft of our hand sign... |
DON’T CARE.
The trip’s motto became “Don’t Care” very quickly. One of our SigEp men coined the term and soon our
girls house became infatuated with the song “I Love It” by Icona Pop…lyrics are I don’t care, I love
it! I. Don’t. Care. Can you blame us for loving that line? Anytime anyone
said anything mildly negative, confrontational, or stressful it got an
immediate shutdown by anyone nearby. We didn’t need any
pressure/stress/school/obligations in Gulf Shores. We needed fun (and we got
it).
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| We didn't care when we found our statue buried... |
OUR COUCH.
To be honest with you, we napped a lot on spring break because
why wouldn’t we? We laid in the sun, we ate lunch, and then we napped inside.
Not only was our couch wonderful for napping, but also for chatty cathy
sessions. In case you’re not aware, all girls do is talk…and our couch could
hold enough of us to have hours worth of conversation. J AND of course a “Bad Girls
Club” marathon, which I don’t recommend unless you’re with a dozen other fun
twenty-somethings.
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| A little TV time with my Delta Bama sisters! |
ALTER EGOS.
I became “Cassie” to anyone from other schools, which meant
all but 30 people in the whole area. Our neighbors from Kansas State called me
“Cass” when I climbed into the suburban at the end of the trip… SUCCESS!!! I
lasted a week as the carefree, sassy, alternative Anna named Cassie and my
goodness do I miss her already. Other names included Brad, Cinnamon, Dom, Hazel, Lance, Travis,
Brittany, etc. It’s a challenge to remember other names for people you already have
both real names and nicknames for…
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| Cinnamon with her Mac 'N Cheese, naturally. |
WAFFLE HOUSE.
I don’t know if you guys know this, but I am absolutely obsessed
with anything edible that’s both cheap and greasy. It’s a rough life, I know.
The great thing about Gulf Shores (besides it’s people, weather, beach, etc.)
is that it accommodates tourists with a local Waffle House complete with grits
and southern hospitality. I made my sisters go multiple times. And I never
regretted letting the grease drip off my delicious strips of bacon. ;)
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| The Friday morning Waffle House crew! |
THE WEDDING.
To change things up a bit, we put together a wedding between
one handsome SigEp gentleman and one gorgeous Delta Bama sister. Festivities
included a candle passing, bachelor/bachelorette parties, a ceremony complete
with sentimental vows and rings made out of plastic straws, and a reception
featuring the song “Wagon Wheel” by Old Crow Medicine Show (of course).
Needless to say, it was a huge success. **Did I mention those two people aren’t even dating? #YOLO
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| The happy newlyweds! |
Wait… WHY did we come back to Iowa and snow again? I don’t
have a logical answer besides that our parents told us to start driving to beat
the “giant snowstorm” tearing through the Midwest…. Riiiiiighhtt. Until next
year, Gulf Shores! XOXO We’ll miss you dearly!
**If you’re looking for some entertainment, search #Bubba on
twitter to live through our Gulf Shores fun from the last week. ;)
