One Trip,Two Nights, and Three Crazy Friends

The fun part of vacationing with your friends is getting learn all about their likes, dislikes, and idiosyncrasies. The annoying part of vacationing with your friends is getting learn all about their likes, dislikes, and idiosyncrasies... and you can quote me on that!

With barely a chance to unpack the dirty laundry from the last girls' getaway, I went on another one this weekend with a different group of friends...

While I am not COMPLAINING about the chance to get away (again), even I admit that this is getting a bit excessive. At some point, I should probably try spending a weekend at home with my family, right? (hehe)

In my defense, the original plan was to have a spa day and night out IN TOWN during the summer, but somehow it morphed into a whole weekend away at a lakeside lodge in mid-November. I was hesitant about committing- partially because of the cost and partially because of the timing and partially because I wasn't sure about spending that much time with these particular women, but I would never tell them that to their faces...

They eventually wore me down and I agreed to go... provided I could push my agenda. When the four of us got together to plot our getaway several weeks ago, I told them that my "goals" for the weekend were to relax, read my book, and have a linear thought (so elusive when you have young children...) It seems that we ALL wanted something similar and one of them suggested a destination just an hour away, a quaint little lodge and marina.

It certainly wasn't a place I would have stumbled upon or even thought of on my own, so I considered it was great find. Based on the photos on their website, the lodge looked cozy, the lake looked serene, and the restaurant on property was supposed to be excellent. Perfect!

I met these women and their husbands through our church a few years ago. Hubby and I socialize with them quite a bit and over time, I've noticed certain quirks about each of them. Nothing dysfunctional or harmful to our friendship... just little personality things that are easy to ignore and fine to deal with in sparing doses. Otherwise, they're a blast!

Well, it seems spending two nights together in the middle of nowhere only makes these quirks more difficult to ignore.

For instance, I knew going into this trip that all of us are on the chatty side, but I figured we could talk while we played cards or went on hikes, but then have some downtime to enjoy the scenery.

I mean, look at this view... and that cute gazebo with its wicker bench swings. It's just begging for a conversation about feminine freshness...

For all the peace and quiet afforded by the nature and beauty surrounding us, I did not get one moment of silence on this trip. So much for having my grand "linear thought", I had to fight just to get a word in...

One of them just about drove me to madness. Feeling the need to describe everything little thing that she was either feeling or thinking, she was not unlike a toddler with absolutely no filter what so ever. It was barely tolerable (just barely) until she had a little too much to drink and started saying everything in an incoherent, pouty-faced, nasally whine. I would have smacked her if I hadn't had a drink in my hand.

This was after she and our other friend decided to SPLIT a cobb salad for lunch because neither one was "that hungry", but they couldn't agree on which ingredients to be included on it. One wanted the bleu cheese with ranch dressing on the side, but no eggs, avocado, or tomatoes. The other wanted tomatoes and avocado, but not the bleu cheese or the bacon... or something like that.

They ended up asking the waitress for a bed of lettuce with all of the other ingredients on separate plates on the side. I, on the other hand, ordered my own salad for lunch like a NORMAL person and happily munched away while they picked and chose their salad toppings. Once we had finished, the two who had split the "salad bar" decided that just wasn't enough food and ended up ordering something else anyway...

We played cards the rest of the afternoon. I thought we could gossip while we played, but apparently that slowed down the "winning". One of them insisted that we all just "concentrate on the game" or "get it moving faster". Competitive much?

A few hours into it, I suggested that I sit out the next few games to read my book for a while. Dismayed, the other three asked if I was bored... if I was feeling all right... would I rather play dominoes or a different card game instead...

"Not at all. I just really like the book I brought," I said. I appreciated them for trying to be so accommodating, but what I really wanted to say was, "I just need to get the f- away from all of you for a while..."

When I finally had a chance to settle in with my book, one of the girls followed me to the gazebo and wanted to tell me all about the book she was reading. When it starting getting dark, I told her I was heading into the lodge to read, and she followed me there, too. I never made it past the second chapter of my book.

Okay, so our trip wasn't all bad. Again, NOT COMPLAINING about being released from my recent and week-long "house arrest". Determined to relax and enjoy myself, I was able to overlook most of the "quirkiness" most of the time. I just thought I'd highlight the "gag reel" for you...


Today, I'm grateful to be home, with all it's day-to-day chaos and madness. At least, it's my madness and I get to read my book at night...


Of course, once I got back it was Hubby's turn to have the queasy stomach... Oy! I'm glad I got out while I still could.