Party's Over

As always, CampAPhi came and went too quickly. My coworkers were skeptical that 18 girls could survive an entire weekend in the same cabin. Not only did we survive, we thrived!!! What a rush it was on my way to the cabin Thursday with the truck packed to the top! D and I kept in close phone contact the whole way there to see who would arrive first. I won!! After checking in and almost backing the truck over the hill, I rolled up to my home away from home with a big grin on my face. The time had come.....CampAPhi 2008 had officially begun. I unloaded the truck as quickly as I could, chose my bedroom and eagerly awaited the arrival of my BFF. After we unpacked her car, we popped open our first beverages and sat down at the kitchen table to a rousing game of 'Up and Down the River'. It seemed like forever before the rest of the gals started arriving but the next thing I knew...we had a group of very giddy, very hungry sisters waiting for the road trip into the big town of Bridgeport for dinner. 10 of us ate at Yesterday's and the diner probably still hasn't figured out what hit them. The rest of Thursday night is a blur (not because of beverage - because of excitement) - I know we talked, laughed, sang and talked some more. We finally crashed around 1am knowing the Friday crew would start arriving and we'd need to be ready for more reunions and joy.

Friday morning, I was the last one up (as usual) and breakfast was already on the table. After breakfast, groups were already heading down to swim in the lake, play at the rec center and some just stayed behind to relax in the cabin. Friday afternoon was another blur, gals were arriving right and left all afternoon. As soon as we'd unpack one car - another group would arrive. The highlight of the afternoon was a carefully planned Scavenger Hunt for MissK. We had her going all the way down to the dock and all the way back up to the rec center where she found her big sister waiting for her. It seems MissS didn't have a business trip this weekend after all. Sneaky, sneaky!! MissK was thrilled, the group was pumped and it was time for group pics. Unfortunately the TX heat, some liquid beverages and a short stint in the cold rec center and D was down for the count. She left before a good group pic could be taken and didn't come out to play again for awhile. Guess RG will have to photoshop her into our group pic! Dinner was late (way too busy to stay on schedule at camp) but absolutely delicious!! Go dinner team! After dinner, there was alot more talking, laughing, singing and then finally folks started heading to bed around 1am.

Saturday morning AT and I were the last ones up (no surprise there)! Even D slept til 8am (WHOA). The breakfast team was in full swing with french toast and sausage by the time I crawled to the kitchen. It was so yummy. By the time we finished eating and had cleaned up the room, our fearless Captain Ron had arrived with the pontoon. Since the dinner team had to start the crockpots, it was decided we would split the group into 2 teams and take turns on the boat. Group one headed out while the rest of us prepped dinner, got out the Cricut for some playtime later, put on our suits and headed down to the swimmin' hole. After a few hours of frolicking in the lake, we decided to give up on the boat peoples return and head up to prepare lunch. The lunch team really came thru and had a delicious variety of lunchtime treats. After the boat people returned and lunch was consumed and cleaned, it was time for the other crew to hit the boat while the rest stayed behind to scrapbook, rest, read or whatever they wanted to do.

So the afternoon boat trip started off normal.....9 gals and a guy cruisin' down Lake Bridgeport w/ the breeze blowing in our hair (or do rags)......lots of laughter.....a fresh beverage popped open....good times....good times!! And then........we stopped suddenly in the cove to take a swim. Yes suddenly......too suddenly and with 6 of us sitting towards the front of the pontoon, we managed to dip the boat straight down into the lake and the SS Titanic started taking on too much water. Apparently, the view from the back of the boat was much more terrifying then the view for those of us actually up to our knees in water. We dashed overtop of each other to get the weight to the back and find some lifejackets! I remember seeing coolers, flipflops, towels and even one beer float by as I finally threw myself onto the floor of the boat trying to provide a "center of balance" for us all. It worked because the floating items and all that water washed out of the boat and into the lake. Thank goodness we had a paramedic on board because she had the presence of mind to jump in the lake immediately to save the beer!! Actually, S went after the missing boat parts, D went after her flipflops and the beer (only to get to it just as it sank into the abyss - moment of silence please) and I stayed safely on the floor in the center of the boat wanting to keep the center of balance in tact. After realizing the bench seats had filled up w/ water and scooping out most of it using frisbees, cupholders and a few drink cups - the boat was balanced and MC was able to breathe again. I'm glad I was not aware of the fact that she cannot swim or I might have actually had to freak out a bit during the boat tipping! Big props to D for knowing MC cannot swim and actually formulating a plan in her mind on how to save them both if the Titanic went under. A gold medal to KB for thinking clearly enough thru the whole thing to know that she had to finish her alcohol first before using her giant cup to scoop water from the seat bottoms!! No good Phi would ever waste alcohol and she remembered that after all these years - go KB!! Once everyone's heart rates returned to normal, we anchored and most jumped into the lake for a swim. Did I mention it was the same ones that went in the lake to save things earlier - apparently they never get enough of that lovely green lake water!! From what I understand, the silky slimy surface of the rocks at their feet provided the right amount of exfoliation so most will not need a pedi for quite awhile. Sorry I missed that part because I love the feel of silky slime on my feet! Maybe next year.

After dumping those that had had enough lake thrills for one afternoon, five of us went back out on the water w/ Captain Ron. Watching D, SW and KB bob on Big Bertha was so worth risking my life on the boat again. Watching D bounce on every wave that Captain Ron so expertly hit was an experience. If MC ever gets a chance to look at her camera, she will find some great stuff for youtube!

Since the dinner crew spent most of the day on the boat, it was a good thing we'd planned a simple crockpot dinner!! Dinner was served late as usual and everyone seemed to enjoy the vast amounts of protein provided! After dinner, we had a fire ceremony which brought out some important bonding moments, lots of tears and some really great bursts of fire! MatC brought a great slideshow which brought back memories of acid wash, big big hair, frat boys, formals and fun at the Phi house. I still think I'm going to try and bring acid wash back!! It rocks. There was some grandmother, big sister, little sister bonding on the front porch while others were watching "Fools Gold" in the cabin. Another late night but this time everyone headed to bed a little more slowly because we knew this was our last night together. Moment of sadness.......

Sunday morning was a hectic rush of packing, cleaning, laundry, hugs goodbye, promises to stay in touch, and the hope of an even bigger CampAPhi 2009!! To all of you that read my blog and spent this last weekend with me - I adore you all and look forward to next year. This was truly my favorite CampAPhi so far (and no I do not say that every year - my last favorite was 2 years ago at Cliffview). I loved the fact that so many 'lost' sisters came back into the fold this year and there was no awkward adjustment - everyone just fell into place like we were still in college (but with more gray, some crowsfeet and some sagging body parts). We may be older but we can still party like it's 1999!!