"This is not my first rodeo" has been one of my favorite phrases as of late. It has been applicable to a variety of different situations including finding my way to a specific unknown location in the city, taking an overnight bus, packing lightly, and many others.
When it comes to bachelorette parties, however, this past weekend,
was my first rodeo. Never had I ever been to a bachelorette party. Well, that's not entirely true. For Laura Beth's wedding last year we had a bachelorette party, but it was the night before the wedding, and was basically just a night of drinking wine and gossiping. This bachelorette party involved games, outfit changes and a city I had never been out in! This was my first rodeo.
On Friday morning I waited for Nicole's call before heading out to meet her in New Jersey. I had done some googlemaps research to find a NJ Transit station as close to the Garden State Parkway as possible. I found the stop in Clifton, and planned to meet her there just after noon. I made the transfers, texting Nicole, and realizing we would be arriving at almost exactly the same time. But, it was too good to be true.
The station didn't have an exact address, only an intersection. And while googlemaps had no problem navigating to the spot, Nicole's Garmin was less accommodating. By the time I arrived, Nicole was nearby, but completely lost. I played with my map on my telephone, kept Nicole on speakerphone, directing her, and we eventually managed to find each other. We were back on the road again, but about an hour behind schedule.
We arrived in Mathews County, VA close to 8 pm. With traffic and torrential rain along the way, we were knocked way off of schedule. Fortunately Allie and Joe, her fiancée, were more than forgiving, and had us meet them at the restaurant.
When we arrived, Allie and Joe were each enjoying a beer and chatting with a couple and their two children. We were introduced and learned that the family had recently moved to Mathews. Nicole and I each ordered a beer and the four of us passed a menu between us to order food. All the while, the new couple was chatting with us. When our food was delivered we decided to move to a table. The couple acknowledged our location change and also moved... To the table directly next to ours. They had hinted that their children were tired and should head home soon, but they showed no sign of packing up.
The couple sat next to us the entire time. And they talked to us the entire time. Their children began acting up and running around, but they just kept on chatting. The husband would occasionally get up to chase a curly red head around the restaurant, but mostly they talked. Nonstop.
Joe eventually got up to pay the bill, and the three of us started putting our jackets on. The family started getting their jackets on as well, and walked out of the restaurant with us. Nicole and I drove back to Allie and Joe's and were ecstatic to finally be able to talk to each other! When the four of us were in the house we all let out a huge sigh of relief. As kind as the couple was, we just wanted to talk to each other! It had been months since we had seen each other, and the talk of Alabama Mardi Gras parties was not what we were in the mood for. The poor couple was starved for conversation. They just wanted friends. We did our good deed for the day by listening, but we were very excited to just have each other.
The next morning we woke up to drink mimosas and enjoy a delicious home cooked breakfast. I whipped up a batch of brownies, but that will be explained in my next post. At around 10 Joe called Allie to have us come down to the dock. The three of us went across the street to the family's dock to see Warren unloading the morning's catch. The three men, clad in waders and boots, threw around the fish, moving them, counting them, and loading them on the truck for delivery. Two hundred fish, three coolers and five trash barrels of ice later, the truck was loaded. Unfortunately, I left my camera at the house, because boy, it was a sight. Hopefully I'll get photos when I'm back for the wedding.
The three of us ladies headed back to the house and leisurely got ready for the day. When we finally left the house around two we were dressed and ready for the shower. We drove to Richmond for the shower, held at Allie's cousin and Matron of Honor's house. We played a quick game, naming each famous person's significant other, and then moved on to opening gifts. After eating far too many Easter candies from the candy dish, we headed to our hotel downtown to change for the bachelorette party. In our adjoining rooms our group of twenty laughed as Nicole and I showed our excitement for our first wedding shower and bachelorette party. All of the people in our group had engagement rings and wedding bands fixed on their fingers. Many of the women had children at home. Nicole and I, the only people from outside of Virginia, were the odd men out. They women were shocked that Nicole and I had never been to a bachelorette party. The two of us tried to explain, as kindly as possible, that where we come from, people wait a little longer to get hitched. So, we donned our "going out" makeup and outfits, ready to rock the night as the only single ones in the crowd.
We went to dinner at The Tobacco Factory and the games began. Allie was forced to wear a candy necklace all night, having men eat the necklace piece by piece. I can't say that I wasn't embarrassed.
The night continued downstairs in the nightclub. We were armed with a list of tasks to complete, each worth a different point value. Allie's sister-in-law-to-be was out of control. Before I even had a beer in hand, she had managed to rack up a whopping 80 points. I chose to stand back, and take it all in.
Unfortunately, I was taking more than the sights in as the night went on; I was taking in copious amounts of secondhand smoke. Ew, Virginia. Get with it. Within 10 minutes of being in the club I felt like an ash tray. I had to leave at around 11 pm to catch a bus back to NYC, so I said my goodbyes and grabbed a cab. On the way to the hotel I immediately googled smoking regulations in Wisconsin. After less than two hours in the club, I knew I could never live in a place without smoking bans!
Here is the chart I found on wikipedia depicting smoking bans in the US. Before you become concerned, make sure you look at the key. (White is a good thing!)
I got back to the hotel, changed my shoes, my dress and my undergarments... I was done smelling like a stale cigarette. I soon realized that my hair was less forgiving than I had hoped, and the stench wasn't going anywhere. I didn't have time to fret or shower. I grabbed my bag, jumped in another cab and spent a whopping $33 to go to the bus station. The cab cost $13 more than my ticket back to NYC... oh, well.
At 12:30 I boarded the Chinatown bus and was reminded of the little things from Thailand that I don't miss. I don't miss the pushing, the lack of personal space, the ridiculous amounts of awkward pieces of luggage and taped up boxes. I miss Thailand, but I don't miss traveling in Asia.
I arrived back in NYC just after 6 am on Sunday morning. I had received lots of text messages throughout the night. The girls had a wonderful time. At 5:45 am I received a message from Nicole. I was shocked, thinking they were still up partying. As it turns out, the fire alarm was pulled, and everyone had to go down to the lobby. Nicole sent me this photo with the caption, "no, these are not strippers."
All in all it was a great, but brief, weekend. And the whirlwind didn't stop when I arrived back in NYC. I was on a flight at 2 pm Sunday afternoon for Wisconsin. Stay tuned for why....!
