Bachelorette Party Weekend: Packing Up, PDX and Home

After some not-so-great sleep, but got a little bit of sleep, I got up around 8 a.m. because I heard people downstairs thumping around. I used the restroom, got dressed and started packing up my stuff.  I went downstairs and the girls were making the rest of the breakfast we had the day before.  We wanted to eat as much of it as possible, so we didn't have to pack any of it home.  I added the orange I brought to my breakfast ensemble. 

Megan and Fitzy had gone for a walk earlier than morning and were on their way back for breakfast. We ate as much food as we possibly could and packed up the rest.  I told Celeste that Ben would eat the rest of the sausage, so I packed that up in my cooler.  We spent the rest of our time, packing up food, packing up our belongings, shoving everything into the cars and checking off our list the Vrbo owner had us do before we checked out.  We did find some weird stuff in the house while we were cleaning up after ourselves. We had to start a load of towels, closed the windows, adjusted the thermostats and made sure the garbage was out.  I think this is a little excessive since they probably hire someone to clean up after guests, but whatever.

You could tell Erika was done and needed to leave.  I was thankful she made the journey down to spend time with me and my friends.  She needed to get out of the house and be around people.  Who knows, maybe my friends will become her friends for certain gatherings.  I guess we will see.  She was the first to leave the house.  She thanked everyone, made sure she had everything packed up and got in her car.  I told her to text me occasionally to check in and to make sure she got home safely.  She said she would do that.

We all made sure everything was packed up in Megan car and my Escape after one last sweep of the house.  I thanked everyone for everything they did for me that weekend.  I haven't been the center of attention in quite some time and honestly, it felt pretty good.  I am usually the person doing things for everyone else and it was nice to be on the other side of that for a weekend.  

Megan, Celeste and Nicole drove north towards Astoria and Fitzy, and I drove south towards Seaside.  We stopped at the Shell gas station and got gas.  It was super expensive.  $4.45 a gallon!  Megan paid for the gas because she appreciated the ride to the airport.  We hit the Hwy 26 junction and drove east towards Portland.  It's been a while since I was on that highway.  I told Fitzy stories about when I lived in Oregon for a year.  It rained a couple times.  We talked the entire drive about politics, abortion, the wedding, moving, her job, my job, family, etc.  We hit a lot of topics during that two-hour drive, and it was nice to visit with her since I don't get to see her very often because of distance.

We got into Portland around 12:30. The traffic wasn't that bad which was nice. We got to PDX rather quickly.  I thanked her for coming over, she told me she had a great time and thanked me for picking her up and dropping her off.  I helped her get her bags out of the back of the Escape, we gave each other a side hug, she went into the airport, and I drove off.

I got onto 205 and then onto I-5 north.  I chatted with Ben and Mom and hit many rainstorms along the way, which was a bummer, because I wanted to stop and pick up some geocaches.  I didn't want to get soaked so I just went all the way home with no stops.  I got home around 2:45, unpacked the Escape, showered, did some laundry, put stuff away and relaxed for a few minutes.

I got my grocery bags in the Escape, grabbed my list and headed out to go grocery shopping around 4 p.m.  I went to Costco first, bought some comfy slides, and then to Walmart.  I bought a pizza because I was feeling like a pizza.  Ben came home from visiting with his mom, sister and aunt Shelly.  He made himself some meatloaf for dinner.  We watched the Canucks and Predators, ate some pie, I did some internet stuff and folded laundry.

Over the weekend I found four caches and 13 waypoints, hung out with my friends and sister, made tons of memories and it was just...fun.  Plain and simple.

I wrote this post on Facebook, so everyone knew that I have pretty awesome friends.

"Wow, what a weekend!

I would love to take this opportunity to thank my friends and sister for putting together a bachelorette/girls/getaway weekend for me. It was everything I thought it would be and more.

I am not used to people doing things for me, or being the center of attention, as I am usually the planner, arranger, the get stuff done person in most, not all, of the gatherings I am a part of. This includes family and friends. I kinda felt like a bum, but it was good to see what it was like, and feels like, from this end of the experience.

They planned and executed it well. They had the perfect games, food, drinks, snacks and even let me take them geocaching, even though all of them would rather play Pokémon Go, lol. We probably stayed up way too late, later than people normally go to bed, but I loved the laughs and funny memories we will share...and keep sharing, for years to come. I am thankful to have friends like them in my life.

Thank you to Nicole, who helped organize and come up with our fun activities, you always make parties fun and exciting. Awwww yeaahh!

Thank you to Celeste, who helped with planning the menu, cooking and making sure everything was on track, including the itinerary. It was really hard not knowing what was being planned on the secret Facebook event. I pledge allegiance, to the flag...

Thank you to Megan, who helped drive, reserved the house for all of us to share, making food and aided in the planning and execution of the girl's weekend. Oo-De-Lally!

Thank you to Fitzy, who flew out from Spokane to hang out and spend time with all of us, that was quite the journey you took. We will never forget you almost taking out the fridge while pretending to be a magnet.

Thank you to Lindsay, who wasn't able to make it, but she contributed with snacks that she dropped off prior to the weekend.

And, thank you to Erika, who agreed to be my maid of honor, even though she is 8 months pregnant. You were a trooper!"

Next Adventure:  Trish Finally Retires!