Thursday, March 27, 2014

The best week of my life

When: Spring Break (March 16th-23rd)
Who: 7 of my best friends in the entire world
What to pack: 50+ pounds of outfits & sunscreen
Destination: THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

    There are always those people on vacation that you can't help but just stare at. Whether they are talking super loud, hauling tons of bags, taking pictures nonstop or just being "out of place"...well that was my pack of spring breakers, we were those people! 8 beautiful college girls, in big floppy hats, monogrammed beach bags, a tropical drink in hand, ready to take on our all-inclusive.

    We spent the night in ATL, and we caught our flight to Punta Cana the next morning. After 3 1/2 hours of flying, we arrived to 85 degrees, palm tress, "do not drink the water" and no English speaking people. After throwing our luggage into our 2 villas, we threw on our bathing suits, got drinks and started exploring the resort. MaryScott found a coconut that we convinced her was a walnut, bought WiFi almost solely to Instagram pictures, found a Dominican version of a "Walk Me Down," and explored the property. Later that night, we decided to do the buffet for dinner because we did not have reservations for any of resort reservations. I still to this day couldn't tell you what I ate because it was so dark in the room and I didn't have my glasses on so I was flying blind on that dinner.

    After saying I was going to get up early to get beach chairs, we all ended up not making it out until a little after 10a.m. We made it to the beach to only find two chairs in the shade, a good area for towel laying, men in speedos and women running around topless. That's when I realized that we were a bunch of southern college girls stuck in the middle of European holiday. Now I know what it's like to feel like the minority because it was rare to hear someone speak English or even be from America for that matter. We layed on the beach all day, some burned and some didn't. That night, we spent the evening at the Italian restaurant sipping on cervasas and stuffing our faces with bruschetta. After the Italian restaurant kicked us out because it was closing time, we danced all night at the discotequa which came equipped with pole dancers and a fog machine that we used to "Marilyn Monroe" with our dresses.

    The next three days were spent pretty much the same, breakfast buffet in the morning, beaching it, lunch at the closest buffet, more beaching and then dinner at night. One afternoon, we decided to do the pool which had a swim up bar (I mean how can you say no to that?). They were having pool games while we sat to the side with our Miami Vices. It was just like being on a cruise ship, people playing games everywhere, drinks at your becking call and so much food that you'll need to be hauled a wheelbarrow just to get back to the room. We had dinner at the Mexican restaurant which was spent with chimichangas and the "keep 'em coming" gesture for our margaritas. Allie was not a fan of this restaurant but I had the best beef burrito of my life (sorry Moe's).

   Our funniest dinner experience was spent on Thursday night. A group of Fiji's that we've been friends with since freshmen year were also at our resort. Although we weren't all technically there "together," we all still hung out at night at the bars. Since this was going to be the guys' last night, we figured we'd get a big reservation at the seafood restaurant so we could all eat together. When we came to deliver the news to them that morning at the beach, they had also made a big reservation for all 14 of us at the asian restaurant. 2 reservations, an hour and a half apart, what are we to do? WE WENT TO BOTH! Thursday night was spent at 2 restaurants for a SIX course meal. Getting into my bathing suit the next day was not so flattering but it was totally worth it to spend time with all of my friends.

    Then the time had finally come, the last day :( By this point I had burned my chest and shoulders, gained almost five pounds, and permanently had sand everywhere. I knew I had to make it to buy souvenirs before the day was over for my family and Miller. I grabbed Caitlin, Allie, MaryScott and Ariana to go to the open market which was right down the beach. The vibe of that place was that at any moment, one of us was going to be taken so we balled out of there pretty quick.

After saying goodbye to the beach and going back to get ready, we realized we still had MaryScott's "walnut" that we still had to open. We snuck a butter knife from dinner, got one of my wedge sandals, and sat on our deck trying to crack the darn thing. We thought we were going to get in trouble because a security guard kept watching us, but we realized he didn't even speak english. After about an hour of sawing and chiseling, and dozens of snapchats of me looking like an idiot, we gave up on the coconut and went in to finish packing. I could tell the week was finally starting to catch up with us because after being in the sun all day everyday and staying out until after 2a.m., everyone in my room was asleep before midnight. We flew out the next morning, made it to ATL, and drove back to Knoxville...to 40 something degrees (not the best welcome home present). Coming back to that cold with sunburns and lightweight clothes is not the best idea we all ever had but whatever we had made it back to Knoxvegas.

So as I look back on our week of chasing annoying peacocks, dancing with Rihanna impersonators, laughing constantly, and doing basket tosses in the ocean, this was without a doubt the best week of my life! I cannot imagine spending my last spring break with anyone else except my best friends who have been with me since freshmen year. I am so blessed to have all of these girls in my life and that we have all stuck together over the last four years. And as we declared on the trip, I cannot wait for our next tropical getaway to "get away" from the kids/husband! I LOVE YOU ALL SISSIES
#DIVASDODOMINICAN FOREVER
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