Spring Break 2012!

When you're no longer a student, not a teacher, or don't have school-age kiddos, Spring Break doesn't mean much...unless you proactively plan a girls trip around the first of March and pretend like you're coeds again.  :) Just kidding, there was none of that craziness this past weekend, just a fabulous, fun, r-e-l-a-x-i-n-g beach/spa trip with a great group of girlfriends.

I still can't believe that we managed to pull it off and find a weekend where the six of us could all meet  - how is that even possible with our crazy lives?!  After weeks of planning and hundreds of emails back and forth about various topics like "do we need a rental car", "how many spa treatments should we book...each?", and "Wristbands!?  Keeping it classy!", we all arrived in Fort Lauderdale late Thursday, traveling in from Chicago, New York, New Jersey, Atlanta, Charlotte and New Orleans.  Could we have been any more excited!?

"Here's to a fabulous weekend!"

Let me lay out how our next few days went:  Wake up after 9 hours of sleep and move to the lounge chair at the pool.  Get up from the lounge chair to find the pool waiter.  Laugh a bit with the gals.  Flag down the pool waiter again for a little snack.  Get up from the lounge chair and head to the spa appointment.  Stumble out of the spa appointment to melt back into the lounge chair for a nap.  Wake up from the nap, reposition on the lounge chair, and maybe find that darn pool waiter again.  Gossip a bit with the gals. Watch the sun go down from the lounge chair, and figure it's about time to get up, get dressed, and find someplace with good seafood for dinner.  Pick-a-little, talk-a-little with the gals.  Head back to the room and fall asleep - another solid 9 hours - and then repeat that day all over again.  

Seriously?  Can I just do this every weekend?

(I'm going to ignore the fact that I did see lots of emailing on the mobile devices, and a few people had the audacity to whip out their laptop from their pool bag.  I would pass judgement, but I was one of those sad souls, too...)

I know that Ft. Lauderdale may have received a bad rep back in the day, but I actually found the hotel and the places we visited to be fantastic.  Definitely could not complain about the accommodations, nor the views:

Nor could I complain about the food.  Lots of really lovely seafood out there, and many great choices on the water.  I always know we're at the beach when the fresh filet is served while I can smell the surf outside.

But, my favorite part of the weekend - of the entire trip - was the girls that I spent it with.  I love these ladies, and it's wonderful to know that no matter how far away we are, how long it's been, or where we are in our lives, we can pick right back up right where we left off.