um…if you know anything about Marco Island, it’s for rich families with time shares. Clearly not the most exciting Spring Break imaginable but it had a beach so I was there.
Leaving dreary Michigan, it was around 70 (usually warm for this time) to go to 85 degree weather in Florida. As girls, we surprisingly convinced ourselves to share suitcases. 4 girls with 2 suitcases. I ended up only using 1/4 of the suitcase. What?! That’s frugality at its best. I brought 2 dresses, 2 shirts, 1 pair of jeans, 1 pair of shorts and a swimsuit. I cannot express the disbelief I had that it was possible but I survived the week without smelling. (It helped that we had a washer and dryer..like any condo on Marco Island should.)
Lesson: Frugality is worth it. (25 dollars to bring a suitcase…ridiculous)
Besides the financial benefits of being frugal, I think it’s a very beneficial lifestyle. I may not live it out yet but I’m taking small steps to get myself there. I understand America’s economy is based on consumerism and debt but I do truly prefer a smaller lifestyle. Thrift store shopping, buying local, biking to locations, using the bus…small changes but I really am working hard on changing a lot of things in my life…I still need to get a bike. I have to buy at least one more thing…
On the flight, I was lucky enough to sit with this lovely older couple. We ended up really hitting it off. I did some serious flirting and ended up with their son’s phone number by the end of the flight. Yes that’s right. Parents love me. I thought that possibly I had found a pretty great catch. From what they told me about him, he liked to have a good time but was very sensitive. He’s hard working and is going to school to be an engineer. The parents had some red wine so I knew they liked to go out too. It was like a dream come true. I, being of the 21st century, used Facebook to decide if this guy could be for me. Sadly, my extremely creepy facebook stalking led me to believe that this could never be a man for me. He had a horribly tacky initials tattoo and to be completely honest…he was pretty fugs. Sigh oh well. I will just miss out on some awesome in-laws.
Lesson: Attractive parents usually have ugly children.
So…I know this isn’t true all the time but the kid isn’t usually as attractive as their parent which drives the perception that they are ugly…or they are just straight up ugly. (also I’m kind of kidding about this…kind of.)
My parents picked us up at the airport and we ended up in an awesome condo. The girls, Liz, Fiona, Kelsey and I went out to the beach that night. It was seriously out of a Sandals commercial. We walked into the water, looked up at the moon and saw some high school kids get busted for underage drinking. It was like a dream. As we walked back to our condo, another group of kids asked if we had any marijuana. Clearly they are going far in life. (I’m not giving a case against marijuana use but against idiots who ask people they don’t know for marijuana…seriously?)
Lesson: Think before you speak.
I was just shocked when those kids asked us that. They were a distance off too. Maybe they heard us swearing? I don’t know…does that mean we have weed? Maybe they saw us pushing each other into the sand? Does that mean we are high? I don’t know but bottom line is..Those people were just stupid especially because there were cop cars just 500 feet away talking to the underage drinkers.
Sooo that was the first day of vacation…Continuing on to Saturday which happened to be L’s 21st Birthday. Where do four girls go on an Island meant for people age 50 and up? The Irish Pub! There was a staggering 10 people there when we arrived. Liz was supposed to turn 21 at midnight and Kelsey wasn’t even 21 yet. We kindly informed our waiter of this and in true Irish style he said, “Don’t worry about it.” Liz ordered her Guinness, Fiona her Blue Moon and I had a Samuel Adams. The bartender tried to coax Kelsey into a beer but he didn’t understand the “I can’t.” She’s gluten intolerant…
Lesson: The Irish are hospitable.
After that night, I have a lot of respect for my Irish roots. I’m a large mix of everything but it almost made me want to adopt Irish culture completely. Learn some recipes, visit my homeland, drink some beer. Sounds like a good time to me.
There ended up being live music from a traveling Irish folk singer. AWESOME. She then found out it was Liz’s birthday and had her come up and play this percussive stick instrument with a can on top. Pretty fancy. All of us were then called onto the stage after they discovered my name was Sarah. We proceeded to sing a song that had several verses like this one…
Sarah, Sarah sitting in a shoe shine shop.
Sarah, Sarah sitting in a shoe shine shop.
All day long she sits and shines.
All day long she shines and sits.
Sarah, Sarah sitting in a shoe shine shop.
Fiona gave a nice “Fuck fuck fuck” upon giving up on her verse. I believe her line was “All day long she flips and tucks.” Well the bar closed before midnight so we didn’t even get to Liz’s birthday so we had to fine somewhere to celebrate at the stroke of midnight.
Lesson: Don’t tell the entertainment your real name.
…Apparently there could be a song they will make you sing. It was a damn good time though so I didn’t mind so much
We went to a place that is an Italian restaurant during the day and dance club at night. Clearly, it was going to be fantastic. Upon arrival, there were about 15 people…there seemed to be high concentrations of 20-30 year old people on Marco island (understand that is complete sarcasm). We went into the bathroom as a group..as girls do. We also took a picture…again…as girls do. It was at this point I remember placing my phone on the counter. We went out and danced for a while. Some guy went into the middle of our group. We proceeded to ignore him. Sigh..the class of the club. There was also a lovely 60 year old man dancing with a 20 year old. A lady gave us the scoop that he’s there every weekend trying to dance with the young ladies. What is up with that?! Every dance club I have been there has had that loner old man. What do they expect from us?! I could probably grind up on an old man if I was drunk but do people actually go home with them. ugh…Those guys have high expectations of beer goggles.
Lesson: Don’t go home with the creepy old loner man at the club.
explains itself…
Anyway…upon leaving that spectacular dance club, I realized I didn’t have my phone. It was no where to be found..not at the bar, our booth or in the bathroom. My conclusion is that it was swiped. My first night out in Marco Island and my phone has decided to do a vanishing act. Oh joy.
Lesson: Loosing your phone is not the end of the world.
Truly, losing contact with everyone over spring break was the best thing ever. I could go on a bike ride and no one would bother me. I didn’t have to ruin conversation by texting. I haven’t had my phone for over a week and being back in the real world..it’s a little more difficult but I seriously love not having a phone. I might turn it off a little bit more regularly. I don’t need to be able to communicate with people 24/7. If I’m spending time with someone, I am completely focused on them. No one likes to be ignored for a text message. This is one of the lifestyle changes that goes along with my frugality lesson.
Stay tuned for a larger accident that occurred on my spring break…
Woops... 