Friends. Funs. Floating

Dorothy form Wizard of Oz once said, "Oh, you're the best friends anybody ever had. And it's funny, but I feel as if I'd known you all the time, but I couldn't have, could I?" And this exactly how I felt this weekend while hanging out with my good pal E$ and her best friends from high school--she insisted I protect her identity. Most of us went to college together and we had a great girls weekend involving food, friends, fun, swimming, sun, smiles, and of course sparkling grape juice. There were a total of 9 girls and most people may think that there would be drama, but not with these chicks.  Instead, I felt like I was with some best friends because they were so inviting and most importantly, hilarious. 

Picture this: a group of girls with a bunch of personalities...

Source

no.no.no....not the hot British band from the 90s. But, if we were the spice girls, I would definitely have been Baby spice, because of my daintiness. In reality, I'm sure I'd be voted Scary Spice (mostly because no one wants to be her).


And the destination goes a little like this:

Source This isn't the exact cottage, but this is a pic from Gogebic Lodge's site

Now, I know what you're thinking: quaint, cute, nestled....but it was a little more like this


Imagine if you rounded up every bug you've come across in your life along with a jumble of spider/cob webs. Now decorate those delights with a garage-sale themed lodge decorated in Christmas-themed pinecone baskets, couches from Grandma's, Navajo clocks, a flat screen TV (weird, I know), deck chairs from '85, fruit-inspired curtains, and don't forget Aunt Edna's styled table cloths. The average city girl may be taken aback by this hodge podge, dirty lodge, but not us Northern girls. We trekked along, made the best of it and had a delight of a picnic: beer dip, bagel dip, ham rolls, "fruit salad", pizzas, pinwheels, cheesecake, cookies, chips, salsa, eggs, ham, bagels, and the list goes on. 

Now, as a girl growing up in the upper peninsula of Michigan, coined The U.P., we are used to this sort of situation. Most families have hunting camps:

Source

Hunting camps have a couple of purposes: hunting, drinking, hunting, drinking, and drinking. This northern way is what makes "camp" such a great place to be. The decor also involves a garage-sale themed motif including deer mounts of skulls, antlers, some fish, a gas stove, a generator, an outhouse, flies, dirt, dust, dirt, dust, flies, ticks, spiders, and of course wood floors and bunk beds. However, there are some "nice" camps that have running water. 


So, to get back from my rant, us Northern girls are tough (t.u.f.f.) and we can handle the dirt and grime. What we CANNOT handle is a poorly-managed, rude staff. The people at Gogebic Lodge were unfriendly, rude, and unorganized. So, please, if you ever plan a girls weekend, stay away from this place unless you would like some stories to tell and laugh about at others' expenses, then book away. However, to do that, you'll need to send a check via snail mail and call because most likely they'll lose your reservation in a number of the books that they keep. Computers are a thing of the past at Gogebic Lodge.


In spite of the place, we had a great time and it was definitely a bonding experience for me with girls I haven't hung out with in ages. Now, if you are one of those females that would rather hang out with your boyfriend/husband all the time and never get away, please get a life and a flock of girls and plan a getaway because it's exactly what I needed. Warning: you will need to sleep a full day after, rest your abs (a lot of laughing) as well as exercise to expunge of the extra calories.