Girlfriend Camp 2015

/ Jodi
gfcoib15 group shot beach

L-R: Pam (aka Bubby), Renee, Jodi, Joan

Last week I had the pleasure of spending a luxurious, relaxing, fun-filled week at the beach with some girlfriends.

We call it GFC…
Girl Friend Camp…
And this year, we got to take it to the beach – Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina.

We set out with a fully-packed car… smiles….. and plenty of road trip snacks!  (after all – a 12-hour drive requires snacks!)

gfcoib15 roadtripIt was fun taking turns driving, playing silly road trip games, and singing to 70s tunes we haven’t listened to in years – everything from Led Zeplin, Queen, and The Eagles to Bobby Sherman, The Village People, Cher, and Barry Manilow!

Once there, this is how we spent most of our afternoons…

our feet in the warm sand in the bright sunshine with the cool ocean breeze – books and Kindles in tow, deep (and not so deep) conversations, frozen drinks, and lots and lots of sunscreen.

gfcoib15 beach bumsWhen we weren’t sitting at the beach, we were walking the beach – Fitbits on our wrists.

It was a two-mile walk to the pier and back, so we did that at least once a day….

because peanut M&Ms, pretzels, and cocktails were awaiting us back at the condo – and none came back home with us!

pier 1We collected sea shells some days – discussing why some of us pick up perfectly shaped ones… and others (ok – just me) like the imperfect ones…

I say they have more character.

shells on deck GFCOIB15We cooked in…

Bubby loves cooking breakfast, and I just love cooking…..

I made my famous guacamole one late afternoon.  Bubby said she did not like guacamole, but she would try it…

She is now a guacamole LOVER!  🙂  We even shared it with our neighbors.

I also made my Copy Cat Chick Fil A Chicken one evening for my chicas.  It was a hit!

gfcoib15 kitchen

L-R: Bubby, Renee, Joan

We ate out too.  I had a fabulous local fish called Cobia at The Ocean Isle Fish Company.  Our awesome waiter, Morgan, recommended it, and he did not steer me wrong.  It was served with a tropical mango salsa, rice pilaf and steamed broccoli.  YUM!

Of course we had a few margaritas too.

GFCOIB15 dinner and drinks out

We played games.

I always lost…

I’m lucky in love – not in games…  but I still love to play.

And there were always cocktails involved.

gfcoib15 drunk dominoe

We even got tattoos…
Ok… so they are a bit temporary… written with Sharpie markers.   #GFCOIB15

(Are we 50 or 15?)  🙂

gfcoib15 tattoo feet

And we wore our GFC Jammies from last year…

Gfc0ib15 jammiesand toasted and missed our GFC buddies that couldn’t join us this year – Buzzed, Loaded, and Toasted.

gfc 2014 girlsWe even allowed for some alone and down time, where we each enjoyed doing what we love doing best alone.
I brought my traveling water color paint kit and did some plein air painting.

Some of the neighbors called me “the artist…”   How funny and cool is that?!?!  🙂

plein air painting

We couldn’t have asked for a better week…
weather…. food… drinks… conversations (that cannot be shared here)… laughs…
an amazing celebration of friendship.

Everyone needs to do this if you can – celebrate, reflect, discover, embrace, enjoy….

GFCOIB15 last morning Joan walking

It was so great to go…

gfcoib15 in the sand

but it was also great to come home.

You know… there really is no place like home.

A handsome hubby picked me up…
A delicious dinner awaited…
A glass of wine, a warm shower, and a king-sized bed.

My message to you is as always…

Cherish the moments…
at life in between.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

50 thoughts on “Girlfriend Camp 2015”

  10. Oh Jodi it sounds like you all had a wonderful week together…time spent with GFF is the greatest…laughing about old memories and creating new ones…Good for you and the girls!
    Now that you’re back home, have an awesome week,
    Char
    ❤

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  11. Well Jodi, I guess I did the recipe correctly. The wife loved the Cinnamon Creme Crumb Cake, in fact it went over real well with our youngest daughter too, who was visiting us yesterday as we were going to see the Broadway tour of Peter Pan. Only one little teeny-weeny problem; my wife wanted to know if the recipe came with one for the mess I made? Needless to say, the boys and I (They volunteered to help me) had to quickly clean up MY mess before we left. :@)

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      • Your welcome, Jodi. And yes, Peter Pan was a fabulous experience. The actor’s playing Smee, and Hook were the same from the A & E Television Production with Cathy Rigby. Brilliantly funny, and they brought the house down. We had orchestra seats (our youngest boy is a musician and is learning how stage orchestras work, as he will soon intern in this capacity) and it was great to watch them perform the music for the show.

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  15. That wonderful Jodi!! Looks like you all really enjoyed yourselves…it’s great to have a core group of friends that you can spend a relaxing vacation with! And it’s also so good to be home when it’s over 🙂

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  16. Thanks Jodi for sharing your “Good Times” with your Girlfriends! You made me smile and laugh! Love your T-shirts! So happy you got to get away and have FUN! This IS what life is about! 😊😊😊

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  20. What a fun celebration of friendship, Jodi! When I saw the tatoos, I thought “ouch!” So glad they were temporary! It’s great that everyone brought their favorite activities for ‘alone time,’ too. Bringing your watercolors was a fabulous idea! Now you’ve got me thinking… My friends and I have BIG birthdays coming up. We should plan a getaway of our own! It has been too long… Great post, Jodi! ♡

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