Padre

    Spring Break 2001, what could be better than my very last SB of my college career? Well, so far... nothing has been. It began with a wedding of a good friend... better than a friend, a sister. My pledge sisters wedding started off our spring break, and it was wonderful and beautiful. Many from our college traveled from Abilene in a caravan to Weatherford, TX. Preceeding the afternoon wedding, Melissa Waters (my spring break buddy) and I started our trip. In my four door Alero we drove off into the sunset and chatted our way all across the Lone Star State. We wanted to make the entire trip in one day... but realized we were much too tired to force ourselves to accomplish that. We stopped in Austin (and what a great city it is) and called up an old college friend. Jim was nice enough to let us stay at his house that evening, and we resumed our journey bright and early the following morning.
     After many miles and one large purity test, Waters and I finally got to Padre that afternoon. We stopped at a gas station and changed into our swimsuite (just in case) and cheered our way across the big bridge to "party central." The traffic was terrible once on the island. We were in stop and go traffic the entire way down the island, and after we didn't find our hotel, we had to turn around and make the trip back the other side. Low and Behold... guess who ran up the car? Jim Bob and Ryan from HSU! What a small world! Since Jim Bob is from Padre, they jumped in thier car and took us right to our hotel, the nice guys even helped lug all of our luggage to our room. They were camping out at the non-commercial portion of the island.... and ran into us by coincidence. We decided to go explore the beaches together, but i guess Waters and i were taking too long to unpack and do room inventory, because the boys decided to go ahead and hit the beach and we planned to join them when we were done. After the boys left, Waters and i thought it would be a great opportunity to run back to the car and unload the trunk which we had filled with sacks and coolers of Corona and some other good stuff. I was a too embarassed to show our HSU friends how much fun we intended on having, so I thought this idea was great.... but it never turns out the way I plan.
     As soon as Waters and I made it back into the hotel and got in line for the elevator, guess who comes walking in to find us. Jim Bob and Ryan had left their keys with us and came to retreive them.   So here we are, two girls... in a hotel lobby with arm fulls of beer. You could tell in their eyes they were a little embarassed, but not as much as i was. Jokingly, Jim Bob tells us that if we ever want to "get away where its quiet and sober up or hang out, we can visit their camp site whenever." It didn't bother Waters too much, but I was bothered by it.... maybe because Jim Bob and I had become so close that semester of school and I had never shown that side of me to him before. Waters told me to blow it off, but i was really concerned about how I must have looked in their eyes. If you are a little confused about this.... chalk it up to attending a small baptist college, things are much different there than any other school.
     Waters and I went exploring on our own and ran into even more people from HSU... Random! We went with them to a concert that night and had a great time, except for my foot being sliced open.... you heard me right. I bought these super cute shoes at Target for the trip, and wore them for the first time that night. After standing and walking in them for 2-3 hours, the strap that ran across the right bridge of my foot started to dig into the skin. I got napkins from the bar and tucked them under the strap, but it didn't ease the pain. It was too late, the damage was done, and the pain was terrible. I bummed a ride home with a friend while everyone else walked back. I still have a scar that runs diagnol across the right bridge of my foot. It reminds me of padre, of good music and great beer.
     If matter couldnt get worse, Waters had a guy friend, D, stay in our room that night, one that she had kind of been seeing. The next morning Waters and I left to buy groceries for the week and left her D asleep in our room. Jim Bob and Ryan decide to call and ask if they could use our showers since they are camping out. Our friend answers the phone!! Jim Bob asks for me, and D, still half asleep tells him he has the wrong room.... then realizes he isn't in his own room. D tells him we are out, and then takes a message. When we return to an empty room, we find the message on the side table. Totally embarassed, I call Jim Bob back and tell those guys to come on over to our room and do whatever they need to do. Waters and i headed out to the beach and left them our room key. While there, D calls the room and guess who answers the phone!! Jim Bob and Ryan. D asks for Waters, and of course we are not there. when Waters and I return to the room we find another message. "Hey Mandy & Melissa, thank you for letting us use your bathroom. D called and said that ya'll left some Corona in their room yesterday. Jim Bob and Ryan." LOL
     The entire week was amazing, Waters and I can tell a thousand stories from those couple of days, and I could talk forever on the subject. I will never forget Mike and the chicken dance, all the guys yelling "show me your t*ts" with video camers in hand... as if. The purity test, the sunburn, the flags at coca-cola beach, dancing on stage, shoe polishing our car "Padre or Bust," shots of vodka that tasted like straight hairspray and the week that made my friendship with Waters deeper than I could ever imagine.