
Girls Just Want To Have Fun: A Bachelorette Adventure
I was a little surprised with myself when I hit ‘Purchase’. I’m not the type who just buys flights on a whim. I usually purchase my flights months in advance, it’s way cheaper! Yet here I was, a week out, buying a flight home to Kentucky. The thing about last-minute flights is they lead to the greatest adventures. This adventure was personal. I was returning home to celebrate the finale of my best friend’s Bachelorette-hood.
My best friend and I date back Before Puberty (B.P.). Felicia is the girl I sat on the back of the school bus with mapping out our entire lives. She’s the person who stood beside me as I transformed from an awkward girl into an equally awkward woman. At the same time, I watched Felicia transform from a poised, confident, gorgeous, quick-tongued, athletically gifted, bad ass girl into a poised, confident, gorgeous, quick-tongued, athletically gifted, bad ass woman. The universe didn’t always feel fair, but we stood tall together flipping the universe off.

(2005)
We’ve experienced life, death, love, and heartbreak. We held hands at our high school graduation and we hugged with pride at our college graduations. We were there for first kisses and now last loves. Felicia is not just my best friend, she’s my sister.
More than that, she’s my soulmate.
It’s hard to believe that Felicia and I haven’t lived in the same city since we were eighteen. Still, here we are twelve years later, there for one another anytime that phone rings twice. (Still our code for serious business.)
Felicia and I don’t share all the everyday moments like many best friends are blessed enough to do, but we’re there for the moments that matter. The moments we’ll still talk about 10 years later. Some memories never disappear sleepovers, prom nights, mixed CDs, boy bands, sneaking out, togas, late-night talks, and the comfortable morning silences. No matter where I go, Felicia is with me and vice versa. That’s just the way the stars designed it.
So, when your best friend calls and asks if you can fly in the following weekend for a Bachelorette Glamping Trip, you click ‘Purchase’ on the tickets.
Then you wait for the adventure to begin.
Take Me Home, Country Roads

What made this adventure even more perfect is that we were “glamping” at The Poke. The Poke is a man-made Pond/Lake owned by the family of our other childhood friend, Miranda. We spent so many nights at Miranda’s, sneaking back to the Poke for late night swims or to pass around a bottle of “borrowed” liquor. The Poke was just as much a part of my upbringing as the people themselves. It’s a piece of land where we came of age. Now we were returning for Felicia’s Flannel Fling Before the Ring.
I couldn’t have written this better myself.
So, we returned to the Poke. It was a perfect day, that sweet spot where summer finally reunites with fall. There was a gentle breeze blowing through the air and the sun promised us a final summer swim. As we pulled back to the Poke, which sits at least a mile off the road, the first thing I noticed was the swaying pink balloons.
Friends In Low Places
Felicia has the sweetest bridesmaids imaginable. Some of the girls I’ve known a lifetime, others I’d met briefly on my trips home. But being away from the fast pace of a city, away from cell phone reception and obligations, allowed me to spend some quality time getting to know Felicia’s friends. I was so impressed by the wonderful group of women she surrounds herself with. Life is hard. Girlfriends make it easier.
It was comforting to get lost in the fun of girl talk. It was like we were thirteen-year-old girls again running around the poke.
Girls Just Want to Have Fun
Felicia’s girlfriends were so sweet to plan her such an incredible bachelorette party. The thing they did best was make it totally Felicia. That’s what the bachelorette party is meant to be – a celebration of the lovely bride before she crosses the threshold into wedded bliss. A bachelorette party doesn’t have to be blow-up penises, bar hopping, shots, and sashes; although that can be quite fun as well. But that’s not Felicia. Camping, bonfires, sunshine, swimming, beer Olympics, and laughter – that’s the spirit of Felicia. So, that’s exactly what her bridesmaids offered.
Pour Some Sugar On Me
You wouldn’t believe the cute ideas they came up with. There were a plethora of chips and homemade dips. We had hot dogs, baked goods (of all shapes and sizes!) and s’mores! When I saw the spread of food, I knew these women were good people.
They had crafts, too! Photo stands, personalized decorations, glitter-filled glow-in-the-dark balloons. Did I mention the homemade lemon drop Jell-O shots? The true MVP of the day.
Foolish Games
The creativity didn’t stop with the food. There was a line-up of games for the day. We had scavenger hunts. We played Beer Olympics, which included running and canoeing, among other things. And of course, we Pinned the Junk on the Hunk. The laughter played like a record on repeat.
The Girls Are Back in Town
It was like the B.P. girl’s reunion tour. We danced around the bonfire and sang every pop song the playlist threw at us. In the water, we splashed around like children. We laughed the way that only young girls know how to. Life returned us to the Poke, the scene of so many adolescent memories, and it turned out those silly girls were still there waiting for us.
The day was perfect.
All the planning and preparation made the day special. Felicia looked so relaxed, she truly seemed thirteen again. I witnessed my best friend transform from the poised, confident, gorgeous, quick-tongued, athletically gifted, bad ass woman back into the poised, confident, gorgeous, quick-tongued, athletically gifted, bad ass girl. It was nice to see her again. It’d been a while.
***
As we scramble through our day-to-day obligations, our time with girlfriends gets pushed aside. How many chances as adults do we get to have a full day slumber party with our girlfriends? Why don’t we make time for more slumber parties as an adult? That’s the real question.
A day out in the country with my best friend and her bridesmaids turned out to be one of the best days of my life. For one day, we were removed from the pressures of our everyday lives and the universe offered us a bonus day of being a kid. We took it. It was the first time, in a long time that I truly felt like I was home.
I would click ‘Purchase’ on that ticket a hundred more times if it promised a hundred more days like that. Ironically enough, as adults, we don’t have the freedom of our youth. A hundred more days like that becomes impossible. But it makes that one day poetic.

