WIE Weekend 2012

Ah, another WIE (Where Is Everybody?) weekend in Ocean City, MD, has come and gone. Just like last year's WIE excursion, plenty of friends were along for the adventure, and I believe we all had a great time.

On Friday night, we missed the run since we couldn't get away from DC until after 5, but we did get there for the game playing and dance party. Pong was the primary diversion, as well as a little Twister.

The triumphant pong crusaders

Saturday morning, we were up (relatively) bright and early, ready for the run.

Some preferred to do cheerleader stretches...

...while others practiced for future live-action modern art/dance installations.

After riding the bus up close to the Delaware border, we circled up, with a few "shots fired" takedowns for good measure, including one on me. I felt it was coming, and he attacked from behind, so I couldn't stop it.

Three of our group decided to take a dip in the ocean.
They got their clothes back little by little over the next few miles of running.

With the run completed, we took a break and some showed off their fashion sense before either continuing to run all the way home or hopping on the bus back.

What comes after the run and lunch? Why the bonfire on the beach, of course!

The weather was cold and windy so close to the water, so we definitely huddled as close as we could around the fire.

 

 

Early March beach modeling

A little sun worshiping was in order

After a long circle (the bonfire norm at WIE), they may have roasted marshmallows or hot dogs, but I was tired so I went to take a quick nap. Then everyone got presentable, and we headed to dinner and the evening's festivities.

I don't remember why, but it was hilarious at the time. Trust me.

Stop #2 was fairly chill, followed by the American Legion where we sang karaoke, made human pyramids, and tested our hula hoop skills. These next three pictures are probably for my favorites of the entire trip. Such a bunch of characters!

Looks like she's been studying

What a lovely Titanic tattoo you have!

This 6-person pyramid worked; all larger attempts failed dismally

Slight contrast in styles here

You don't need a mic or a chair to join in the karaoke

I haven't done a hula hoop in quite a while, but it was actually quite fun and I surprisingly was able to keep it going for a decent amount of time. Okay, like 30 seconds or so, but it felt long!

After American Legion, we ended the night with some dancing at Seacrets. Again, they had a cover band which was rocking out. That place really is pretty impressive. Too bad it isn't closer to DC.

2012 was definitely a successful WIE weekend, and I want to thank the organizers for putting it together and making things run so smoothly. Hope Ocean City is looking forward to this gang next year!

WIE Weekend 2011

Note: I'm finishing this post in March 2012, so I'll keep it brief and mostly share pictures. Better than nothing, right?

My running group all headed out to Ocean City, MD, for a weekend of socializing and running.

Sometimes it's just fun to get out of the DC metro area for a few days.

They were ready for us!

We had an excellent variety of fun personalities, from Hollywood cowgirls...

...to aristocratic ski-bums...

...to patriotic bandidos like these two amigos.

We played games the first night, including such crowd favorites as Twister...

...and what we call 'the floor is lava'.

On Saturday morning, we all met up and hopped on the bus to get to the start of our run.

Some needed/requested additional transportation from the bus stop to start circle.

Yes, we believe in conserving energy while on vacation.

Gotta love having a fellow Jazz fan

After the main run, some of us fellas decided to run up the Ocean City boardwalk to get home, instead of waiting for the bus. We decided a picture of us shirtless (aka showing our hooters) in front of Hooters was clever. In retrospect, it wasn't so much. haha

Then it was time for lunch and the bonfire on the beach!

A few of our lady bandidos

Look what washed up on shore!

I didn't make this fire, or it'd have classic Eagle Scout log cabin shape

After resting for a bit and getting cleaned-up, we headed to dinner and then out on the town.

The dinner restaurant had this sweet winner's trophy, so we nominated ourselves for the 'awesomest running group in OC' award. Since no locals contested our self-award, we won by a landslide.

Fierce, yet lovable and cuddly, too

Leaving our mark on the ceiling at the second spot 

Our last spot of the night was Seacrets, and they had a cover band and confetti falling raining down.

Made for a lot of fun dancing and singing along until we were all tuckered out.

It was a very fun weekend, and I can't wait to see what adventures we'll have next year at WIE!

Cruisin' the Caribbean

I've never been on a cruise, so what better way to have my first cruise experience than with 300 other LDS young single adults? We left from Miami for a full week of fun and (mostly) sun with stops in Cozumel, Mexico; Belize City, Belize; Isla Roatan, Honduras; and Grand Cayman.We had a day of travel on the ocean before reaching Cozumel and another day at the end, so we took advantage of a lot of the ship's amenities, such as mini-golf on the top deck, shuffleboard, basketball, ping pong, hot-tubbing, and the water slide. Now, playing mini-golf on a cruise ship is a little different, as the ship rocks a little bit from side to side and the wind is a lot stronger on some holes that are more exposed. That just adds to the challenge. It was a tough battle, and in the end Devin eaked out the win over Laura.
Each night, we had assigned seating for dinner, and these are my tablemates. The guys were my roommates, too. Three brothers from Heber, UT. Good guys. The girls were also from Utah and were characters, so we all had a good time eating our dinners and ordering a little of everything (since food is included in the flat cruise rate). Favorite meals: lobster, escargot, salmon, steak, and assorted desserts--too many to mention.

Cozumel, Mexico
Here's me with the ship in port in Cozumel. Most of us went to a beach where they had volleyball, sea kayaks, a sea trampoline, and a whole lotta beach chairs for catching rays. Ah, that's the life!
At night, our group enjoyed several on-board activities more than the rest. Karaoke was a big favorite, as was dancing in the White Heat disco later in the evening. Above, Kizzi and I sang a duet of "A Whole New World" that made us famous for the rest of the cruise. We didn't sing together again, and I suspect it's because we both knew a repeat attempt would only disappoint our adoring fans and taint our legacy.

Belize City, Belize

We had an un-Belize-able time in Belize. I joined another large group in going cave-tubing, and it was a very cool experience. Pretty chill just sitting in a tube and floating down the river. Only bummer was that my camera isn't water-proof, so I had to leave it on the bus, and I haven't been able to get pictures from anybody. So you'll just have to trust me that it was great. Oh, and we had a little excitement by almost not making it back to the ship in time, so that got our hearts beating and had us running down the dock to get to the ferry.

Isla Roatan, Honduras
Though we'd had a great time in Cozumel and Belize, the weather had been so-so. In Isla Roatan, Honduras, the weather was what we hoped for and expected in the Caribbean. Well, after some short showers in the morning, anyway. My cousin Shelby (below) invited me to join with her and her friends for a tour of the island and then a little frolicking on the main tourist beach (above). I think we also loved Isla Roatan because the sand was super-soft and the water was that beautiful blue you want to wade out into and swim.
This picture of Shelby and I is from the second formal dinner night. Don't we look smashing? Well, it was good to hang out with my cousin, especially since my sister Megan and I didn't even know Shelby was going to be on the ship until we got there. Imagine my surprise when I was looking at the "phone/room list" and saw my cousin's name. Definitely a pleasant surprise.

Grand Cayman

Our final destination did not disappoint in terms of thrills and beautiful scenery. A small group of us did our own excursion to 'Stingray City', where we got to swim with stingrays, hold them, let them give us a neck/back "massage", and even give one a little smooch if you wanted to. Again, my camera isn't water-proof, so I don't have pics, but I'll keep trying to get them. After our time at 'Stingray City', our little fishing boat took us to a spot where we could snorkel for a bit. Mostly there were just little fish, but we still liked getting to kick around for a few minutes before heading back to shore and to the cruise ship.
I really owe my sister big-time for telling me about the cruise and inviting me to go with her. She'd had a good time on one of these before, and I can now add my own stamp of approval on the LDS singles cruise experience. Thanks, Megan!