Moms, No Tots

This is another Girlfriends Story.

Once we all had Tots. In fact, three of us belonged to Moms & Tots, a local park district sponsored program. When Moms & Tots ended for the summer, Sylvia had the idea to get everyone's number and she organized our own group - and we took turns meeting at one anothers' homes all summer long. And we added other friends to our playgroup.

We did this for a couple summers and became good friends. But as things go, the Tots grew up. And some of the Moms disappeared.

And we changed our meeting place from our backyards to restaurants which served Margaritas and we continued our friendship.

Finally, the idea of a field trip was brought up and embraced with much enthusiasm. So, off we went to Lake Geneva where we had much fun despite malodorous ham hocks hurriedly disposed of in public waste containers.

Soon we changed our destination to Michigan City and here we are - on our first Moms' Overnight in Michigan City - in front of "Barb's Cottage", where we witnessed mysterious happenings such as pumpkins appearing in unexpected places.



Michigan City has become our second home, if only for one weekend every fall. Although we have stayed at different cottages, we have many traditions. This kind of makes our weekend flow in a very predictable and comfortable pattern; without much effort required in planning. I think this is what really makes our weekend one of extreme relaxation and no stress!

What I really love about our weekend the most, though, is being able to visit the shores of Lake Michigan during the off season. The Fall still offers some beautiful weather and we have spent a lot of time walking down the beach for quite a distance without even seeing another person.

Lighthouse Outlet Mall is in Michigan City and we always spend time there; and Michelle and I will always try our luck at Blue Chip Casino even though we never win. Sharon's beer bread and candy corn trail mix are always very popular with everyone.

Here we all are, just sitting around discussing our great finds from the outlet mall:


And going for a walk to enjoy the beautiful fall colors --


It seems that our annual weekend passes much too quickly, as all good things do. But at least we all know that many Margaritas, strawberry daquiris, Coronas, O'Douls.....and ice waters.... will help pass the time in between!

Girlfriends & Girl Weekends

I had to start out with the above photo. That is me on the left and Mary on the right. When that photo was taken, we had actually been friends for three years already. Years went by and years went by and we are still hanging out together.

Fast forward 9 years.....

Here we are again and its 1971. That's Mary on the left, I'm in the middle and we have a new buddy, Teri, on the right. This photo was taken in San Francisco and you might consider this the original Girls' Weekend, our Junior Class Trip (although it lasted a week, not a weekend and included many other girls AND chaperones). Didn't stop us from getting into some serious adventures, however.

A few years went by, some of us went away to college, we all got married, had kids and suddenly it became 1989. A few phone calls later and we had re-organized the Girls' Weekend. Off to Galena, IL we went.

From 1989, we barely missed a single year. In fact, we expanded our getaways to include a second annual getaway, the Family Getaway Weekend which included husbands and kids. As the kids grew up, the Family Getaway Weekend fizzled out, but the Girls' Weekend never did.

Our adventures were numerous and some were unbelievable. Over one short weekend in the early 2000's, we were steamed out of our room in the wee hours by a faulty radiator; locked out of our room in our pj's; caught in a blizzard so bad that we literally had to feel our way down the street by walking next to buildings until we found the most wonderful Italian restaurant; and the next day we trudged through the snow without boots looking for antique shops. After that weekend, we all agreed it was the worst one ever. But it is the one we talk about the most today!

And in December of 1995, I was 8.5 months pregnant and afraid to venture too far from home. So we stayed in the suburbs and went Christmas shopping. When we returned to our hotel room, my dear friends wrapped every one of the Christmas gifts I had bought while I sat with my feet up and supervised!

Another year we were adventurous and flew to Minneapolis and shopped at the Mall of America. But our big adventure, so far, was our 50th Birthday Celebration Cruise. We sailed on Norwegian Cruise Lines in March of 2005, ironically over the same dates as that California school trip of 1971.

We have some unwritten, but mutually agreed upon rules for our weekends. First of all, we try to take turns visiting each of our hometown areas - since we are separated by many many miles. Once in awhile, we choose a midway point, but generally we take turns going up to Wisconsin, down to Quincy and to the Chicago area.

The other rule is that we don't eat at chain restaurants. We have dined well and always search out the unique, local and BEST restaurants we can find.

And finally, the TV stays off. All we do is talk, drink wine, talk, shop (mostly antique and thrift stores), and talk some more.

Some of the places we've been: Galena, IL; Minneapolis, MN; Madison, WI; Quincy, IL; Orland Park, IL; Springfield, IL; Cedar Grove, WI; New Buffalo, MI; Bloomington, IL; Naperville, IL; the Caribbean.....and some I just can't recall.

Here's a photo of Mary and Teri taken just last week - on our weekend in Bloomington, IL.




Nowadays, if you pick up any women's magazine or do an internet search, you will find a lot of stories and information about Girls' Getaways. But back in 1989, before they were trendy, we were doing them. I don't want to say that we invented the Girls' Weekend, but it sure seems that way to us.

So, here's to you - my best friends! Cheers!

By the way, these are antique glasses that we found in a shop in Naperville - there were only three of them and it was the obvious thing to do - we each bought one and now we bring them along and toast one another on our annual Girls' Weekend every year!