Friday: We got on the road around 1:30 and made it down to Destin just in time for the rain. We planned to check in to the hotel before heading over to Fudpucker's (restaurant) for the tournament check-in and a late dinner. Let me just say, the hotel was a disaster—we quickly realized why it was so inexpensive! We requested a new room once we determined that a previous guest had relieved him/herself on the carpet.
After a bunch of moving around and settling into a new room, we headed out. We got to Fuds and checked-in, but as we were entering the restaurant, another Atlanta team that we knew called for us to meet them at another restaurant for dinner. After a quick drive and an adventure parking the minivan in a narrow alley we made it in to the restaurant only to find that the waiting list was an hour long. At that point everyone was too hungry to wait, so we headed back out onto the road and spotted an $9.95 all-you-can-eat Sushi/Hibachi place. We dashed inside and after the first round agreed that, unfortunately, we were getting what we paid for. When the bill came we were shocked to see that we were charged $19.95 per person! Sure that there was a typo, Merriah double checked the sign outside—this time seeing the "fine print" that we'd missed while entering in the rain. We decided to cut our losses, pay the bill, and get back to the hotel.
Saturday: We got an early start and headed over to The Boardwalk for the captains meeting at 8:30. We spent the next thirty minutes or so dragging coolers, bags, tents, and chairs across the sand and to our court—which was a bit further than we expected. After a quick rest, we started the tournament. Our first game didn't last long, and we were defeated 11-0. We regrouped and decided that in our second match we'd do two things: have fun, and score at least one point—and we did! We lost again, but it was closer. The third and fourth games got a little easier, and we got a quick taste of victory before losing our final match of the day.We went down the beach a bit to watch our friends play before heading back to the hotel. They finished just as gloomy, windy, overcast day turned to rain and thunderstorms, eventually resulting in tornado warnings.
We rested for a few hours, caught up on homework and took naps. Around 7 we got ready for dinner. As players, we received tickets for the tournament party being held at The Boardwalk—the tickets were good for the buffet-style dinner and free beer from 7 til 9. We had a quick bite to eat and got ready to party!After a live band and lots of dancing, we retreated back to the hotel for some rest—the playoffs started early Sunday! On the way back to the hotel we made a quick stop at Wal-Mart (Lesley had been the day before and saw two $1 racks with Twilight merchandise—so the team humored me and let me run in—all in all, it was disappointing, and I didn't buy anything).
Sunday: We got up bright and early Sunday morning for the playoffs. Unfortunately we didn't make it past the first round, but neither did our friends (who happened to be on the next court) so we spent a few hours out on the beach with them laying out and playing ball. That afternoon we packed up the car and headed back to Atlanta.
All in all, I had a great time! The weather wasn't totally cooperative, but we had a blast anyway. I couldn't have asked for a better team or group of girls to make my first sand volleyball/Fudpucker's experience all that I hoped it would be! Love y'all! ♥
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