4:00 am, 5:00 am, 6:00 am, 7:00 am

June 19, 2013

 

I’ve been having so much fun that I’ve put off doing some housekeeping items, so today I’m getting things done. My laundry pile had been accumulating and my days here were numbered so item number one on the list was to run a load of laundry. I gathered up my dirties and threw them in the wash. While waiting for them to complete the wash, I pulled out a card for my dad for Father’s Day and wrote a note inside of it. I know I’m a few days late, but initially my dad was supposed to come visit me during my trip. Unfortunately, last minute obligations put that plan to an abrupt halt. That, combined with the unpredictable craziness of my adventures, caused me to slack on my daughterly duties and send it before now.

Not before too long, I heard the washing machine beep, so I transferred them into the dryer and then left on a hunt to find a place where I could get my oil changed. I got lost on several of the smaller roads, but eventually saw a guy waving a sign that read, “$21.99 OIL CHANGE.” Guess that was my clue! I ordered up the special and melted into a waiting chair. Right as I realized how exhausted I was from staying up until 6:00 A.M., Chris sent me a text saying, “I’m so dead at work. Ughhh.” Tell me about it, boy! I felt worse for him since I was just bumming around town while he was working hard. I spotted a Keurig in the corner and placed next to it were Styrofoam cups and creamer. It’s like the coffee gods heard my cry for help! I jumped up to make a cup, but didn’t see any coffee. “Maybe you have to pay for it.” I thought in my head. Free coffee is better than coffee you have to pay for, but at this point I was desperate. “Excuse me, could I buy a cup of coffee from you please?” I asked the lady behind the counter. “Sorry dear, usually it’s free, but we’re fresh out.” She responded, and crushed my dreams of feeling rejuvenated. Coffee gods, you suck.

With a steal of a price for an oil change this place was pretty busy. It took over an hour to get me in and out of the shop. At about that time, Chris texted me again asking where I was told me he was on his way home from work. I told him I would see him soon and headed back to the house as well. I realized I didn’t know the address to the place since the only other two times I drove there I was following one of the guys. This should be interesting. I remembered a conversation from earlier where they boys called themselves the “AV house,” a play on the name of the street where they live. Ding, ding, ding! Score for me for remembering that! During that conversation the boys told me of the exclusivity of the group they created and told me if, and only if, I proved I could hang would I be able to be a potential candidate for the crew. This group was created in a joking and light-hearted manner, but even still, I wanted to be in that darn crew! They showed me the AV hand sign, where you join your right pointer finger to the tip of your left middle finger vertically to create the allusion of the letter “A” and the letter “V” being connected. I told them I would practice just IN CASE I was deemed cool enough to be in the crew. ;)

I made it back to the house before Chris and realized my clothes were done drying. Once I got them out I sat down to catch up a little on my blog. I wrote for about thirty minutes before I heard the back door open. That must be Chris. I continued to write for a while until I noticed that whoever had gotten home earlier hadn’t yet come out of the back room. Hmm, oh well. A few moments later Ryan walked in the front door. After that the boys continued to pop in one by one until everyone except Chris was accounted for. We all spoke about our days and relaxed on the couches in the living room. Chris came out of his room in the back a bit later and said he had been taking a nap. I should probably have done the same because today is Wednesday, “The most famous day of the week!” according to Jake S. and we were going out! AJ and I decided to grab a pizza from Hungry Howie’s where they sold large pizzas for only five dollars. I ordered a pepperoni pizza with Cajun-seasoned crust. Mmmm, tasty. We picked up our food a few moments later and when we arrived home AJ made us each an ice cold capirinha. He and I sat at the kitchen table with Abner and Chris while Ryan and his girlfriend attacked another P90X workout.

During our dinner conversation, one of the boys said to the other, “Well, Eddie would go.” What the heck does that mean? They then proceeded to explain to me the story of Eddie Aikau. Eddie was a fearless Hawaiian surf legend who conquered waves bigger than anyone before. He worked as a lifeguard at Waimea Bay and saved hundreds of people that were trapped by the gigantic winter surf. Eddie set off on a journey in a 60-foot canoe to prove that Polynesians, using only the stars could navigate to and from Hawaii. The night they left, the canoe filled with water and capsized. Eddie immediately volunteered to take his surf board back and reach help at Lana’i, but the captain denied his offer and the crew spent the night clinging on to pieces of the boat. After 24 hours of helpless waiting, Eddie volunteered again to go for help. The crew was hesitant to let him leave, but with all hope withering away they finally agreed. After all, if anyone could do it, it was Eddie. They sent him off with only his 12-foot surf board and a bag of oranges. Not even three hours after Eddie paddled out to sea, a rescue group came and saved the remaining crew. The crew told the rescuers of their friend who went for help, but the search was unsuccessful. Eddie was never seen again. Now, the Quicksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau surf competition is held very seldom and only when the waves reach over thirty feet high in his honor. What an incredible legend.

After finishing dinner, we all got ready to head to Seville’s, a bar downtown where it was nickel beer night! Oh boy, this could be trouble. The typical Wednesday night routine consisted of going to Seville’s where nickel beers kicked off the night at 8:00 P.M. Nickel beers turned into quarter beers a couple hours later, and after that, into dollar beers. After Seville’s, everyone usually goes to Fish Shack, another downtown bar where it happens to be ladies night, and you know what that means! Time to get crazaaay with the two dollar you-call-its! A Couch Surfer from Chile was coming to Pensacola tonight to stay with the boys as well and she was going to meet us out at Seville’s. I couldn’t wait to meet her.

Seville’s was such an awesome place! Once our ID’s were checked, we were admitted into the building which actually holds five separate bars! The specific bar we went to inside was where the drink specials were happening. We ended up missing nickel beers, but we were able to enjoy plenty of the twenty-five cent greatness. Two dueling pianos sat center stage and the pianists were going at it! They played a wide range of songs, including those picked by the audience. The atmosphere at Seville's was so much fun. The lights were low, the music was loud, and it was obvious when surveying the packed room that everyone there was completely enjoying themselves. While Chris went to meet the new Couch Surfer, Jake W. and AJ took me on a tour of the entire building. The brick-laid walkways actually used to be alleys. A roof was now placed overhead to join the buildings together. The once historic buildings, now turned bars, used to be a number of different businesses, including a printing press and a brothel.

We headed back to the bar after walking around a bit and found that Chris had rejoined the group and brought back Andie. Andie turned out to be freaking awesome and fit right in with the crew. We all had a blast conversing with each other, telling stories and making jokes, all the while sipping on our cheap beers. The conversation paused momentarily. AJ looked at me, then back at Chris, then Chris looked at me, and I looked back at the both of them wondering what on earth was going through their brains. When the boys finally spoke, they told me the time had come for me to be inducted into the AV Crew! Having practiced the hand sign the day before, the boys and I chunked up the AV and continued to have a great time. Being the first and only girl to be in the AV is a pretty awesome feeling. ;)

 

AJ, me, Chris, Luis chunking up the AV- Pensacola, FL

Couch Surfer from Chile, Andie- Pensacola, FL

 

We headed to Fish Shack which was just down the road at about eleven o’clock. After ordering up a round of drinks, we moved our party of ten out back where a live band was rocking out. We stayed at Fish Shack for a couple of hours, but the ratio of weird creepy guys to normal people was unbalanced. We decided to head back to the house where Andie had a surprise waiting for the boys! When we got back, she unveiled the gift; a bottle of Pisco, which is a type of liquor she brought over all the way from Chile! Everyone stayed up hanging out and drinking Piscola (Pisco mixed with Coca-Cola) until 4:30 in the morning. “We’ll just have to stay up until 7:00 A.M. today!” Chris joked. In my head, I was thinking, “Yeah right, crazy!” There was no way I would be able to make it considering we were up until 4:00 A.M. Sunday night, 5:00 A.M. Monday night, and 6:00 A.M. Tuesday night. I could have passed out right then and there from exhaustion, but instead of going to bed like everyone else, Chris and I wound up hanging out and talking more. Next thing we knew, that sun came shining in the window again even brighter than the night before. It was SEVEN. IN. THE. MORNING. I just laughed to myself and shook my head. I don’t know how, but we did it again! We both took that as our hint that it was probably a good idea to call it a night.

These past four days have been so draining, but they’ve also been the funniest, craziest, and genuinely the biggest blast I’ve had in a long, long time. I was leaving for Destin tomorrow, so now, I needed my rest.