Memorial Day 2011 on Bainbridge Island (Part 1)

Trafton B.

May 30, 2011 - 11:05 AM

Thank goodness for one last holiday weekend before summer and it just so happens to be my favorite one of the year. Memorial Day has become synonymous with Bainbridge Island and the Jones Family for McAlister & Friends, and once again this year was a grand success.

 

My car blasted out of Eugene a little after noon on Friday and began our journey north on I-5. Six hours, two wrong turns and one Burgerville cheeseburger later and we'd touched down at the Jones' seaside villa on the Puget Sound. The joke of the weekend was that the Rapture had actually occurred and we had all been chosen to go up to heaven.

 

We were all pretty pooped after the drive, so Friday night was fairly low-key, except we played a great camp game called "Do You Know Your Roomate?" It's sort of like the old game show, "Newlyweds," except it tested how well we've all gotten to know our roommates over the past few years. Each round a roommate would leave the room for each team and answer a question, such as what was your favorite dorm food, how many times did you change your major, what's your favorite television show, and so forth. Then that person's roommates would try to match their answer with their own. It was a little tough because we've all swapped roommates over the past few years and not all of us have known each other since freshman year, but I think we all had a bunch of laughs. It was very appropriate for our last Memorial Day weekend together.

 

 

Explaining the rules of "Do You Know Your Roommate?" to the group on Friday night. 

 

Saturday was Gym Day. Leslie's father, Jon, teaches P.E. at Vinland Elementary School in nearby Paulsbo, Washington. So just like last year he opened up his gymnasium for the afternoon and we played just about every fun game you remember from P.E. class. First it was Star Wars, and Keys & Locks, which were two different versions of dodge ball interspersed with miscellaneous objectives. After a quick lunch we played a few rounds of Prism Ball and Air Square. Then there were also some random games of knockout and tips throughout the day.

 

We smartened up after last year when we all found ourselves hungry and drained of energy mid way through Gym Day, so this time we made sure to take a pizza break halfway though. It felt like we were either at camp or at a children's birthday party, I'm not sure which is more accurate. Either way it was great fun. Too bad none of us are in as good of shape as we were in elementary school, so four hours of P.E. class took a toll on us that lasted the rest of the weekend.

 

 

Kelsey, Lydia, Leslie and the girls were jumping double-dutch during our lunch break, while the guys were off playing basketball. Just like elementary school recess. 

 

After we were all sufficiently exhausted from Gym Day we headed home to the Jones' house to rest up. Well, actually before that, Ross, Emma and I went to a couple local breweries for beer tasting with Mr. and Mrs. Jones. It was Laura's (Leslie's mother) birthday so everyone decided to chip in for a pony keg to treat her. That's one of those gifts that everybody can enjoy, so it worked out great! We ended up going with Hood Canal Brewing's Bywater Bay ESB  (Extra Special Bitter). Excellent choice.

 

Okay, then after the brief pit stop, we headed back to decompress from our exciting afternoon. Ross and I chose to take a swim in the Puget Sound to cool down. It was our version of an ice bath to ease our aching muscles, and at about 30°F it did just the trick. Then it was up to the hot tub for a more relaxing pain relief.

 

Our night ended with a bonfire down by the water as we watched the sun set behind the Mount Olympus mountain range to the west. We ate s'mores as we moaned and groaned about how sore each of us were and how much worse it was going to be then next day.

 

 

Me, Derek, and Winston sitting around the bonfire on the bank of the Puget Sound. 

 

That's the end of my portion of the story, but our weekend didn't stop there. I've never told you this explicitly, readers, but there's more than one UO Annual Giving Program blogger in our friend group. Brianna, or Boo as we know her, was also on this Bainbridge Island trip and she will let you know all about the next two days of our Memorial Day Weekend. Just follow the link below to hear the end of the story....

 

Memorial Day 2011 on Bainbridge Island (Part 2) by Brianna G