Sarah in Sarasota: September 2012

So, this past week has been really exciting and a little bittersweet! I have FINALLY moved to Sarasota! The night before I left, my family and I had a little going away dinner to celebrate my internship and to say goodbye to me once more before I left. My wonderful mother and godmother got a cake for the occasion and even spelled Sarasota special just for me!

I was so glad that I got to see my family all together before I left! We went to Olive Garden and had a wonderful time and I got pictures of all of my family together! (and of course, Nathan :D)

The next day, Nathan and I went to the Delta Fair with his brothers and their families since his oldest brother Lea was in town after working at Biloxi Police Department through Hurricane Issac.

(Jason, Lea, and Nathan)

Nathan riding the avalanche

Me on the Avalanche

Nathan's feet and mine :)

We had a great time at the fair, but all too soon I had to get in the car and leave Nathan, Mom, Taylor, and Bear behind.

Bear was very curious about my packing...he was my little shadow that last week.

So, a little upset and really unsure about how things were going to go, Dad and I drove into the sunset and stopped for the night outside of Atlanta. The next day we were driving down I-75 when I saw that we were going to be driving right through Macon, GA. Now, for those of you who don't know, my sorority, Alpha Delta Pi, was the first secret society for women ever founded. It was founded at the first university that ever conferred degrees upon women. This all happened at Wesleyan College in Macon, GA. For many more years than I have been alive, Alpha Delta Pi sisters have made the "pilgrammage" to Macon to see where our sorority was founded and to visit our founder, Eugenia Tucker Fitgerald's, grave. When I told Dad this, he agreed to stop and let me visit Wesleyan and Rose Hill Cemetary.

The plaque is hanging on the wall of the room where the Adelphean Society was organized. The plaque reads:

The Adelphean Society

First Secret Society for College Women

Mother of International Alpha Delta Pi Sorority

was organized in this room of

Wesleyan Female College

May 15, 1861

On the Sorority;s Ninetieth Anniversary

this Adelphean Hall is

Restored and Dedicated

In Recognition Whereof

Grand Council of Alpha Delta Pi

Inscribes this tablet to the Memory

of its founder

Eugenia Tucker Fitzgerald

and the first Adelphean Members

Octavia Andrew Rush Mary Harris Jarrell

Ann Burkhalter Colquitt Anna L. Jeffers

Octavia Douglass Fell Julia Jones Ross

Maria J. Easterling Ella Pierce Turner

Mary Evans Glass Sarah Simms Comer

Mary Everett Fenn Mary J. Snow

Mary Finn Hawkins Mary M. Tucker

Josephine Freeman Elizabeth Williams Mitchell

Oceana Goodall Pollard Sophronia Woodruff Dews

You might notice that a few names are underlined. The women who are underlined are co-founders along with Eugenia Tucker. You might ALSO notice that one of these 6 founding women is named Ella Pierce Turner. Her maiden name would have been Ella Pierce when she helped found the Adelphean Society. This means that I could possibly be related to a founder of my own sorority!!

The Alpha Delta Pi fountain in the quad

After we went to Wesleyan, we went on a wild hunt for Eugenia's gravesite in Rose Hill Cemetery. my Tomtom lied to me and told me that we had no road into the cemetery, but we figured out how to drive to the entrance after a wild goose chase on foot. We eventually found Eugenia's grave in her family burial plot that Alpha Delta Pi maintains. She lived to be 94 years old and was actively involved in Alpha Delta Pi from the day it was founded when she was 17 years old to her death...that is 77 years!

Sisters regularly leave gifts of sisterhood for Eugenia in remembrance of her.

I was really blown away by the fact that 161 years ago, 6 women made a decision that would impact my life in many different ways today. The fact that I have now walked the same halls as those women is even more amazing to me. Thanks Dad for letting me experience a special part of history that affected me in many positive ways!

When we got to Tampa that night, Daddy and I went to a cool pizza place on Davis Island called Slice and then we hung out at my uncle's place and relaxed before the big day. Dad gave me some advice about things that worried me, which really helped me feel better about starting the scary adult world.

When we got to Sarasota, we moved my stuff into my tiny closet of a room. The picture below is of the entire room. I live at The Silk Purse Artist Residence...also known as the 4-plex because there are 4 apartments in the building.

The 4-plex is walking distance to my work on North Palm Avenue and walking distance from Downtown Sarasota where all the nightlife and shopping is!

yes, I live walking distance from a tiki bar with its own beach at the marina :)

Daddy and I found a neat place to eat at called O'Leary's Tiki Bar and Restaurant and then I took him to the Tampa airport to fly back home without me. :(

In my first week, I have seen some AMAZING views...