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We arrived at the fabulous Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort today at around five o'clock after a long, but fun bus trip. We all met early this morning excited and ready to go, but the rookies had a few things they had to do before getting on the bus.
This year we have eight amazing women who are new to our team and just for fun, they each had to perform one of the short routines we perform on the field in order to get on the bus. And once they got on the bus, they each had to tell one interesting fact about a veteran to receive their rookie sign. Now their rookie sign is not anything terrible. It's a small sign they wear around their neck throughout the first month of training until they earn 10 stickers. The 10 stickers are given by the captains and the veterans when they see a rookie giving 110% and going above and beyond. It's our way of letting them know we have noticed their hard work and to keep it up.
With such a long bus ride, the captains came up with several games to keep us entertained. One of the funniest activities we did was having each girl write down their most embarrassing moment. We then read them aloud and had to guess who it was. Needless to say, we learned a lot about each other! We also gave the rookies crayons and a piece of paper and they each had a few minutes to draw a picture of themselves. We then tried to guess who had drawn each picture and voted on who had the best artistic skills. And lets just say none of us are artists for a reason!
Throughout the drive, we also began giving hints to the rookies as to who their big sister would be during the season. Each rookie is paired with a second year member to guide her through the year. They will find out their big sister on Wednesday night, but we wanted to keep teasing them with clues until then.
Once we arrived at the resort, we all had about two hours to freshen up before meeting back up for dinner at the Marlin Grill. It was so nice to see everyone all dressed up because we normally see each other in practice clothes and tennis shoes. The dinner was amazing, complete with appetizers, a salad, and fabulous entrees. Our Director, Stacie Kinder, gave a great toast thanking all of our sponsors who traveled with us to Destin to help make our swimsuit calendar a success. And she also wished all of us good luck for when we step in front of the camera in the next few days.
The night ended with a surprise from our Director and the resort. They took us outside for a picture and then announced they had a special fireworks display for us. The sky was lit up with fireworks choreographed to go along with some of the songs we performed to last year and during tryouts. It was such a nice treat and bigger than anything we could have imagined.
Tomorrow, women will have call times as early as 4 a.m. to get hair and makeup done before heading to the beach for a sunrise photo shoot. Other women will head to the marina to take picture on a yacht and there will also be a photo session at a waterfall. It will take a lot of hard work to make sure every picture looks its best, but it will also be a lot of fun.
Well, I'm off to bed. Check back everyday for a new blog as the Tennessee Titans Cheerleaders continue their trip in Destin creating the 2009 Tennessee Titans Cheerleader Swimsuit Calendar!
Lindsey R.
