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"I&amp;amp;#8217;m back from my Mediterranean cruise, and I survived two weeks with 28 of my family members trapped on a boat (OK, this scenario is fairly easy to survive when you&amp;amp;#8217;re basically in paradise). But there were a few rough moments, and here&amp;amp;#8217;s one of them&amp;amp;#133;On a stop in Mykonos, we decided to have a day for just the 20- and 30-something cousins to hang out without kids and without our old fogey parents (kidding, Mom and Dad!). After a quick breakfast on the oceanfront (rough life), one of my cousins, who shall remain nameless as he is now pretty dead to me, got the brilliant idea that we should rent scooters to head to the beach. You can tell this photo isn&amp;#x27;t actually me because this woman is smiling instead of looking like she is going to barf or cry. Now, I may have mentioned a time or two that I&amp;amp;#8217;m the only single woman in my family. So, we had three married couples, four single guys, and yours truly. Your truly, it should be said, is truly terrified of machinery and driving of any kind. I&amp;#x27;m like the opposite of a daredevil (dare angel?), and cars and other motorized vehicles frighten me (note: this is not a &amp;quot;girl thing&amp;quot; just a thing for this girl.) Of course, the married ladies all promptly decided to ride with their husbands, and the boys were all totally pumped about getting their own bikes. After momentarily pouting about not having a boyfriend to ride with and being forced to tag along with a cousin or my little brother, I decided to buck up and be an independent woman. I don&amp;amp;#8217;t need a man, right? RIGHT? Right. I gave myself a little mental pep talk--&amp;amp;#8220;You don&amp;amp;#8217;t need your view to be the back of some guy&amp;amp;#8217;s head. You can see the world for yourself! And you totally WON&amp;amp;#8217;T crash and die, really...&amp;amp;#8221;--and I forked over my Euros for my own little four-wheeler (yeah, two wheels are not enough for this bad driver, thankyouverymuch). I was TERRIFIED but determined. We had to make an immediate pit stop for gas, and as the last person finished fueling up, we got ready to go. Unfortunately, I couldn&amp;amp;#8217;t get my four-wheeler started back up again (I told you I am bad with vehicles). I shouted to my cousins to wait, but well&amp;amp;#133;.they took off anyway. Only my cousin (and current best roommate ever) Ryan bothered to stay and help me, and by the time we managed to get the motor running, everyone else had left us far, far behind. We were stranded in Mykonos with no map, and not a clue where we were supposed to be meeting everyone. Thanks guys. We were livid. Lesson learned: Seriously, everything would be so much easier if I had a man. No matter how hard you try as a single gal, you just can&amp;#x27;t keep up with the couples! No, I&amp;amp;#8217;m totally kidding. The real lesson is more like: Don&amp;amp;#8217;t rent scooters in a foreign country with a group of 11 and only one map. Morons! Even though it got a little nervewracking (and I drove at the speed of molasses), it did feel good to do it on my own. It was even kind of fun! And we did eventually find our family, and we had a gorgeous and relaxing day at Super Paradise beach. Plus, I rewarded myself with a massage on the beach for all my trouble. Worth it! Not a bad place to spend a day, huh? Have you ever tried to be independent and failed? Were you still proud of yourself for trying? And seriously, how rude are my cousins?!? (Kidding, I love you guys!) More adventures in travels for single gals: *Dating Around the World: When in Spain, Meet the French (at an Irish Bar, Naturally) *The DOs and DON&amp;#x27;Ts of Taking Away a Booty Call on Vacation: Part 1 *4 Places to Meet a Guy on Your Next Vacation Photos: Thinkstock, Gena Kaufman"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.glamour.com/sex-love-life/blogs/smitten/2012/07/that-time-i-tried-to-be-an-ind>