21 in Vegas
Hi y’all!!!! Happy birthday to me!!!
I turned 21 in Las Vegas this past Friday, and it was such a good time. I started thinking about my 21st birthday trip last year, on my 20th birthday trip. I take Dia De Lilly very seriously; it’s a fest, an extravaganza, and event. It’s the most important day of the year. A national holiday, if you will. It also tends to span much, much longer than one day. This year, the celebrating began last Tuesday, the fourth, and will end next Tuesday, the 18th. It’s Willz season!!
Tuesday night, one of my best friends, JJ, and I went to our favorite spot in Ybor City to watch our favorite band, Sun Room. We got dressed up and listened to good music while JJ got her first (and second) drink at Crowbar post turning 21. The Bends opened for them, and they killed it. Sun Room is the first show JJ and I ever went to together, so we always make sure to see them when they’re in Tampa. We did leave a bit early though, and semi-impulsively got new piercings across the street; it was the same place I impulsively got a tattoo and she got her septum last December- one of my favorite nights of all time. She got her eyebrow done, and I got a conch in my left ear, so as to bring more balance to the 2 in one ear, 4 in the either situation.
I also bought a new ring for my septum, and as I tried to put it in, I dropped the ball and it feel into the depths of the city, nowhere to be found, and trust. We tried to find it. A couple of beautiful strangers, an officer, and one of the Crowbar guys all did too, with no such luck. There went that $15. After that, we got our traditional McDonald’s before I crashed on her couch. Wednesday morning we hit a few thrift stores around Tampa, and then I made my way back home to MC.
My parents and I flew out to Nevada early Thursday morning, and it took a couple hours for the jet lag to sink in. I’ve never left the time zone before. I didn’t do nearly as much drinking, gambling, and partying as God intended any freshly 21-year-old girl in Vegas to do, because I was way too tired by 10pm, which was 1am at home. But nevertheless, I persisted, and I had a great time. The first thing we did was go to the Sphere to watch The Wizard of Oz. I’d never actually seen the original movie before, but it was such a cool experience. I was quite awestruck during the whole duration. After the Sphere, our next stop was my first hockey game: the Lightning v.s. the Knights. The Lightning won, of course. It was actually pretty interesting to watch, and luckily enough a little fight broke out right before the end. Dream come true!!
My actual birthday was on Friday, and we spent the morning at a car show. There was a lot of cool stuff to see but the absolute highlight was seeing Suki’s Honda from 2 Fast 2 Furious. I’ve been obsseed with that car for years, and seeing the real one from the movie was absolutely stellar. I was fangirling, very had. There was a lot of other cars from the Fast series too. It was the coolest thing. After that we got dinner our tradition birthday Olive Garden dinner. Every year, whatever city or place we end up, we go to Olive Garden for dinner. After that, we went to a Cirque Du Soleil show!!! I’ve dreamt of going to a cirque show for years now, and seeing O at the Bellagio was the most perfect experience. I’ve always really loved Cirque Du Soleil; it was such a beautiful, beautiful show. It was the perfect way to end my real day of birth.
Saturday we fulfilled another lifelong dream of mine: going to a Savers. Savers is a thrift store that I’ve spent years watching YouTubers from the West Coast spend their mornings at. I got a few picture frames, a few dvds and cds, a pair of flats, a pair of jeans, a cardigan, and a dress. My mom got a few pairs of jeans! After that, we went to my most anticipated of places for the trip: The Punk Rock Museum. It was arranged chronologically, starting with bands like the Ramones (my absolute favorite band of all time- I love the classics) in 70s New York City and ending with Warped Tour. I left with a million pictures, a sticker and a postcard, and the recipe for the shot I got at the Punk Bar, called the Lilly. I left Vegas with my own signature shot, how cool is that?
After the museum, we went back to our hotel to see Colin Cloud, a magician and mentalist I used to watch obsessively on America’s Got Talent back in the day. I got picked from the audience!!!! I had to pick a number and I randomly at the last second said 27, which is exactly the number he knew I was going to say. It was insane. He’s genuinely gotta be magical. Once the show was over, we made our way to Freemont Street, which was bright and loud and fun and crazy. All my favorite things.
Overall, I had a loud and shining time in Vegas, and it was the greatest trip I could’ve asked for. I played Joan Jett’s guitar for crying out loud!!! My 21st birthday trip was perfect, but my birthday isn’t over yet!! Alexa is flying in this Thursday to join me and my Disney friends while we drink around the world at Epcot and have a fun & fancy soiree in my honor! Happy Williannymonth to you all!!
xoxo, Willianny
