Birthday Madness
Well folks, I’ve reached that age where there are no more landmarks to look forward to…
16: you can get a driving permit
18: you’re an “adult” in the eyes of people behind counters.
21: you can buy alcohol
25: rental car insurance is regular price
Shit, even before all those, each year was something to achieve, as I was always wanting to be older and cooler like my sisters. Ok, so now what? 25 seems to just be dull and boring. So to counter the dull and boring, we arranged a celebration that was…not.
It started on Saturday, after an insanely busy and terrible night at the Lake Yellowstone Hotel. I didn’t get home until 11:30, and I had promised some friends I would meet them at the pub for when the clock struck midnight and my birthday officially began. I threw on some clothes as soon as I got home and headed out to the pub.
It quickly got crazy. Fortunately, I didn’t spend a dollar, but unfortunately, I have a lot of friends that wanted to buy me a birthday drink. I learned that night how to say “no,” because I was being handed drinks left and right and far too many. Within an hour, it was time to go home. I didn’t want to get too crazy, for the real party would be the next day at Chico Hot Springs.
I woke up early the next day to a happy birthday note from my new roommate, Jesse. He works the night shift at the hotel, so we are on opposite schedules. He had come back at some point to wish me a happy birthday, but we missed each other. The note made my morning, though.
The morning consisted of phone calls from loved ones, and packing up to go. We were ready to leave around 2, and we managed to squeeze 5 people into Old Yeller (my car, soon to be renamed General M. Bison). Craig, Adam, Meaghan and Josh all squeezed in, and we began the 2 hour ride to Chico. I swear, every place you ever drive to here is 2 hours away.
When we got there, another car of our friends had already arrived: Daniel, Jana, Rob and Curtis. In another couple of minutes, Megan, Howie and Glenn arrived. We went to our suite, and were amazed to see how big and nice it was. People had warned us that the hotel rooms at Chico were terrible, but I guess since we booked an 8-person suite at the Lodge there, we were in the high class category. It was really nice!
We started the evening with Polish horseshoes out on the lawn and card games inside. I will spare my readers the party details, but overall, it was just an awesome night. Chico has an enormous pool that’s filled with water from the hot springs, and next to the pool is a grill and a bar. We spent hours in the pool, hen at the restaurant, and finally at the pub. The highlight of my night must have been the 3 thirteen-year-old boys that challenged me to a game of “Chicken” in the pool. I was already fired up from winning a number of rounds, and I warned them that I wouldn’t go easy on them. Let’s just say, within minutes, they were underwater, and there were braces marks on my hand. They asked for it!
To summarize the night would be difficult, but really it was just an awesome evening. Everyone had a really good time, and I was so glad that all of my closest friends here were able to come. I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday.
Here are some pictures highlighting the evening:
