C-E-L-I-N-A

Last night is going down in the history books as the craziest night I have ever experienced. Yesterday afternoon, B, L, E, and I packed up the car and drove the two-hour drive to Celina, Oh, hometown of our neighbor Gabe and some friends of ours, to celebrate Andrew “Chuck” Hoying’s 21st birthday bash. A party bus was rented out, and the girls and I were told multiple times that we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. Understatement of the year. For my readers out there who are unaware of how the party bus works Mercer County style, I’ll inform you. We arrived at this bar in Celina where an orange bus arrived and picked up about fifty of us. We then traveled to six different bars throughout the course of the night staying at each for about 30-45 minutes. It was insane.

This whole bus idea is brilliant. Just talking safety factor, no one has to drive anywhere. Our awesome bus driver Goldie (we miss Goldie already!) even dropped us all off at Gabe’s house at 2 am. The bus itself was like one big house party. Everyone danced it up in the aisle as Andrew’s birthday bash CD played over and over again. I think we may have had more fun on the bus than in the actual bars at times. Not only did we get to experience a whole different kind of bar hopping experience, but we also learned geography on the trip as well. One bar was on the border of Indiana – I had no idea we were that close. Coming from a very different background of bars…I’m talking Jersey Shore background here, I had so much fun experiencing “country bars.” John Deere Green played 72 times, and I loved every minute of it! Luckily no one had to watch me attempt to line dance. My roommates will tell you that Kate line dancing is not a pretty sight. The Cupid Shuffle is about as coordinated as I can get, but lots of other dancing was experienced by everyone.

So the night was a great success with a few memorable moments. The guy who started driving the bus when we were leaving the last stop will have a special place in my heart as the person I hate most in this world. Did I mention our bus driver was not on the bus and that we were parked next to a lake? Yup. He will be holding this title for a very long time. Memories will also include watching our fellow bus riders pass out on the bus as our night progressed. Half the bus was sleeping by the time we arrived at the end of the line. Our birthday boy walking around lost for an hour last night while the rest of us found our way back to Gabe’s house. He was lost in his own neighborhood. Making nachos with the gang…and using several types of cheeses, because apparently one is not enough. Not getting nearly enough sleep in the room I was sleeping in because of lots of chit chatters and a snoring roommate (who apparently sounds like a hippopotamus according to one of the chit chatters).

What a great way to go into my birthday week! C’mon, you all knew I had to slip in the fact that I turn 21 in 26 hours. I hope to experience something similar to what I experienced last night again in my life, but at least I know that if I don’t, I can die saying I partied it up Mercer County style. One more thing to cross off my bucket list ☺