Well, it wasn't that happy. Never are. But I did have THE BEST weekend. Why?
Because it was PICNIC DAY in Davis, California!
Oh, how I miss the infamous double deckers!
PICNIC DAY!!! I can't say it enough, HAPPY PICNIC DAY!!
It's hard to put into words what exactly Picnic Day is. It's a festival, it's open house, it's homecoming, it's tons of parties, bars open at 9am, music playing in the street, a big parade, wiener dog races, bikes everywhere (that's normal for Davis) and just way too much fun all in one day. About 90,000 people come every year, 30,000 of which are students, the others are alumni, family members, or just visitors. Not even joking in the slightest on the numbers, you can google it.
It's kind of a big deal.
Basically every apartment complex in all of Davis looked like this.
It's the biggest UC Davis tradition, I went as a baby with my parents, they talked about their Picnic Days when they went to UCD and it's always the best time. And it has been going on for 100 years. Talk about school pride, Go Aggies!
Call me crazy, or plain insane for traveling all the way from Carbondale, Illinois to Davis, California just for one day of festivities. But it was so worth it. I am an alumni (still weird to say that) and had to go back. HAD to. I planned on it since last Picnic Day and it didn't matter where in the world I was, I would be back for Picnic Day 2014. Number 100 and first as a grad. Can't miss that.
And it was everything and so much more. I made a full weekend out of it, flying in on Thursday night and back to Carbondale on Sunday.
Beautiful day for a Picnic!
So without further ado, let me tell you how I had a lot more fun than you probably did. Actually, I know I did so just read along.
First day- Flight from St. Louis to Phoenix, Phoenix to Sacramento. Get on the ground, get picked up by my friend who I was staying with, we'll go with Kelly, and her roommate Kimmy. First thing we do, after exchanging girly screams and hi's and how we missed each other we go straight to In-N-Out. And I'm mid-burger and downing my fries that are just so much better than another burger and fries I've ever had and then Kelly goes…
"So it's Thursday night. And it's 10:30. You know what that means?"
"MOJITO NIGHT!!!"
Mojito Night is a super fun night out at the bars, where mojitos are on special (for much more than Illinois folk are willing to pay but it's cheap for us Davis kids) and it is my absolute favorite of all the special themed nights. So it's only natural that we go pretty much straight from the airport to In-N-Out to the bars.
Welcome back, Marissa.
We get there and are waiting in line and I already see people I haven't seen since I graduated last June. Ensue lots of hugging, high pitched OH MY GAWD WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!?'s and HIIII's and I MISSED YOU SO MUCH's.
I loved it.
I finally got to see my old crew. The co-workers turned best friends, the ones who joined me on countless mojito nights past and shared too many laughs with. And just like that I'm back in my happy place catching up, drinking mojitos and enjoying the super warm night. Like I never left.
Sometimes the best memories are a little fuzzy.
We go to another bar after the mojitos have been exhausted. The bouncer takes his sweet time on my ID, as it's from Illinois now and looks like a fake. After they scrutinize it and ask me all the info on it and I already know that this could be an issue for the weekend. But we had fun and everyone loved how I said "abSaluki" for absolutely everything. Sorry I'm not sorry.
That was it. My 4 best years amounted to that single piece of paper. I can't tell you much about all the different classes I took but I can tell you about the people in my life. The experiences and memories I shared with the people who would be much more important to me than any piece of fancy paper. If I could trade it to go back again I would. In a heart beat. Because that diploma means so much more than how many A's and B's (and definitely a fair share of C's and even D's) I got. It was the good times, mistakes made, life lived.
So I was feeling nostalgic and sad but then got to see another friend who has also graduated and I had met on my very first day at school. Jenn was like me, struggling to find her way when we thought we had it made. She was living but not thriving in New York, NY and I just trying to figure out what to do with my forever after. We aren't there yet, we probably won't ever be. But coming back and talking with old friends somehow make our problems a little less dire and a little more ok.
I went back to Kelly and Kimmy's and they snuck me into my old work place, the recreational center, called the ARC. Super weird to walk around and not be supervising basketball or getting ice for an injured soccer player.
So Friday was just a day for walking down memory lane. But I think it was the closure I needed.
3rd Day-PICNIC DAY!
Well said.
The day I was waiting for since I left in the summer. And it was epic! Yes, there was a lot of drinking involved. I don't think I had any non-alcoholic drinks all day. It's a marathon, not a sprint. I went from campus to house parties, to apartment block parties, back to campus to see the baseball game, checked out the cows and the animals, even checked out the parade. And by checked out I mean kind of accidentally rode my bike in it for part of the way. Bucket list item-be in parade- complete!
I saw friends who lived on my dorm floor freshman year and I saw friends who I traveled abroad with and those I worked with and had class with, etc etc. I biked downtown and spent time in one of our favorite joints just laughing and trying to enjoy a cold beer in a super crowded space but it was all in the name of picnic day.
Everyone wanted to know what Illinois is like, looked at my new ID and told their prospective stories of how life after college was so completely different than any of us could have imagined. But the main theme was happy and reuniting.
I got to meet new people too, my friend's brother now goes to UCD and hearing his stories made me smile and feel excited for him as he's still enjoying college. People were impressed with how I'm getting my MBA and working to get it. Not to blow my horn or anything but it felt nice to hear that from the outside my life sounded cool. And there were some people who said they read my blog and loved it. Thanks for those of you that do!
Snap chats of the shenanigans.
We became friends after I bombed my econ test and was looking for a study buddy. I got life long friends and only a C in the class. Good trade for me.
He passed out before 11am. He may be 'hang'ing in a hammock but the dude couldn't hang for a Picnic.
Friends since the dorm days!
My favorite part of the whole day wasn't the vendors, or the booths on campus, face paint, the wiener dog races, the animals or even the bar scene. It was being with those people and being happy to see them, seeing them happy to see me and then just being with each other like old times. I went to a bar that wasn't quite as crowded with some very old friends who had been there since pretty much day one. The bouncer didn't want me to come in again as my ID was not valid enough for California standards. So I said screw it and walked away and then he goes "Hey, it must not be fake if you don't care to get in or not, come on inside." No you idiot, it's not fake, I just got it a few days ago under protest but in order to get in-state tuition, you kinda need to be a resident that lives in-state. What a concept. But I got in, told my story, laughed and then we even sat in silence, ok with it though, ok to just be together for a short time.
After a very eventful day of booze flowing, seeing the city literally stop and cater to all that was involved with the Picnic, I spent the night time with some old friends.
They are the crew, the boys, my best bros. A bunch of soccer-playing, beer-drinking, trash-talking, prank-playing, mess-making, crazy guys. And I love them all. They always know how to have a good time and I end up laughing more than anything because of their antics. And after a day spent biking back and forth to see the people I had missed, reminiscing of days past, all I wanted to do at the end of the day was be in that apartment with my boys watching them play beer pong and talking about soccer and other random things. I didn't want to talk about Illinois, or worry about how I had to catch a flight back the very next day.
And I did just that. I was tired and sleepy but it was so chill and good to hang out again. We played games or sat and watched others play. The music was loud, and the drinks flowing. And it was perfect. We talked about our dreams and how we had all these great plans and ideas. We talked about our lives and how we would one day go to Vegas together, and to that concert or music festival, how they would come visit me but maybe go see Chicago instead of Carbondale (they read my blogs too) and we talked about our past and present too. One of them looked at me at a point in the night and says "It's kinda good to see you." "Oh yeah? Just kinda?" "Yeah. It's kinda good." My boys kinda like having me around. Just kinda. It's the little things like those silly talks and moments that I'll always remember. I may miss them way more than they miss me but when we are together it's my favorite.
My goofballs, my boys. Best of the best.
Last day-I got locked out of the apartment I was staying at so I ended up on the couch at the guys', just like old times, only fitting that I did. But I woke up early, nursed my hangover and then got ready to say my good byes. I went to brunch with the boys and even though I was feeling like my liver had died it was really good food and bottomless mimosas. Can't say no to that. After a few more laughs and jokes I had to get up and say bye in order to catch my flight. And of course I got super sad and I'm awkward so I sort of jumped up "Ok, I'll see you guys later." and waved and ran out the door.
I don't cry when I break my elbow. I don't cry when I lose the high school basketball state playoff game. I don't cry often. But when I have to say good bye I am a total sap. Cue the waterworks, it's going to be a wet one. I cry at train stations, bus stations and airports a lot. I hate good byes and change and it's a problem. But I don't like to have anyone see me cry so I literally ran out of the place before they would start to fall. But I barely made it to the car and then at the airport when I said goodbye to Kelly, I lost it. The tears just wouldn't stop. It was super awkward at my gate when I kept trying to dry my eyes and people started to stare. So I was that girl wearing sunglasses inside and crying. Super attractive.
I got back on that flight and I still cried when we took off. But I know I'll be back. Hopefully sooner rather than later.
And so it may seem silly to you that I traveled across the country for a picnic. But it was the greatest picnic you could ever have.
Ok I lied, the best part was In-n-Out. Obvi. Sigh, until next time.
Now back to reality.
To be continued!
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