I spent the wee minutes leading up to my 21st birthday begging.
It was 11:47 p.m. on March 8, just 13 minutes away from the last birthday I consider fun and the one that grants access to all of Chapel Hill's bars. I somehow found myself outside of The Blue Horn Lounge freezing in an Urban Outfitters top, the one I bought specifically for this occasion. It was almost time for my first birthday bar crawl, time to search for all the free birthday drinks I could find and purchase some I had longed for in between.
But the man standing outside of Blue Horn — our starting point — wouldn't budge. So, I begged. It didn't work. 10 minutes of awkward strolling led me to Top of the Hill. With my friends Viyathma Hapuarachchi and Emma Hedinger behind me, we climbed two flights of stairs. At 11:57, I pleaded some more and made it inside after a bouncer joked I needed to wait outside.
Following a trip to the bar, I was gifted a mucus green shot in a plastic cup. It was chocolate cake flavored with a smokey aftertaste. The flavor was fine despite the color. It was average at best.
We had two hours to shove everything in so we moved quick. We returned to Blue Horn. I find the bar a little off putting due to the circle of old men who typically sit outside, but I went inside and the bartender — the same man who wouldn't serve me earlier — spun the wheel reserved for birthday visitors. It landed on a banana foster shot, which tasted delicious with its combination of banana flavor and RumChata. It was better than the neon green shot at Top of the Hill.
Then, I got off course. We went to Zog's Art Bar & Pool Hall. They didn't have a birthday shot so I settled for an Ian Jackson & Coke because of the name. It was awful and way too strong. It was easily the worst drink of the night, but Zog's vibe made up for it. Cool leg lamp, deer head on the wall, lighthouse picture. Onward.
We traveled to Goodfellows next, which made me the most nervous. I've only heard good things, but there's usually an absurd line. With such a short amount of time to hit all my targets, Goodfellows seemed like a possible time-suck. We entered over 20 minutes later. It was 1 a.m. I danced my way to the bar and I had a BJ shot with way too much whipped cream. I took a pickleback shot as well, which was too beautiful to put into words. It was my favorite stop of the night.
After that, I got even more off course. I paid for a cherry limeade Sup Crush at Sup Dogs and purchased a Blue Cup at He's Not Here. I don't recall much from our last two spots. There was an annoying N.C. State fan at He's, but I was too tipsy to care.
What I did care about? I went from begging to having a smile on my face, love in my heart and good friends around me.
