Gasparella

     Fresh off of the lengthy vacation I had somehow secured for myself, with MLK weekend and a snow week, I was soon forced to confront the fact that one day, I will have to return to my studies at the university. However, there was still one weekend left in my impromptu break, and without wasting this opportunity, me and my friends from Tallahassee decided to take a visit down to Tampa! As for why we chose to comply with a four hour drive down to a random city, we had chosen Tampa because there was a world-famous pirate festival happening this weekend! So, with the promise of drunken fights, crazy parties, and lots of beads, who wouldn't go along with this half-baked plan?

    Surprisingly, the drive wasn't as bad as you'd think: with five guys crammed into a small car for hours on end, you'd start to see some problems arise between the passengers. Instead, most of us had fallen asleep through the drive, so there weren't many complaints. With the occasional rest stop, food break, and dry joke exchanged between whoever was awake, the drive went by pretty quickly, though by the end of it, I had taken off my shoes and shrank into an almost shrimp-like posture in my seat as I tried to get somewhat comfortable in the tight space.

    By the time we had arrived at Tampa, the festivities had already begun. Even though we had estimated that we'd be getting to the festival a little late, when we stopped by a McDonald's to have lunch, we watched as herds of drunken adults and teenagers stumbled through the roads, often with more drinks in hand. Clearly, the locals had gotten a head start on the partying, even though it was barely 2 PM. We left the car near McDonald's after confirming that it was a free parking lot, and then we began walking over to where the Gasparella Parade was being held, weaving through groups of pirate-clad partygoers.

    To blend in with the celebratory crowd, my friends and I had donned some pirate costumes of our own. However, we only had bought two full pirate costumes between the five of us, so we had distributed hats and outfits separately, so we each had something to call ourselves pirates with. Despite not having full costumes like many other attendees at the festival, we had something that made us fit right in: the true spirit of pirates. We made a big show of yelling and pilfering the many treasures that laid in the streets, and before we knew it, we had collected dozens of elaborate bead necklaces, trophies of our looting and plundering the town of Tampa.

    Towards the end of the parade, I had linked up with some other friends attending the festival. Here I met with my friend Sofia, a Tampa local, who had suggested some nightclubs we could go to later in the night to fully experience everything Gasparella had to offer. Additionally, a friend of hers had also given us an invite to a houseparty among friends, so just in case the nightclubs were a bust, we would have a more chill, intimate setting to hang out in. Clearly, being well-connected must be another thing pirates excelled at, because I can't imagine what we would've done that night if I didn't meet with her to make some plans!

   

Skipping forward a few hours, we had already eaten, met with another friend, and dropped off our belongings at the apartment we were staying at that night. Graciously, one of my friends had an old buddy from high school that offered us a place to stay the night, since we were trying to avoid paying for a hotel room (another instance of being well-connected saving the day). So, with all of these chores being taken care of, we drove over to the nightclub we had agreed to meet my friends at, got dropped off, and got in line for entry.

    As always, there was a slight issue. We had been promised free entry (we may be a bunch of cheap pirates) to the nightclub on the condition that we would be in by a certain time, and unfortunately the line was so long I had no faith in us getting in. The mood did drop for a moment, but thanks to staying positive and my earlier networking, both groups of friends and I decided to call up some Ubers, reconvene at my Sofia's apartment, and then set out to the houseparty from there. I'm really glad that things went well from there, since I was worried about not having anything to do or have people to see while I was down here, so meeting up with them was really a lifesaver!

    After the party, we made our way back home, and I got to christen my brand new sleeping bag that I had bought in Gainesville! Once we woke up the next morning, we all packed our bags then made our way back to Tallahassee, but not before stopping by an amazing Vietnamese Deli restaurant for brunch. Honestly, even though it was a much shorter trip than I would've hoped, with us spending less than 24 hours in Tampa, I'm still really happy that we went. Otherwise, how would I have collected so many bead necklaces, or taken pictures in pirate costumes with my boys?

    I can't wait for next year's Gasparella, hopefully I'll be able to stay for longer!