Last Updated on May 29, 2021
My Spring Break this year was a bit unconventional. Due to my responsibilities as a Resident Assistant in a break duty hall, instead of going away on a “senior trip” like so many seniors do, I was trapped within my residence hall for seven days in a row. Seven days of never seeing the light of day. Oh man, I started getting really antsy towards the end of it. I shouldn’t complain though since this was the price to pay for going away to Spain during Winter Break which was an experience I wouldn’t trade for a thing.
Spring Break wasn’t really much of a “spring” break to begin with. Most of the days looked like this. Snowy, cold, and a wintery mess. I didn’t want to step outside anyway.
When I finally did leave, my car was buried under so much snow I had to try to find a way to uncover it. I foolishly didn’t have a snow brush or ice scraper in my car (never making that mistake again) so I had to resort to physically punching the snow off. Yes, I stood in the parking lot and punched the snow off my car one punch at a time.
If you’re wondering why I had a boxing glove in my car, that is an excellent question. An excellent question I wish I had the answer to.
From there, I drove home to begin my journey to Las Vegas! I was attending a weekend seminar in Nevada hosted by my mentor along with a number of other professional hypnotists. Some of the attendees were returners from the same program I went to in Orlando, Florida back in August of last year.
During my flight, I purchased airline food for the first time in my life. I don’t know why I found this particularly exciting since it probably shouldn’t have been but I think it was just one of those things I’ve always wanted to do but never did. This time I was starving and desperate so I paid the overpriced fee for a small “Tapas” box for a little taste of Spain. Though it didn’t come close to the real thing, it was nice to eat again.
Once I arrived in Vegas, I hailed an Uber driver to take me to my nearby AirBnB. This was my first experience using Airbnb all on my own. To be honest, it wasn’t the most positive experience. My original host canceled on me THE NIGHT BEFORE. I had to scramble to find a new place to stay as the hotels were all twice the price and the AirBnB room selection was now very limited. I ended up paying an extra $100.00 to book another room. But hey, AirBnB was nice enough to give me a whole $17 for the inconvenience.
Once I settled in, I tried catching a ride back to the Strip to walk around. Two of my Uber drivers got lost trying to find my AirBnB but eventually, their GPS’s succeeded in tracking me down. My favorite was when they’d call my phone and ask where I was and my only response to them was, “I wish I could tell you but I’m just as lost here as you are.”
I saw the Fountains of Bellagio, Caesar’s Palace, Paris, New York, and everything else on the Strip! The weather was the total opposite of New Jersey – it was in the 90s instead of the 20s and 30s. A beautiful change. It FINALLY began to feel like Spring Break.
When the time came, I set off to go to Catherine Hickland’s mansion. For those who don’t know the name, she’s a famous hypnotist, actress, cosmetic company owner, author, and a soap opera star. She was married to David Hasselhoff a while back and now possesses KITT from the television series Knight Rider. She’s a total sweetheart.
And the best part is that she is a fellow bird lover. I finally found someone who loves birds just as much as me!?
She had the most beautiful home. It literally felt like a backyard paradise. I felt so honored to be there as her guest. A pretty surreal experience.
Once the weekend seminar began, I got to see her backyard recording studio. That was a really interesting thing to see first-hand. I learned a lot at the program and it was the perfect refresher course to get myself ready to kickstart my career with college graduation right around the corner.
It was spectacular. I was a bit upset about having to leave the program a little early to catch a flight home but I guess the fact that I was there for most of the program was already an honor.
Oh and let’s not forget about the food! Most of the time, we ate meals at her home prepared by Catherine’s chefs. However, I did go out to The Wicked Spoon buffet in The Cosmopolitan one night. That was a recommendation from my parents. They said I absolutely could not leave Vegas without trying it. I got a few of my friends from the program together and we went to check it out. Although it was pricey for my budget, the food was worth it.
They even had squid ink pasta! Mmmmmm!! <3 Loved it.
