Las Vegas // Electronic Daisy Carnival (EDC)

First blog post here on my revamped site, and what better way to start it off with some Vegas excitement!

This was actually my first time going to Las Vegas, and Dustin got to show me around! We caught our flight early in the AM (around 5AM), and were too excited to go to sleep the night before, so we were pretty exhausting when we landed. We picked up a rental car with the intention of going to the Grand Canyon, but both of us were too exhausted to make the drive. Definitely on our list for next time though!

We did however, go to the Hoover Dam! It was over 100 degrees that day as well, which was killer. We ate at Gordon Ramsay's Burger restaurant, and oh my gosh, it was amazing! Best burger ever, seriously. We ended up walking around the Paris Hotel and checked out the casinos, but again were just too tired to do much. An early night of sleep occurred and lasted a pretty solid 10 hours! 

The following day was the first day of EDC, but it didn't actually start until 7PM that evening. After waking up, we decided to explore the strip - especially since I had yet to buy a drink and actually drink it! We had some shots, some beers, and of course, the souvenir bottles (which ended up being far too sugary for me!) and explored more of the hotels and casinos. During this, we were supposed to meet up with a friend of mine whom I used to work with, who we were going to get rides from and stay at her home during EDC. This ultimately fell through, so within the course of an hour and many dollars later, I had thankfully secured us with shuttle passes and place to stay in downtown Las Vegas. 

After getting settled and relaxed from the stress of dealing with a last minute change of plans for a bit, I finally pepped myself up with some whiskey and got dressed - we had a long night ahead of us. What transpired next is actually hard to describe. EDC was crazy, amazing, and so, so much fun. I couldn't believe how surrounded I was with love and friendship, from complete strangers. We danced harder and more passionately than we ever had, I think. It's hard not to when you're completely free, and all you can feel is the bass in your chest. The first friend I made was Courtney. She was dancing, with a huge smile on her face, around a couple of people who were watching a gloving performance (gloves that have LED lights in the fingertips). She welcomed Dustin and I into her crew immediately (who were all super rad too). We exchanged numbers and hugs, and went our separate ways. We texted about meeting up when she came up through the PNW to go to Paradiso, but we'll definitely meet again. 

In our first night we got to see Lny Tnz, Flux Pavilion, Bro Safari, Datsik, Knife Party (so good), and Adventure Club, among other DJ's while we explored and walked around. We ended up dancing until 5:00AM that first night, and we stayed until the sun started to rise when we got back on our shuttle to go back to the hotel. It was all very surreal, and I was exhausted. 

This was pretty much what happened the next night, except we got the pleasure of seeing Zedd, The Chainsmokers (again, so good), and Excision. All three of these sets were incredible, but holy shit was Excision insane. So insane, in fact, that one of the bass pods at the bassPOD field caught on fire. I've been to quite a few bass heavy shows (and have actually seen Excision a couple of times here in Portland), but this was just on another level. We ultimately didn't stay late on this night due to Dustin not feeling well (the vape smoke was a little over the top - I was nauseated from it too), and the extreme bass also didn't help with feeling disoriented, so we ultimately got back to the hotel around 4AM.

On our last night, Dustin was too sick (likely from dehydration - we endured 110 degree days and 100 degree nights), so I ended up exploring Fremont Street and watching the NBA finals before heading out to catch my shuttle back to EDC. Excitedly, a guy my age sat next to me on the bus and we exchanged stories and added each other on Instagram. 

I explored different stages, met many more new friends, and explored some of the art displays. Before I left for the night, I wanted to go on one of the carnival rides. I decided on riding the swings, which happened to be next to the Bass Pod stage. By the time I finally got on the swings, the 20th anniversary fireworks started to go off, and I found myself swinging around, seeing the whole arena, with nothing but fireworks above my head as the sounds of bass rang through my ears. It was probably one of the more insane visual things I've seen. One for the books!

TLDR;

EDC was epic, and I would totally recommend going at some point. FIN!