Two hundred and thirty-eight years ago today, the Second Continental Congress passed a resolution to establish the Continental Marines. According to Marine Corps lore, they conducted their first enlistment drive in a bar in Philadelphia, Tun Tavern.

Nowadays, the Marines celebrate their birthday with ceremonies, cake (and usually beer) all over the world — and, of course, Marine Corps birthday balls.

Toby and I were originally set up to go to the birthday ball together, although we ended up going on several dates before that original ball in 2004 (we’re old). And we’ve been to quite a few balls since then, including several in old, gross gyms (calling it a “field house” doesn’t make it less like a high school dance). But we were super excited to go to our first California ball this year, at Pechanga resort and casino.

Pechanga is really nice, and our suite was fabulous, although we could have done without the smoke smell that pervades the whole casino. There was a VIP reception in the Eagle’s Nest to start out, and the view from the top was gorgeous.

The ceremony always includes the reading of a birthday proclamation from 1921, and a big fancy cake that is cut with a sword and a piece given to the guest of honor and the oldest and youngest Marine present. There’s also a video message from the commandant of the Marine Corps.

This year is the anniversary of several important battles in Marine Corps history, including Tarawa. My grandfather and his brother were Marines stationed here at Camp Pendleton, and they were all at Guadalcanal. My grandfather wasn’t at Tarawa because he caught malaria, but my Great Uncle Ed fought there. So it was really cool to hear on the video from a Tarawa veteran and have the unit’s song played at the ball.

It’s always hard to find a dress to wear, and last year I ended up renting one from Rent the Runway. This year, I hit the BCBG outlet near our house and was able to find this green dress, which I love.

I also got some new accessories, including the fun V cuff from the Cheetah is the New Black x BaubleBar mystery box. After we left, we tried a few of the slot machines and managed to win almost $61 with a $2 investment. Not too shabby.

Dress: BCBG outlet, Hair: Twig Hair Lounge, Shoes: J.Crew, Necklace: J.Crew (similar), Earrings: My grandmother’s, Bracelet: BaubleBar (similar), Bag: Nordstrom