Thursday June 25, 2010
I haven't had the Internet for a few days so I will try to catch up on the trip so far. We are currently in Clarkdale AZ having arrived last night (one day early). We checked in to our family owned motel because the entire family (well the cheap ones) will be staying here also. Mike and I have the handicapped room on the bottom floor at the end. It is a typical room, 2 queen beds with slick shiny bedspreads (never lay on top of the bedspreads of a hotel/motel because you don't know what has gone on there because they don't get washed...ewww). Our bathroom has the big shower for wheelchairs and a flip down padded seat in there to boot! Now we are talking! The bathroom is also equipped with a frig and microwave....now that isn't always a good combo if you know what I mean...it can smell like rotten eggs in there when you are trying to find something to eat! But all in all it is a decent room with an extremely LOUD air conditioning unit!
Okay back to Tuesday morning....we stayed a very nice Holiday Inn Express....great beds...great nights sleep. Mike let me sleep in and we hit the road around 9:45 am. Now I am starting to like this new guy that is wearing my husbands clothing! He is laid back and chillaxing! We get on the highway and drive just a few miles down the road and low and behold there before us is the infamous Lucky Star Casino!! Can you freaking believe it? We had spent all that time on Monday looking for the silly thing and it wasn't there before Tuesday morning!! We took it as a sign and went in to play! We spent and hour or so and played in a nearly empty casino...it was great. I unfortunately had an upset stomach so I spent most of that hour in the bathroom...there is nothing to do in a bathroom....shouldn't they have slots in there too?? So I ended up leaving a little 'piece' of myself there. It was probably a really "Lucky" thing that we stopped there....I was thanking my "lucky Stars'!!
Back on the road we go....heading to who knows where...my husband on a trip w/o a plan...can it be true? I love this guy....why hell I even liked his music! We stopped to get gas at a Love's gas station (no Quik Trips out west)...I went in to take advantage of the free pee break. I was standing waiting for Mike and right in front of me was a display of funny glasses!! Oh my talk about a jackpot!! I was in heaven. And only $5.99! I bought only one pair though I was trying to hold back. They are very tropical and fun AND my DH wore them for a long time while we were on the road!! Can you believe it? He actually smiled and laughed with them on!
We continued on our trip and for the first time I really paid attention to the scenery. There are lots of wind turbines in the state of OK so they were pretty cool to see. We decided that if we put a wind turbine up in our back yard we could probably afford the pool during the summer! We have so much wind at our house we could probably take care of the town of Raymore! It seemed as though every new terrain we came across looked like it should be a 500 pc puzzle in a nursing home somewhere. We saw flat lands, cactus, hills and mountains...so pretty.
As we entered the state of Texas we passed the famous truck stop where we were stranded on our roadtrip 2 yrs ago...it brought back many horrid feelings...I saluted as we drove by. We were talking about how glad that trip was behind us when all of a sudden the truck lost power! I felt it and a saw it on Mike's face...both of us got this sick feeling and our hearts sunk to our feet. Nooooooooooooo not again! Finally Mike realized his big ole clod hopper shoe had hit the brake pedal and the cruise had kicked off! It was really funny but not really funny!
Now the state of Texas is an interesting place....I think in a prior life I must have been a cowgirl....well okay maybe I worked in a brothel...anyway...I LOVE TEXAS! I love the cowboy boots, hats, belts, purses... you name it I want it! Mike and I stopped at another Love's to buy more gas and he offered to buy me a bright green cowboy hat for our anniversary! Now is he something or what? I turned down the offer but came out with red flamingo sun glasses...and I LOVE them! A young man saw me try them on and he said you look good in those "Maam"! OUCH!
There are tons of stores along the way selling Indian stuff...jewelry, blankets, toys, you name it they got it and I want it! It all makes so much sense when you are here but when you get back to the MidWest you look pretty silly in all of that stuff. Now I seriously think I could live in New Mexico but my family doesn't live there so forget it!
We have been amazed at the miles we have driven and not seen any accidents. Well just one later on down the road. It was a motorcycle with a man and woman that we had been following for quite sometime. I don't know what happened but the emergency vehicles passed us and when we got to the scene there they stood in the middle grassy section of the hwy....their bike was a mess but they were standing looking at it. Hope they were okay...of course no helmets. Not a lot of police out either. The speed limit in Texas and New Mexico is 75mph...so no real need for speed.
We drove through areas called safety corridors???? What the hell does that mean anyway? Sometimes there would be fences along side of the highway. If you are caught speeding in a safety zone the fines are doubled! Now does that mean that when you are not in that area that it is unsafe but okay to speed? Not sure if I have figured that out or not.
We drove all the way to Albuquerque on Tues without meaning to...now is that even possible? Mike told me it takes 3 days to drive to his parents house and we are to be there on Thursday....so if we left on Monday...won't that be 4 days? Do you think he planned all along to arrive one day early? Hmmmmmmmmm
Driving into Albuquerque we saw signs for the opening of a new Hard Rock Casino Hotel! We were excited. We really like the Hard Rock. We couldn't get our bearings so Mike had to stop to use the restroom and get this....ask for directions!! Yep you heard it here first folks...a MAN asking for directions!! The Hard Rock is having it's opening this weekend so it wasn't open yet. We are going to hit it on the way home. We were going to stay at the Sandia Casino and Resort but at $179.00 per night I opted out of that one. We have stayed there twice before so we decided to move on down the road. We ended up at the Route 66 Hotel and Casino for the night. This is one of our favorite stops. The decor is really cool and the room was great! Only $79 per night and no taxes! The Indians are getting us backing for invading their land. Mike and I were worn out and after taking our bags upstairs we went downstairs to eat. We weren't able to go out for our anniversary because I was sick so we decided to have a nice meal, drink, gamble and stay in a great room. Well....we tried.
The steakhouse wasn't quite finished yet so we opted for a sit down place with menus instead of the $6.99 buffet. Now the casino was so busy it was unreal....people and kids everywhere! Seems that they were have a progressive drawing that night so everyone brought the family to see if they hit the big one. The buffet was more than crowded so sitting in a quiet restaurant was a good thing. I ordered an Amaretto Sour and Mike a Jack and coke....I asked the waiter what he recommended and he pointed out a couple of items that were "delish". Of course, I didn't order the 'delish' items I ordered the Steak and garlic mashed potatoes. Mike ordered the shrimp basket. My steak although ordered medium was a little overcooked, my mashed taters were over garlicked, and the frozen greens beans were nasty. Oh well, it was the thought. We played a few games in the casino and then off to bed for the night. Happy Anniversary to us!
Weds morning Mike woke up early as usual. He slipped out and went to the Dairy Queen casino next door...yep you read that right a Dairy Queen with a casino! He ended up having a cup of coffee and winning $200 bucks....now that is the way to start your day. When we left at 8:45 am we didn't make it too far down the road when the Dancing Eagle Casino jumped out at us! WooHoo...and they are off to the races! We stayed and played and Mike's lucky streak continued. It was a great time. We were hungry so we headed to find a Cracker Barrel...oh yeah finally real food! We had a great down home cooking meal for a change...what a great day.
Back on the road we go...wait what do I spy? The Fire Rock Casino! Hey what's one more stop? We go...we play...oops...not such a good idea after...we left a little money for them at that one! But it was still a great time. We leave with our pockets at little lighter but we saddle up again and decide to head straight on to Clarkdale AZ to Mom & Dad's a day early. I kinda think my sneaky DH had that planned all along don't you??
Gotta go before I lose the Internet...I will continue when I get a moment to myself...
Until then happy trails to us...so far!
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Still out here....
Thursday June 25, 2010
I haven't had the Internet for a few days so I will try to catch up on the trip so far. We are currently in Clarkdale AZ having arrived last night (one day early). We checked in to our family owned motel because the entire family (well the cheap ones) will be staying here also. Mike and I have the handicapped room on the bottom floor at the end. It is a typical room, 2 queen beds with slick shiny bedspreads (never lay on top of the bedspreads of a hotel/motel because you don't know what has gone on there because they don't get washed...ewww). Our bathroom has the big shower for wheelchairs and a flip down padded seat in there to boot! Now we are talking! The bathroom is also equipped with a frig and microwave....now that isn't always a good combo if you know what I mean...it can smell like rotten eggs in there when you are trying to find something to eat! But all in all it is a decent room with an extremely LOUD air conditioning unit!
Okay back to Tuesday morning....we stayed a very nice Holiday Inn Express....great beds...great nights sleep. Mike let me sleep in and we hit the road around 9:45 am. Now I am starting to like this new guy that is wearing my husbands clothing! He is laid back and chillaxing! We get on the highway and drive just a few miles down the road and low and behold there before us is the infamous Lucky Star Casino!! Can you freaking believe it? We had spent all that time on Monday looking for the silly thing and it wasn't there before Tuesday morning!! We took it as a sign and went in to play! We spent and hour or so and played in a nearly empty casino...it was great. I unfortunately had an upset stomach so I spent most of that hour in the bathroom...there is nothing to do in a bathroom....shouldn't they have slots in there too?? So I ended up leaving a little 'piece' of myself there. It was probably a really "Lucky" thing that we stopped there....I was thanking my "lucky Stars'!!
Back on the road we go....heading to who knows where...my husband on a trip w/o a plan...can it be true? I love this guy....why hell I even liked his music! We stopped to get gas at a Love's gas station (no Quik Trips out west)...I went in to take advantage of the free pee break. I was standing waiting for Mike and right in front of me was a display of funny glasses!! Oh my talk about a jackpot!! I was in heaven. And only $5.99! I bought only one pair though I was trying to hold back. They are very tropical and fun AND my DH wore them for a long time while we were on the road!! Can you believe it? He actually smiled and laughed with them on!
We continued on our trip and for the first time I really paid attention to the scenery. There are lots of wind turbines in the state of OK so they were pretty cool to see. We decided that if we put a wind turbine up in our back yard we could probably afford the pool during the summer! We have so much wind at our house we could probably take care of the town of Raymore! It seemed as though every new terrain we came across looked like it should be a 500 pc puzzle in a nursing home somewhere. We saw flat lands, cactus, hills and mountains...so pretty.
As we entered the state of Texas we passed the famous truck stop where we were stranded on our roadtrip 2 yrs ago...it brought back many horrid feelings...I saluted as we drove by. We were talking about how glad that trip was behind us when all of a sudden the truck lost power! I felt it and a saw it on Mike's face...both of us got this sick feeling and our hearts sunk to our feet. Nooooooooooooo not again! Finally Mike realized his big ole clod hopper shoe had hit the brake pedal and the cruise had kicked off! It was really funny but not really funny!
Now the state of Texas is an interesting place....I think in a prior life I must have been a cowgirl....well okay maybe I worked in a brothel...anyway...I LOVE TEXAS! I love the cowboy boots, hats, belts, purses... you name it I want it! Mike and I stopped at another Love's to buy more gas and he offered to buy me a bright green cowboy hat for our anniversary! Now is he something or what? I turned down the offer but came out with red flamingo sun glasses...and I LOVE them! A young man saw me try them on and he said you look good in those "Maam"! OUCH!
There are tons of stores along the way selling Indian stuff...jewelry, blankets, toys, you name it they got it and I want it! It all makes so much sense when you are here but when you get back to the MidWest you look pretty silly in all of that stuff. Now I seriously think I could live in New Mexico but my family doesn't live there so forget it!
We have been amazed at the miles we have driven and not seen any accidents. Well just one later on down the road. It was a motorcycle with a man and woman that we had been following for quite sometime. I don't know what happened but the emergency vechiles passed us and when we got to the scene there they stood in the middle grassy section of the hwy....their bike was a mess but they were standing looking at it. Hope they were okay...of course no helmets. Not a lot of police out either. The speed limit in Texas and New Mexico is 75mph...so no real need for speed.
We drove through areas called safety corridors???? What the hell does that mean anyway? Sometimes there would be fences along side of the highway. If you are caught speeding in a safety zone the fines are doubled! Now does that mean that when you are not in that area that it is unsafe but okay to speed? Not sure if I have figured that out or not.
We drove all the way to Albuquerque on Tues without meaning to...now is that even possible? Mike told me it takes 3 days to drive to his parents house and we are to be there on Thursday....so if we left on Monday...won't that be 4 days? Do you think he planned all along to arrive one day early? Hmmmmmmmmm
Driving into Albuquerque we saw signs for the opening of a new Hard Rock Casino Hotel! We were excited. We really like the Hard Rock. We couldn't get our bearings so Mike had to stop to use the restroom and get this....ask for directions!! Yep you heard it here first folks...a MAN asking for directions!! The Hard Rock is having it's opening this weekend so it wasn't open yet. We are going to hit it on the way home. We were going to stay at the Sandia Casino and Resort but at $179.00 per night I opted out of that one. We have stayed there twice before so we decided to move on down the road. We ended up at the Route 66 Hotel and Casino for the night. This is one of our favorite stops. The decor is really cool and the room was great! Only $79 per night and not taxes! The Indians are getting us backing for invading their land. Mike and I were worn out and after taking our bags upstairs we went downstairs to eat. We weren't able to go out for our anniversary because I was sick so we decided to have a nice meal, drink, gamble and stay in a great room. Well....we tried.
The steakhouse wasn't quite finished yet so we opted for a sit down place with menus instead of the $6.99 buffet. Now the casino was so busy it was unreal....people and kids everywhere! Seems that they were have a progressive drawing that night so everyone brought the family to see if they hit the big one. The buffet was more than crowded so sitting in a quiet restaurant was a good thing. I ordered an Amaretto Sour and Mike a Jack and coke....I asked the waiter what he recommended and he pointed out a couple of items that were "delish". Of course, I didn't order the 'delish' items I ordered the Steak and garlic mashed potatoes. Mike ordered the shrimp basket. My steak although ordered medium was a little overcooked, my mashed taters were over garlicked, and the frozen greens beans were nasty. Oh well, it was the thought. We played a few games in the casino and then off to bed for the night. Happy Anniversary to us!
Weds morning Mike woke up early as usual. He slipped out and went to the Dairy Queen casino next door...yep you read that right a Dairy Queen with a casino! He ended up having a cup of coffee and winning $200 bucks....now that is the way to start your day. When we left at 8:45 am we didn't make it too far down the road when the Dancing Eagle Casino jumped out at us! WooHoo...and they are off to the races! We stayed and played and Mike's lucky streak continued. It was a great time. We were hungry so we headed to find a Cracker Barrel...oh yeah finally real food! We had a great down home cooking meal for a change...what a great day.
Back on the road we go...wait what do I spy? The Fire Rock Casino! Hey what's one more stop? We go...we play...oops...not such a good idea after...we left a little money for them at that one! But it was still a great time. We leave with our pockets at little lighter but we saddle up again and decide to head straight on to Clarkdale AZ to Mom & Dad's a day early. I kinda think my sneaky DH had that planned all along don't you??
Gotta go before I lose the Internet...I will continue when I get a moment to myself...
Until then happy trails to us...so far!
I haven't had the Internet for a few days so I will try to catch up on the trip so far. We are currently in Clarkdale AZ having arrived last night (one day early). We checked in to our family owned motel because the entire family (well the cheap ones) will be staying here also. Mike and I have the handicapped room on the bottom floor at the end. It is a typical room, 2 queen beds with slick shiny bedspreads (never lay on top of the bedspreads of a hotel/motel because you don't know what has gone on there because they don't get washed...ewww). Our bathroom has the big shower for wheelchairs and a flip down padded seat in there to boot! Now we are talking! The bathroom is also equipped with a frig and microwave....now that isn't always a good combo if you know what I mean...it can smell like rotten eggs in there when you are trying to find something to eat! But all in all it is a decent room with an extremely LOUD air conditioning unit!
Okay back to Tuesday morning....we stayed a very nice Holiday Inn Express....great beds...great nights sleep. Mike let me sleep in and we hit the road around 9:45 am. Now I am starting to like this new guy that is wearing my husbands clothing! He is laid back and chillaxing! We get on the highway and drive just a few miles down the road and low and behold there before us is the infamous Lucky Star Casino!! Can you freaking believe it? We had spent all that time on Monday looking for the silly thing and it wasn't there before Tuesday morning!! We took it as a sign and went in to play! We spent and hour or so and played in a nearly empty casino...it was great. I unfortunately had an upset stomach so I spent most of that hour in the bathroom...there is nothing to do in a bathroom....shouldn't they have slots in there too?? So I ended up leaving a little 'piece' of myself there. It was probably a really "Lucky" thing that we stopped there....I was thanking my "lucky Stars'!!
Back on the road we go....heading to who knows where...my husband on a trip w/o a plan...can it be true? I love this guy....why hell I even liked his music! We stopped to get gas at a Love's gas station (no Quik Trips out west)...I went in to take advantage of the free pee break. I was standing waiting for Mike and right in front of me was a display of funny glasses!! Oh my talk about a jackpot!! I was in heaven. And only $5.99! I bought only one pair though I was trying to hold back. They are very tropical and fun AND my DH wore them for a long time while we were on the road!! Can you believe it? He actually smiled and laughed with them on!
We continued on our trip and for the first time I really paid attention to the scenery. There are lots of wind turbines in the state of OK so they were pretty cool to see. We decided that if we put a wind turbine up in our back yard we could probably afford the pool during the summer! We have so much wind at our house we could probably take care of the town of Raymore! It seemed as though every new terrain we came across looked like it should be a 500 pc puzzle in a nursing home somewhere. We saw flat lands, cactus, hills and mountains...so pretty.
As we entered the state of Texas we passed the famous truck stop where we were stranded on our roadtrip 2 yrs ago...it brought back many horrid feelings...I saluted as we drove by. We were talking about how glad that trip was behind us when all of a sudden the truck lost power! I felt it and a saw it on Mike's face...both of us got this sick feeling and our hearts sunk to our feet. Nooooooooooooo not again! Finally Mike realized his big ole clod hopper shoe had hit the brake pedal and the cruise had kicked off! It was really funny but not really funny!
Now the state of Texas is an interesting place....I think in a prior life I must have been a cowgirl....well okay maybe I worked in a brothel...anyway...I LOVE TEXAS! I love the cowboy boots, hats, belts, purses... you name it I want it! Mike and I stopped at another Love's to buy more gas and he offered to buy me a bright green cowboy hat for our anniversary! Now is he something or what? I turned down the offer but came out with red flamingo sun glasses...and I LOVE them! A young man saw me try them on and he said you look good in those "Maam"! OUCH!
There are tons of stores along the way selling Indian stuff...jewelry, blankets, toys, you name it they got it and I want it! It all makes so much sense when you are here but when you get back to the MidWest you look pretty silly in all of that stuff. Now I seriously think I could live in New Mexico but my family doesn't live there so forget it!
We have been amazed at the miles we have driven and not seen any accidents. Well just one later on down the road. It was a motorcycle with a man and woman that we had been following for quite sometime. I don't know what happened but the emergency vechiles passed us and when we got to the scene there they stood in the middle grassy section of the hwy....their bike was a mess but they were standing looking at it. Hope they were okay...of course no helmets. Not a lot of police out either. The speed limit in Texas and New Mexico is 75mph...so no real need for speed.
We drove through areas called safety corridors???? What the hell does that mean anyway? Sometimes there would be fences along side of the highway. If you are caught speeding in a safety zone the fines are doubled! Now does that mean that when you are not in that area that it is unsafe but okay to speed? Not sure if I have figured that out or not.
We drove all the way to Albuquerque on Tues without meaning to...now is that even possible? Mike told me it takes 3 days to drive to his parents house and we are to be there on Thursday....so if we left on Monday...won't that be 4 days? Do you think he planned all along to arrive one day early? Hmmmmmmmmm
Driving into Albuquerque we saw signs for the opening of a new Hard Rock Casino Hotel! We were excited. We really like the Hard Rock. We couldn't get our bearings so Mike had to stop to use the restroom and get this....ask for directions!! Yep you heard it here first folks...a MAN asking for directions!! The Hard Rock is having it's opening this weekend so it wasn't open yet. We are going to hit it on the way home. We were going to stay at the Sandia Casino and Resort but at $179.00 per night I opted out of that one. We have stayed there twice before so we decided to move on down the road. We ended up at the Route 66 Hotel and Casino for the night. This is one of our favorite stops. The decor is really cool and the room was great! Only $79 per night and not taxes! The Indians are getting us backing for invading their land. Mike and I were worn out and after taking our bags upstairs we went downstairs to eat. We weren't able to go out for our anniversary because I was sick so we decided to have a nice meal, drink, gamble and stay in a great room. Well....we tried.
The steakhouse wasn't quite finished yet so we opted for a sit down place with menus instead of the $6.99 buffet. Now the casino was so busy it was unreal....people and kids everywhere! Seems that they were have a progressive drawing that night so everyone brought the family to see if they hit the big one. The buffet was more than crowded so sitting in a quiet restaurant was a good thing. I ordered an Amaretto Sour and Mike a Jack and coke....I asked the waiter what he recommended and he pointed out a couple of items that were "delish". Of course, I didn't order the 'delish' items I ordered the Steak and garlic mashed potatoes. Mike ordered the shrimp basket. My steak although ordered medium was a little overcooked, my mashed taters were over garlicked, and the frozen greens beans were nasty. Oh well, it was the thought. We played a few games in the casino and then off to bed for the night. Happy Anniversary to us!
Weds morning Mike woke up early as usual. He slipped out and went to the Dairy Queen casino next door...yep you read that right a Dairy Queen with a casino! He ended up having a cup of coffee and winning $200 bucks....now that is the way to start your day. When we left at 8:45 am we didn't make it too far down the road when the Dancing Eagle Casino jumped out at us! WooHoo...and they are off to the races! We stayed and played and Mike's lucky streak continued. It was a great time. We were hungry so we headed to find a Cracker Barrel...oh yeah finally real food! We had a great down home cooking meal for a change...what a great day.
Back on the road we go...wait what do I spy? The Fire Rock Casino! Hey what's one more stop? We go...we play...oops...not such a good idea after...we left a little money for them at that one! But it was still a great time. We leave with our pockets at little lighter but we saddle up again and decide to head straight on to Clarkdale AZ to Mom & Dad's a day early. I kinda think my sneaky DH had that planned all along don't you??
Gotta go before I lose the Internet...I will continue when I get a moment to myself...
Until then happy trails to us...so far!
Monday, June 21, 2010
Day One June 21, 2010
Monday morning, June 21st, the first day of our vacation, Mike and I are heading to Cottonwood AZ to visit his family. His parents are celebrating their 65th wedding anniversary. We decided to drive out instead of flying so we could take our time and follow the road where ever it takes us. We are doing our usual casino hunting along the way. Most of the casinos out west are Indian casinos that are not registered with Dunn & Bradstreet therefore they are not on the Garmin. Interesting huh!! I called Garmin once and asked why they weren't showing up on the Garmin....Oh well that is what it all about...the hunt!
I woke this morning at 8:00am, thinking Mike would be in to wake me any moment. I got up showered and dressed and finished the last minute packing. I went in the livingroom and Mike was asleep on the couch. Now if you know my husband he is always in a hurry to leave at the crack of dawn. He has great dislike for traffic so I figured he would wake me at 5:00 am to hit the road. Wrong. We didn't actually leave the house until 10:15 this morning! That is unheard of for the Barnes family! After 10 yrs of marriage I have finally decided to go with the flow with my husband. I just settled back on the couch and drank my coffee. I even had time to watch Army Wives that I had recorded the night before. Mike busied himself doing all the tedious things that he does to ready himself for the trip. I learned along time ago to just stay out of the way. I can't pack the truck right, I can't carry the bags out correctly...etc. That's okay it isn't my thing anyway...I am better at playing the princess.
Now mind you we are in the same truck that we took 1 1/2 yrs ago on our trip from hell! We have all the things we didn't have last trip, flashlights, batteries, tools, gas can, floor jack, water, oil, duct tape...you get the picture right? I have my laptop, iPod, pillow, crossword book, and Danielle Steele...I am very low maintenance. This is the first trip I have taken in a long time that I haven't crocheted my way across America. I am determined to participate in the scenic aspect. I usually miss half of it because I am busy looking at everything but the scenery.
We traveled south on I35 for most of the morning. Kansas is both beautiful and flat. They even make you pay a toll to drive through the state. There was a van driving extremely slow in front of us at one point. Mike finally was able to pass it and we discovered a very odd shaped car driving in front of the van. It was a 3 wheeled vehicle shaped like a small jet. It had a clear top that covered the driver's head just a like a jet plane. It was really cool and the van was the experimental team following him. Of course I didn't have the camera handy so there are no pictures. After passing the jet/car we encountered yet another slow moving van, this time I was ready...camera in hand, window in the down postion...ready...Mike slowly passes the van so I can get a clear shot. Ready..Aim...what no jet/car? NOTHING just a slow moving van!! LOL It wasn't much later when we were looking down the road and on an overpass ahead was a cowboy riding his horse pushing a herd of cattle across the road! Now you don't see that everyday!
It was nearing lunch time we decided to find a Cracker Barrel along the way. That should be easy...right?? I got out the Garmin (nicknamed Jane Jetson) to see where the nearest Cracker Barrel was from where we were..."take the next exit", I shout...Mike makes the exit just in time..."what the hell', he asks...'we shouldn't be getting off here it's a toll booth". I assure him we have done the right thing so we continue to the window. I have Mike ask the toll booth lady where the CB is (after paying $4.00)...she gives directions which will end up taking us 30 miles out of our way. Mike refuses to go 30 miles out of our way...even though we are on vacation and we have 4 days to get to AZ. I am thinking aren't we on an adventure my love? Nope, we turn around get back on the toll road and return to our original destination. If any of you have driven across the state of Kansas you know there are no places to eat along the way. Finally at 2:30 we found a Sonic and ate in the truck. It was one of the best meals I ever had! I was hungry, what can I say?
We crossed the state line over to Oklahoma! It is hard to tell one state from another at this point. I will say that the rest stops in Oklahoma do lack a little luster. They literally consist of a path off the main highway with a trash can! Nothing else! I guess you are literally supposed to pull over and rest!
It was about that time my casino radar kicked in...I saw the billboard...Lucky Star Casino! WooHoo our first one...let the hunt begin. Now as most of you know I am not someone that is good with directions...I only read half of what the sign says and I can't really swear that I get that right. On my directions we once again left the main highway to find the Lucky Star Casino! Now the Indians are obviously on a limited budget when it comes to advertising because they can only afford 2 billboards and no other signs to guide the potential gambler. Mike being the DH that he is, followed my directions. As most of you know this isn't going to turn out for the best. We drove this way and then that way but not one sign of a casino. We turn around because we have gone off the planned course once again. By this time I have to pee....now I have been and excellent passenger to this point never asking to stop for a pee break. Having given up on finding the Lucky Star our search has now turned to desperately seeking a restroom. Mike took me to the first gas station but it had bars on the window so we decided to go elsewhere. The next stop was at the Dollar General (I had to buy a Styrofoam cooler because the one I brought had leaked all over the back seat of the truck) of course no public restrooms in there. Mike emptied the first cooler and we reloaded the new one. As soon as we took off the cooler started making that horrid Styrofoam squeaking noise...eeewww! I still have to pee but the guy in the Dollar General had given me directions to get to the Lucky Star. Off we go back to the same place we had just been...now I am not one for remembering directions that have more than two sentences....so I just couldn't remember what the guy said. Mike by now has had enough...once again we retrace the same way we just came from. I still have to pee mind you...he found another gas station that looked OK not great but OK. I went in looking for the restroom, the clerk noticing the desperation in my eyes told me the restroom was around back...now that is never a good thing....she handed me the key. I took it telling myself it would be alright but knowing that I was kidding myself. I walked around back through broken glass on the ground and opened the door....noooooooooooo I couldn't do it. I slammed the door shut and hurried back to the cashier to return the coveted key. I would rather pee myself than use that restroom! I won't even begin to tell you what it was like. Mike did finally fine a nice gas station and all was well with the world soon!
Back to the main highway we go....what do my eyes see???? another billboard for a casino! Eagle Rock...oh yeah we are in business now. We know the exit we are headed in the right direction...we rock...knuckles!! We actually got off on the right exit and found the casino on our first try...woohoo! It was actually a brand new casino and still in the process of being built. The inside was finished but the outside was still a work in progress. We pull in the parking lot... we open the doors...we get out of the truck....we are free at last! Oh yeah...doing the happy dance now we are! We really enjoyed ourselves and spent an hour and a half there really have fun! We even came out with a few extra bucks! It was senior day so I got $5 bucks for free play! If I had been there between 1-4 I could have had a free senior lunch.
You know, all in all it has been a great day! Mike was forced to let go and relax on vacation. We are going to really try to have a great time. We are currently tucked in for the night in Weatherford OK, Holiday Inn Express. It is a great room and we are kicked backed taking it easy...
One day under our belt....happy trails to us!
I woke this morning at 8:00am, thinking Mike would be in to wake me any moment. I got up showered and dressed and finished the last minute packing. I went in the livingroom and Mike was asleep on the couch. Now if you know my husband he is always in a hurry to leave at the crack of dawn. He has great dislike for traffic so I figured he would wake me at 5:00 am to hit the road. Wrong. We didn't actually leave the house until 10:15 this morning! That is unheard of for the Barnes family! After 10 yrs of marriage I have finally decided to go with the flow with my husband. I just settled back on the couch and drank my coffee. I even had time to watch Army Wives that I had recorded the night before. Mike busied himself doing all the tedious things that he does to ready himself for the trip. I learned along time ago to just stay out of the way. I can't pack the truck right, I can't carry the bags out correctly...etc. That's okay it isn't my thing anyway...I am better at playing the princess.
Now mind you we are in the same truck that we took 1 1/2 yrs ago on our trip from hell! We have all the things we didn't have last trip, flashlights, batteries, tools, gas can, floor jack, water, oil, duct tape...you get the picture right? I have my laptop, iPod, pillow, crossword book, and Danielle Steele...I am very low maintenance. This is the first trip I have taken in a long time that I haven't crocheted my way across America. I am determined to participate in the scenic aspect. I usually miss half of it because I am busy looking at everything but the scenery.
We traveled south on I35 for most of the morning. Kansas is both beautiful and flat. They even make you pay a toll to drive through the state. There was a van driving extremely slow in front of us at one point. Mike finally was able to pass it and we discovered a very odd shaped car driving in front of the van. It was a 3 wheeled vehicle shaped like a small jet. It had a clear top that covered the driver's head just a like a jet plane. It was really cool and the van was the experimental team following him. Of course I didn't have the camera handy so there are no pictures. After passing the jet/car we encountered yet another slow moving van, this time I was ready...camera in hand, window in the down postion...ready...Mike slowly passes the van so I can get a clear shot. Ready..Aim...what no jet/car? NOTHING just a slow moving van!! LOL It wasn't much later when we were looking down the road and on an overpass ahead was a cowboy riding his horse pushing a herd of cattle across the road! Now you don't see that everyday!
It was nearing lunch time we decided to find a Cracker Barrel along the way. That should be easy...right?? I got out the Garmin (nicknamed Jane Jetson) to see where the nearest Cracker Barrel was from where we were..."take the next exit", I shout...Mike makes the exit just in time..."what the hell', he asks...'we shouldn't be getting off here it's a toll booth". I assure him we have done the right thing so we continue to the window. I have Mike ask the toll booth lady where the CB is (after paying $4.00)...she gives directions which will end up taking us 30 miles out of our way. Mike refuses to go 30 miles out of our way...even though we are on vacation and we have 4 days to get to AZ. I am thinking aren't we on an adventure my love? Nope, we turn around get back on the toll road and return to our original destination. If any of you have driven across the state of Kansas you know there are no places to eat along the way. Finally at 2:30 we found a Sonic and ate in the truck. It was one of the best meals I ever had! I was hungry, what can I say?
We crossed the state line over to Oklahoma! It is hard to tell one state from another at this point. I will say that the rest stops in Oklahoma do lack a little luster. They literally consist of a path off the main highway with a trash can! Nothing else! I guess you are literally supposed to pull over and rest!
It was about that time my casino radar kicked in...I saw the billboard...Lucky Star Casino! WooHoo our first one...let the hunt begin. Now as most of you know I am not someone that is good with directions...I only read half of what the sign says and I can't really swear that I get that right. On my directions we once again left the main highway to find the Lucky Star Casino! Now the Indians are obviously on a limited budget when it comes to advertising because they can only afford 2 billboards and no other signs to guide the potential gambler. Mike being the DH that he is, followed my directions. As most of you know this isn't going to turn out for the best. We drove this way and then that way but not one sign of a casino. We turn around because we have gone off the planned course once again. By this time I have to pee....now I have been and excellent passenger to this point never asking to stop for a pee break. Having given up on finding the Lucky Star our search has now turned to desperately seeking a restroom. Mike took me to the first gas station but it had bars on the window so we decided to go elsewhere. The next stop was at the Dollar General (I had to buy a Styrofoam cooler because the one I brought had leaked all over the back seat of the truck) of course no public restrooms in there. Mike emptied the first cooler and we reloaded the new one. As soon as we took off the cooler started making that horrid Styrofoam squeaking noise...eeewww! I still have to pee but the guy in the Dollar General had given me directions to get to the Lucky Star. Off we go back to the same place we had just been...now I am not one for remembering directions that have more than two sentences....so I just couldn't remember what the guy said. Mike by now has had enough...once again we retrace the same way we just came from. I still have to pee mind you...he found another gas station that looked OK not great but OK. I went in looking for the restroom, the clerk noticing the desperation in my eyes told me the restroom was around back...now that is never a good thing....she handed me the key. I took it telling myself it would be alright but knowing that I was kidding myself. I walked around back through broken glass on the ground and opened the door....noooooooooooo I couldn't do it. I slammed the door shut and hurried back to the cashier to return the coveted key. I would rather pee myself than use that restroom! I won't even begin to tell you what it was like. Mike did finally fine a nice gas station and all was well with the world soon!
Back to the main highway we go....what do my eyes see???? another billboard for a casino! Eagle Rock...oh yeah we are in business now. We know the exit we are headed in the right direction...we rock...knuckles!! We actually got off on the right exit and found the casino on our first try...woohoo! It was actually a brand new casino and still in the process of being built. The inside was finished but the outside was still a work in progress. We pull in the parking lot... we open the doors...we get out of the truck....we are free at last! Oh yeah...doing the happy dance now we are! We really enjoyed ourselves and spent an hour and a half there really have fun! We even came out with a few extra bucks! It was senior day so I got $5 bucks for free play! If I had been there between 1-4 I could have had a free senior lunch.
You know, all in all it has been a great day! Mike was forced to let go and relax on vacation. We are going to really try to have a great time. We are currently tucked in for the night in Weatherford OK, Holiday Inn Express. It is a great room and we are kicked backed taking it easy...
One day under our belt....happy trails to us!
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