Pop's & Lolly's Big Adventure

I hate to use the "B word", but I am going to go out on a limb and use it. I find this time of year so BORING. You go 90 miles an hour between Thanksgiving and Christmas and then it all ends so abruptly. For the last several years, we have gone out of town during the week of Christmas and New Years. This year, I just couldn't get my act together and plan anything big.

We went to the Hilton Bella Harbor in Rockwall for the night for New Years Eve and went to our new favorite restaurant, Blue Canyon. While we had a great time, one night away just didn't cut it.

Lately, I have been seeing all the ads on TV and the huge beautiful billboards around the Metroplex for WinStar Casino in Oklahoma. Boy, they make it look fabulous. Go to Rome, Go to Italy, Go to Beijing. They caught me; hook, line and sinker. I was ready to go. I tried to keep my expectations low so I wouldn't be disappointed.

Only an hours drive, we excitedly went north to Oklahoma. I went to the ATM, got my gambling money in hand and was ready to win big. We pulled up around 6:30 and the parking lot was crowded, but not near as crowded as it was going to get. We made our way through the entrance, and headed to the steak restaurant. We were starving.

My first hint that it was not going to be grand was when I called for reservations and was told you don't need any reservations at the 3 restaurants. After about a 10 minute wait, we were seated in a restaurant that looked like Denney's with white table cloths. I am thinking that Denney's might have actually been better. I had fried shrimp. I am not sure what was inside of the breading, but I am still debating whether it was shrimp. It was really mushy.

We paid our $50 bill and headed to win big money. I at least wanted to win my dinner money back. I was feeling lucky because while we were waiting for dinner, I put $1 in the penny slot and won $2.55. Woo hoo, big money. Just think if that would have been a $100 bet.

The casino looked like a giant warehouse with more slot machines than I have ever seen in my life, and everyone of them was occupied. Much to my disappointment, the only table games were poker. I can't play poker because I can't count that fast. The only game I play is roulette. We walked through the entire casino. The only difference between Rome and Beijing were a few decorations hanging from the ceiling. We played a few penny and nickel slots without winning anything and cashed out. I lost $21 and Pops lost $5. The meal was a definite loss, but the adventure was priceless.

As we were heading down I-35, there was a line a mile long waiting to exit. About that time, I saw that the WinStar had Bingo and I missed it. Pops asked if I wanted to turn around and go back, but I decided I had had too much fun for the night. As we say, we made two trips. Our first and our last.

We had fun together. We always do. There is no one else I would rather spend my time with than Pops, even when the entertainment isn't that great. We headed to Braums and made it home in time for the 10 o'clock news.

I hear the Bellagio calling my name.