Windy Story, Trip to Town, Casino Donation and Luck?

Well, waking up to Saturday, Mar. 25^th wasn’t what we expected. Of course, we should never really expect too much of the weather forecast these days. The winds that have been barreling across the southeastern states can change things in a heartbeat. Nevertheless, we are safe and warm and also dry and don’t plan on going too far today.

Pretty gray up there this morning but look at the freshly plowed fields off to the left

We were up around 7:15, I slept well for the most part, just some discomfort when on my right side which caused me to wake up and roll over. I’ve never had too much trouble going back to sleep easily through the night. Touch wood. It was a cool start up to the day, 44F under heavy clouded sky. No House of the Rising Sun today, however, last night after I posted this is what the western sky displayed.

Appearance of a sun dog to the east

Who'd a thought such a beautiful sky would appear last night?

Bill and I needed to buy more time on our Verizon jetpack. With only a week to go before we can use our Bell turbo hub we thought we’d try to get away with 5 gb instead of the 10 we’ve been purchasing while down here. There is a Dollar General in El Reno so Bill drove in just before 9 this morning. I located the cheapest diesel on GasBuddy so he topped the truck up at $2.09/gal. That is great!

Nice to see grass again even though we loved the desert

We’ll have to find a place to get propane before we go too much farther but the only place in town that refills was closed today. Clemson seems to be harboring the ‘worry’ we’ve had over the winds the last couple of days. His tummy was really gurgling when he first got up. When this happens, he just wants us to sit with him and sometimes that is all it takes.

 I had no problem giving the little guy the attention he needed, on my lap with his blanket, as it gave me an excuse to sit and finish my book. This was Lisa Gardner's “Touch & Go”. Leaves you guessing until the very end which I love in a book. I want to be intrigued for as long as possible. Makes for a great page turner. Bill is still miles ahead of me with his reading so I’m glad I picked up a few more books at Ridgeview to keep him going.

Must be spring, trees are coming to life

I enjoyed the omelette we had yesterday at Denny’s so thought I’d try and duplicate it here for breakfast. It turned out pretty good, with peppers, onions, celery, mushrooms and cheese. Never looks as nice for sure but it was tasty and filling.

After clean up I checked the temperature, slowly warming, crawling actually to a still cool temp of 55F. Oh well, time to get out there and walk the tarmac, strut my stuff and whatever other euphemisms you can think of. Once I got outside with my layers and little gloves it felt quite nice to stretch my legs.

Three spaces opened up this morning

I went around the parking lot as far as I could, veered back in front of the casino and pretended to know the inside scoop on the people coming and going. You can get a clue on who frequents the machines and who the newbies are. I’m referring to myself and Bill here, we are definitely newbies and you can definitely tell.

Bill and I couldn't help but notice a couple of the rv's beside us with dirty red roofs and slide-outs
You wonder if these owners even realize it.

When I got back I decided to sit down at my laptop and type up an excel spreadsheet on our Winter Expenses. It took me a while to get in the groove of Excel again, not having used it since March of 2016. My former supervisor, Deb, would just laugh at this because she always had more faith in my understanding of it than I did. Deb knew it inside and out, just like my daughter, Bridgette, but I didn’t use it often enough for it to become second nature.

With a little faith, Deb would say, you can do it. Don’t be afraid to play with it. So, today I played with it and after a few frustrating kicks starts, I finally remembered how to do the few things I needed. The formulas were the hardest but once I used one, I was good to go. I was proud that I figured it out and then carried on and typed up a document displaying our Winter Purchases for border crossing.

Clemson was starting to feel better, not as needy as he’d been all afternoon, so Bill suggested we walk over to the Lucky Star and see what becomes of our $20 each. I enjoy the play once I get into it but seldom walk away with any jingling in my pocket. I’d picked up a few tips from Judy and Lori in Ridgeview RV Resort about this whole ‘gambling’ thing. Being so close to Laughlin, Nevada and their many casinos along the strip twice a year, I wanted us to feel comfortable next time.

Enough food for two meals
When they ask "loaded?" for your baked potato, they aren't kidding!

We walked in and I proudly announced at the Players Club booth that we were totally naïve about this and could we get Players Cards. She was very pleasant and with a grin said “yes, I can tell the beginners”. I’ve no shame so let her guide us with what to do. With a $10 card each and a free lanyard to hold it on, we headed in. We fumbled a bit with the set up of the cards and received some help from the attendants to get started.

Bill is the owner of the horseshoe in this family and with his $10 he very soon cashed out $66 and change. Mine went ZIP never to be seen again and so did my next $10 from my pocket. We walked out richer and still kept to the $40 we allow ourselves. It was only 4:00 but breakfast had long since settled so Bill suggested treating ourselves to dinner at the Rez restaurant.

A sweet young 'thang' named Delia (DeeDee) with a charming accent (honey) waited on us. Jumbo shrimp, loaded baked potato, Caesar salad, roll, bottomless tea, oh my! All yours for $10.50 but still didn't cost us anything in the long run. Needless to say, half of my meal came home and we might even do it again tomorrow night.

Casino and Gas Bar full of  cars

Clemson was waiting for us when we returned at 5 as he hadn’t had his supper yet. What were we thinking? We are getting closer to home and now only an hour difference in time so he is returning to his regular expectations of being served at 4:30 or 5. Starting at 3 or 3:30 is simply a memory now.

My boys out in the grass

I look out the window now and the sky is solid blue, no hint of the thunderstorm they are calling for tomorrow until you go on line and check. It is still in the forecast but at least we got up to 60F today, unexpectedly. The parking spots here are filling up again after 3 or 4 leaving earlier in the day.

I think he was saying hello

Now that dinner is over and done with, I feel relaxed. It is always a pain in the you-know-what trying to decide what to prepare for supper. Not my favourite time of the day. After that big meal, since it is early, I thought another walk was in order so slipped on a jacket and went out for some Vitamin D.

And with the robins, come the unwelcomed dandelions

So, it was a nice walk and I was lucky enough to capture one of those beautiful chubby robins that have been frequenting the grass area behind us. He sweetly posed for me. I carried on taking a few more shots around the area. 

I apologize for the blur but so typical of a little boy and girl
He takes off running and she walks slow smelling the flowers

This little charmer and her brother and parents camped next to us are just pulling out.
Another travel trailer was waiting in the wings and pulled in immediately. Another nice young couple.

There is a Phillips 66 gas bar on the other side of where we are parked as well as a Cafe, Store and yet another suburb of casino machines. I walked through and spoke with the security staff briefly.

When I returned, Bill was out at the truck and waved me over. Oh-oh, this can't be good. When I approached he asked me to take pictures of our license plate and front bumper. Yes, you guessed it, someone drove into our King Ranch as it innocently sat there. LOL, the pictures speak for me. Out of this we need to be grateful that the lady (darn!) was honest enough to report it to security instead of moving her vehicle without a word. 

Crunch!!

She had to park right here facing us because there were no other spots??

I stand corrected. LOL

Insurance information was exchanged and we will call our insurance company on Monday and deal with it when we get home. 7,000 + miles into our trip and all of a sudden we don't feel so LUCKY at the Lucky Star. There is one question that the security guard and we have to ask. Look at the picture above and explain why, why, why the need to park where she did? Oh well, it could always be worse.

Good night from Lucky Star Casino

Back inside and I think I'll settle in with a new book. J. A. Jance's Paradise Lost beckons. With a snapshot of tonight's sunset, the day draws to a close.

I hope you have had a great day. Thank you for reading and feel free to post a comment if you wish.