Weekend in St. Louis

I'm working in Illinois for 2 weeks. It's too far to go home for the weekend, so I decided to go to St. Louis, MO for the weekend. I put a bid on a room through Priceline and got a $40 room at a Holiday Inn Holidome. When you bid on a room like this, they usually give you a less than prime room. My room was fine, but it faced the parking lot rather than the indoor pool. There are 2 nice casinos in St Louis. (Now you know why I chose St. Louis for the weekend). I played $3/$6 hold em Friday night for a couple hours and won $20. Saturday morning I drove to the St Louis Arch. I was in St. Louis about 20 years ago for a training seminar and tried to ride up to the top of the arch one evening but it was closed. I remember the trip distinctly because I was with 2 other guys and we took the bus through the ghetto to get there, so that was exciting. This weekend's attempt was also a failure because the tram ride to the top of the arch was sold out. After that attempt I went back to the casino and played all day Saturday and won $250. Then I play a couple hours on Sunday before driving back to Illinois and won another $60. It was a good weekend. I work through Thursday this week and then head home for a week off before the next job in Michigan.

Still in Ohio

I'm in Ohio to work so not much exciting going on yet. I worked a couple weeks in NW Ohio. Tomorrow (Sunday) I head for Illinois. It's a 9 hour trip so I'll stay in Illinois next weekend since it's a 2-week job. Then I have a week off, and then a 3-week job in Michigan. After that, Nan and I will pick up the RV in North Carolina. Yesterday I had one of those "Why am I here" thoughts as I watched 8 inches of snow pile up outside.

In Ohio again

After Nan’s mom left for Cleveland my mom drove to Clermont and spent a few days with us. I needed a part from the local Camping World, so while there it gave my mom a chance to look at the newest RVs. At the campground they play a Texas Hold Em tournament about every night. It costs $6.00 for each tournament, and they have 2 each night. Nan and I went about 4 times and cleaned up. It’s amazing how much you can bully people at the poker table when they are half blind and a little foggy upstairs.

We left Clermont and spent a couple days with my mom in Brooksville. My brother and his wife came down from D.C. in the Amtrak Autotrain so we also got a chance to visit with them and my cousin Janet from Florida. The car was loaded on the train and they took the 17 hour trip without the hassle of driving. Because I have a job in Ohio starting 2/28, Nan and I started heading north on 2/20. We arrived in Mt. Airy, NC on 2/21, left the trailer in the campground storage area for 2 months, and drove the truck to Ohio with the Smart on its back. Today I’m sitting in Chesterland, OH watching the blizzard. What a difference a week makes.

Clermont, FL

We arrived at a Thousand Trails campground a few days ago in Clermont, near Orlando. Nan's mom rented a cabin in the campground, and her brother flew down so that he could drive her home. They left for Ohio on Saturday. My mom arrived the same day. She is staying with us until Wednesday.

A couple days ago we went to a lobster buffet in Kissimmee, FL. We've also eaten at a couple of barbeque's. Nan is getting mad because she is putting on weight, and she knows I like my women skinny.

I took 3 pictures of Roxy sleeping. She likes to keep comfortable.

Swamp Buggy Ride

Today I went on a "Swamp Buggy" ride with Jan and Paul who we met in Alaska. Nan is getting over bronchitis so she stayed at home. I guess I really don't know that much about swamp buggies. This one looked a lot like an old school bus with the windows and windshield removed. We saw plenty of alligators, turtles, birds, and wild cattle that came up to the buggy for corn, just like the wild turkey did. They also had a mountain lion in a cage.

Last night I was watching the Jimmy Kimmel show. He had the following clip of a Danish Game show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsnToPOPY7c

Dude looks like a lady

The truck developed a leak in one of it's suspension airbags a few days ago, so I took it to get it fixed today. It's kind of important since it has air suspension, and this is also part of the air brake system, so I could lose my brakes if the leak gets to bad. When I got there they were waiting on the "guy" pictured above. He was obviously a man, but wearing earrings, a skirt, and painted nails. Since I didn't have my camera, only my phone, the picture and video are grainy, but you get the point. While waiting for the repair I went next door to the gas station to get some breakfast. There was a regular lesbo in there. That was so boring compared to this guy that I didn't even give her a second look.

My brother volunteers for the USO and met Miss America. It pays to volunteer.

Immakolee Casino

I went fishing last Saturday on a party boat. They needed a minimum of 16 people to go out on the trip. They were calling for bad weather so some people that had made a reservation failed to show. Luckily at the last minute number 15 and 16 showed up so off we went. We left the dock at 8:00 a.m. and returned at 5:00 p.m. for $68. The sea was angry my friend. Like an old man sending back soup at a deli. (That's a Seinfeld reference for those that don't know). The fishing started slow, but at our last stop we were pulling them in one after another. At least those of us that were still standing were pulling them in. I caught about 20 grunts, and the guy next to me gave me another 5. Grunts are the size of a bass, and some of them grunt like a pig when you get them out of the water, hence the name. They taste something like lake perch.

On Sunday we drove north to meet my cousin Janet and her boyfriend Randy for lunch. She's found herself a keeper this time. Then yesterday Nan and I drove south to Naples to meet 2 couples that used to be in a boat cruising club with us. We all have 5th wheel trailers, so we got a chance to compare notes and catch up.

Today I drove Mary Jane and her 2 friends from Ohio to the Immakolee Casino about 45 minutes away. I played $2/$4 limit hold em for about 3 hours and won $275. It was one of those days that I got a lot of good hands. On the drive home we had to go through tornado conditions. If the van had been picked up and flung into the ocean, I still would have died happy after winning that kind of money. And the good news keeps coming. Nan got a cold a few days ago and it's turned into laryngitis. When she tells me to do something, I don't have to pretend that I can't hear her, because now I really can't.