First Casino Stay

From this point of the trip until my scheduled check in day, November 28th, at my furthest southwest destination of this trip, my route is somewhat flexible, as is the number of days I spend in any given place.  I think this approach will be O.K. as it is not prime camping season in the areas I will be traveling through.  

My coach suggested a nice casino with RV parking not too far from her place, but somewhat south from her place and in the general direction I want to go.  I have not yet stayed at a casino but have read on Facebook RV group postings that they can be a good option, because the casino is happy to have new potential gamblers on their site.  

I called to inquire at the Downstream Casino run by the Quapaw tribe at the intersection of the state lines of Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas. Originally that was thought to be the location of the monument of rocks shown here:

But when they surveyed the land in 2004, prior to beginning construction of the casino and golf course, it was found to be quite a bit to the right from this angle and a the concrete pad was placed there:

   At this point you don't need very big feet to be standing in three states at once!

It doesn't seem to be advertised it on their website very well, but they have quite a nice RV campground (mostly pavement) a short distance from the casino and hotel.  Due to the time of year the water was shut off (due to possible freezing), but I was able to fill my tank sufficiently prior to leaving the coaches place.  There were a few other campers in the lot along with mine.  They had power and internet available as well as centrally located garbage containers and a dumping station.  

They also offer a free shuttle bus between the campground and the casino, with a side trip to the monument if you ask to see it.  It was the shuttle driver who took the picture of me above.  

When you sign up for a players card you get 1 free night in the RV lot.  If you are a couple you would be able to stay two nights.  You also got a few free dollars to play in the machines and if you played enough you could get $2 off the buffet restaurant.  Inside the casino many of the employees were Indians.  They were encouraging patrons to learn their language with most signs translated into their dialect, like the washrooms and restaurants.  Most of the customers were the racial mix you would expect to see in this part of the USA.  

I enjoyed a one night stay here and wasn't out of pocket very much at all.  I had a late lunch on my arrival day and the breakfast buffet on the morning of my departure, which was in a different venue than the lunch one.  

I certainly would return if I am by this way again and would like to try the golf course as well.  It is quite highly rated.  I didn't play on this trip because the weather was just too cool and windy to make it enjoyable. 

Reunited with my College Golf Coach

Next on the itinerary is a good visit with the coach that recruited me to Loyola.  I didn't have very far to go and the route was taking me through St. Louis, where I have never been before.  I checked out the opportunity to visit the famous arch but it is under renovation so stopping there wasn't really an option.  I will save St. Louis for a future trip.  On the way through though I did catch some glimpses of the structure:

I made my way directly to the coaches home/farm on the outskirts of Springfield Missouri.  We headed out to her golf team's practice in her car, leaving the trailer on her property for her husband to back into the appropriate parking spot for my 3 night stay.  They also have a 5th wheel so had a 30 amp service available for me. 

Here's the view from my dining table window.

After the golf practice we went to Andy's for frozen custard, a treat she had introduced me to while at Loyola.  This one was a pumpkin pie flavor concrete (something like a DQ blizzard):

Then we went to the college campus she is now working at to watch both the women's and men's basketball teams play.  

They play in a new arena, which is quite nice.  We eat "junk" food from the concession for dinner. 

Andy's sponsors a promotion that if the Drury basketball teams score more than 7, 3 pointers you can get a free custard the next day.  They did and so we did.  This time I choose Apple Pie.  

Wednesday mornings she bowls in a league and I was recruited to play because one of the team members was unable to make the game. 

Here we are, me, Lisa, Tina and Debbie.

And the official score card. 

In order to play I had to join the American Bowling Association.  Who knows, that may come in handy further down the road. 

Next stop was the original Bass Pro Shop for a little look around.  I didn't find anything I needed to buy:

Start them young with hunting gear.

 

Next we played 9 holes of golf at the same course the practice had been at.  They are renovating their bunkers so the holes that were open were 3 to 11.  After that coach had to show a prospect around campus so I went to check out my first Camping World Store:

 
 

Once again, I saw some interesting things but didn't feel the need to buy anything.  

Later that evening we had a home cooked dinner from the BBQ.

The following day we met up with Lisa's parents and one daughter for lunch and then went live on the air with her weekly women in college sports radio program.  Here we are in the studio:

This was quite interesting, my first experience with radio.  All of the guests that day phoned in for their interviews.  The show runs 60 minutes.  The hostess, also a TV personality, in the foreground had an infant baby girl in tow.  Fortunately the baby napped from before the beginning to just seconds past the end of the show. 

After the show we went back to the farm and toured each other's 5th wheels.  Later went out for a nice Mexican dinner, which included Lisa's husband Casey.   For good measure we indulged in one more Concrete.  This time I choose Butter Pecan. 

Wolfie the cat who I looked after during Christmas break my first year at Loyola (almost 3 years ago) is still with Lisa.  It took him a while, but he eventually warmed up to me. 

En Route to Missouri

I had a little too far to travel to my next official destination in one day, so I broke it into one bigger day and one smaller day.  For the overnight, I once again selected a spot from Harvest Hosts called Bretz Wildlife Lodge and Winery in Carlyle, Illinois.  It isn't quite what you would think based on the name.  It isn't the kind of lodge with hotel type rooms,instead the name refers more to the decor of the wine store and restaurant.  There were ample taxidermy trophies hanging on the walls, which were log cabin like and there were fire places.  I was warmly greeted and offered a wine tasting.  I said I would come back in after I had my trailer set up for the night because darkness would soon arrive and I might be a bit tipsy after all the tasting. 

Based on my general wine preferences I was given 7 samples.  I narrowed them down to my 3 favorites and then bought the outer two. 

It is interesting how things change.  There was a time when a good wine had to come in a bottle with a natural cork.  As cork growth was unable to keep up with cork demand plastic corks and screw top bottles have taken over.  At this winery they use exclusively natural cork, which effected my buying decision.  The middle bottle was a fruit wine, which I thought might be nice on ice cream, which would have meant it would not all be consumed in one sitting, which wouldn't have been much of a concern if it had a screw top, but because it had a cork, I decided not to buy it.  

Rather than go to the trouble of cooking dinner after the tasting, I stayed and enjoyed dinner in the lodge, along with a proper glass of wine.  I was glad that I did because I had good conversations with three other patrons and the food was good.  

When I returned to the trailer, the moon was still nearly full and rather impressive. 

Chicago Day 2

With notes I took while with George and based on my own research I ventured into Chicago on my own, for the day.  I didn't feel I would have enough time to visit all the museums and other attractions he suggested, so I was just going to do what I could do and leave the rest for a future trip.

As recommended I drove from the golf course to the train station, about 10 minutes away.  I hopped on the double-decker regional train (only runs every two hours on Sundays) for the approximately 45 minute trip into the city.  In the city I purchased a one day, unlimited bus and Metra (subway) pass.  

The first order of the day was to see about getting a ticket to the hockey game that evening.  In case you didn't know, I hate the Leafs.  My team is the Blackhawks!  They were playing the Canadians (who are having a pretty good season).  I started to order tickets online a couple of weeks ago and almost bought them (I thought George would be going with me) but, then I got to the end of the process and on top of the $95 for nose bleed seats they wanted a $25 service and handling fee...on each ticket!  I thought that was a bit much so backed out of the process.  

With feet on the ground in Chicago, I was headed to the United Center to try and buy a ticket in person.  On the way I saw a ticket re-sellers outlet.  Surprisingly to me, they were open.  I went in and inquired and was able to get a ticket (more details later) so was now free to carry on exploring the city. 

I came across the Macy's store (on State Street):  

I recall hearing about their Christmas windows in New York, but apparently they also do them in Chicago:

Some are animated.

The next stop was the John Hancock Center to see the city skyline from about 100 stories up.  

On the way there I came across the Loyola campus.  

Often when I say I attended Loyola University, people assume the one in Chicago and I have to correct them.  I was happy to see the one that causes the confusion. 

Rather than pay $20 just to ride up the elevator and look around at 360 Chicago, (formerly John Hancock Observatory), I felt I was dressed appropriately enough and hungry enough to do justice to the brunch buffet in The Signature Room for $50.  Here's the menu:

And here's what I eat:

I didn't eat oysters while in PEI because I felt they were overpriced (I was spoiled in New Orleans).  I had a few of them here.  Yummy.

1/2 mini bagel with lox and cream cheese.
I/2 order of eggs Benedict, the
most disappointing part of the meal.

I joked with the waiter that these weren't lamb chops as per the menu, but rather sheep chops, because they were so big, as you can see in relation to the lemon (I love the netting over the lemon half, to keep the seeds in, by the way). 

His reply was that, "they are from New Zealand."  They were tasty. 

Here are some of the views, worth the price of admission, in my opinion:

 

The decor is Art Deco:

I was sad when the Blue Jays were eliminated from the MLB playoffs, so in the World Series, which only ended a little over a week prior, I wasn't sure who to cheer for, Cleveland 

so Toronto could say they came second, sort of, or Chicago who hadn't won in so many years.  On this basis I wasn't upset that Chicago won and it was fun to visit the city while everyone was still on a high.  Next stop was Wrigley Field:

I wasn't the only one visiting the neighborhood around the hollowed field, which is undergoing some kind of renovation. 

Next stop was the Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership's ground floor museum display.  There were some interesting photographs, artifacts and art pieces.  I don't recall ever seeing a typewriter with Hebrew letters as opposed to English ones.  

The style of typewriter is like the one my father had in his flower shop on which he typed up invoices, quite quickly and accurately although he typed with only a couple of fingers and his thumbs. 

Nearly next door was the Museum of Contemporary Photography, which the Spertus's security guard suggested I visit, because it was still open and free.  I went, but the visit didn't last long because what they had on display was not at all to my taste.

At this point it was time to head to the United Center for the hockey game.  While riding the express shuttle bus, I overheard some American passengers speaking to 3 generations of a family from Newfoundland.  My fellow Canadians were there for the weekend and had also attended the Friday night hockey game.  They are all big Chicago fans.  It's a small city when it just so happened that they were on the same express bus heading back to the train station I was on after the game as well!

As promised, back to the ticket purchase story, I was able to get a really good seat, regularly priced at $260 for $175 on the secondary market, because it was the day of the game. Here's the view from my seat:

It is a nice arena.  They have all their championship banners hanging from the rafters.  A few more current than at the Air Canada Center. 

It was a good game, with Chicago winning by a score of 3 - 2 over Montreal, who tried desperately to tie the game in the last 3 minutes with their goaltender on the bench. 

I found my way safely back to the trailer parked at the golf course, bringing a great day to an end.