Trouble in Paradise
We went to the casino last night, because when we are bored and have nothing else to do, that's always where we seem to end up. It's somewhat entertaining, and you get free hot chocolate (excellent, by the way). If you're lucky, and appear to play a good bit, you can even get a meal comp-ed.
I've always known that many people really do have gambling problems and end up spending their entire life savings, retirement, and even their kids' college fund hoping to win it big, and thinking that the next pull on the slot machine or the next throw of the dice is going to make them rich beyond their wildest dreams.
But I've never seen it up-close-and-personal until last night.
Update: The Landing List
Here's where I currently stand:
1) Cheetos
2) Pepperjack cheese with Ritz crackers
3) Biscuits (buttermilk), with milk gravy
4) United States pizza
5) Potato salad
6) Vegetarian sushi roll from Kroger
7) Chocolate chip cookies (had a homemade brownie, but that doesn't count)
8) Hominy casserole
The Landing List
Remember how I said I had a list of things that I wanted to eat when I got home?
Here's where I currently stand:
1) Cheetos
2) Pepperjack cheese with Ritz crackers
3) Biscuits (buttermilk), with milk gravy
4) United States pizza
5) Potato salad
6) Vegetarian sushi roll from Kroger
7) Chocolate chip cookies (had a homemade brownie, but that doesn't count)
8) Hominy casserole
This morning I was up early making biscuits and gravy from scratch, which was a worthwhile endeavor. I will continue to cross items off of the list, because I have an excellent-looking recipe for potato salad that's begging to be tried, and Cheetos are available at any fine grocery store.
Not too bad for my first day back in the U.S.
I unpacked today, and by "unpacked," I actually mean "turned over the backpack while open on my bed." I have everything out of the pack now, so next I am going to take inventory of everything that I took with me, what I used, and what I didn't. I know it sounds a bit obsessive, and it probably is, but that's the only way that I can think of to actually eliminate useless items in the future, with the exception, of course, of my first aid kit, which I luckily didn't have to use at all.
Good stuff. Maybe I can knock out pizza, potato salad, and Cheetos tomorrow.
Pictures!
All of the pictures from the trip are over at Flickr. Go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/bransonsparks/ to check it out.
Day 23
This was supposed to be an uneventful travel day. Oh, but do I have a story to tell you.
Do you know when everything is going so well that there must be something wrong in the cosmos?
That's what happened this morning. Our little B&B did breakfast early especially for us. We missed the first subway, but the next one only took 3 minutes to arrive. We only had to wait about 10 minutes for the train to the airport to depart. Our car was air conditioned. We found the terminal with little fuss.
Then started the fun.
First, the Spanish Inquisition.
"Has anyone unknown to you packed your bags?"
"Have your bags been out of your control since you packed them?"
"Any items in your bags that are weapons or could be mistaken for or used as weapons?"
"Has anyone given you any electronic devices to carry in your bags?"
"Did you have cappuccino for breakfast today?"
The lady is asking all of these in a very low voice, a near-whisper. I'm scared, nay petrified, of giving the wrong answer that is going to signal the guy with a machine gun on the catwalk to fire at will (no joke--he was there, and he was DEFINITELY armed).