The day started out a little later than most of the mornings in Colorado. Maybe it was the fact that Pam and I actually got to sleep on a king size bed rather than the full size bed at my parents; or perhaps it was the fact that maybe we had a too many free cocktails while we were at the tables. Either way, the rest was welcomed and we woke up refreshed and ready to hit the tables for some more gambling debauchery and fun!
We enjoyed The Isle of Capri and would definitely consider staying there again. The price was decent, the room was huge, and they treated us well with comps. After a quick shower, we checked out and headed down to the buffet. The food was okay, but nothing worthwhile to really note. We each had an omelet with Pam giving the buffet two forks out of five for lack of any fresh fruit and very few options. We are not going to complain since it was free of charge, thanks to our gambling skills. I will say, that I wouldn't waste my money if I were paying.
After eating, we headed back up the mountain to try a couple of more casinos. We have discovered that it is well worth the time to get a players card in both Black Hawk and Central City. The comps have been great with free meals and money back to gamble. If you are looking for a little fun and you go up the mountain, take sometime to get a players card and be prepared to be treated like royalty. That is, if you are low life degenerate gamblers like Pam and I are and consider a free lunch as being a part of high society!
After calculating our losses and figuring that we might not have enough gas money to get back to Texas, we decided to call it a day and head back down the mountain and to reality. Besides, I had to get ready to go to the big Monday Night Football game that Pam had given me as a Christmas present.
When we got back to my parents house, Pam loaded up the girls to take them to the mall to spend down some of their Christmas money and I headed to the light rail to catch the train to the game. It was going to be a cold game and I felt like I was well prepared. On the way to the game, Pam sent me a picture of them wishing me a good time!
My partner for the game would be Tony, AKA Holmes. I have known Holmes since fifth grade when he first moved to Colorado. He wasn't in my class, but he had a mullet and thought he was pretty tough back in the day. In fact he thought he was so tough, one day he took on the entire fifth grade when he decided to steal a football from all the boys at recess. I instantly liked him. Anybody with guts and a cool mullet was good to have as a friend instead of a foe! Holmes met me at a place called Brooklyn's. We had a few drinks and some quick eats before the game. Mainly we went there to be warm as long as we could before the game started.
We made the trek over to the stadium. With each step, I felt my lungs gasp for air and my muscles scream in pain. The stadium name of Mile High could be more accurate. We had to go over several ramps and climb many stairs to finally reach our destination of sitting on the thirty yard line...In the very last row!
I was huffing, puffing and either preparing to pass out or die. Holmes, who is more acclimated to the high altitude than I am was laughing at how out of Colorado shape I am. Luckily he had enough energy to buy me a beer to settle my nerves and get me prepared to cheer on the Broncos to another victory and sew up another playoff appearance.
The game was awesome to see and be a part of. It did get a touch cold and it didn't help that Holmes liked to point out that the temperature on the scoreboard was only nine degrees. I wasn't really sure what the windchill factor was, but I do know that my beer turned into a slushy and I lost all feeling in my toes and feet.
The game was great all the way up to the end. We were fortunate enough to get to see some overtime with the win! Since we had Ueker seats and were enjoying life at the top row, we had to wait for pretty much everyone else to leave the stadium in order for us to get out.
We headed back to the light rail where we said our goodbyes as we were heading in different directions. After a brief 45 minute wait in the freezing cold, I was finally able to board the packed train. A couple of younger men were standing next to me and they had way to much to drink. It got so bad that one of them had vomited on himself. It was pretty disgusting, and I was glad I was just far enough away from them that I didn't need to be near them.
After the long train ride home, I was happy to get in the car and blast the heat all the way back to my parents house. When I got into bed, Pam told me I was still ice cold. I didn't care. I had an amazing gift, got to spend time with one of my best friends, and the Broncos won a spot in the playoffs!
Day 8:
The day started out extra early as it was time to head home. We had planned on staying an extra day, but Goliath had made a mess of things down south while another storm was threatening up north. We figured we had a small window to get home.
We gave our hugs and sad kisses goodbye to load up and head south. The roads were great all through Colorado and New Mexico. In fact, we saw very little snow until we hit Amarillo, which still was not too bad. The roads didn't get rough until we hit Lubbock. They had done a good job clearing the highways and we had very little trouble until we hit Lamesa. Highway 349 between Lamesa and Midland was by far the worse road we faced. It was icy, slushy and the snow was all over the place. It is rather ironic to think that we had come from Colorado where the roads were clear to Midland where the roads were a mess.
Just a few miles outside of Midland, Pam's car hit a milestone of 100,000 miles. We asked Little D and AK to lead us in prayers of thanksgiving for a great time and getting us home safe. After many miles driven, lots of hours in the car, some toes that might need to come off due to frostbite, seeing Star Wars for the second time, Pam and I putting on our plumbing pants, and a great deal of family time and love...Pam declared the Desparrois Family Vacation on the Fly complete. As we rolled in, we realized our dogs were not pleased that we left them behind-- all in hopes that Kelly would have something to read for eight mornings while she enjoyed her coffee!
We made the trek over to the stadium. With each step, I felt my lungs gasp for air and my muscles scream in pain. The stadium name of Mile High could be more accurate. We had to go over several ramps and climb many stairs to finally reach our destination of sitting on the thirty yard line...In the very last row!
I was huffing, puffing and either preparing to pass out or die. Holmes, who is more acclimated to the high altitude than I am was laughing at how out of Colorado shape I am. Luckily he had enough energy to buy me a beer to settle my nerves and get me prepared to cheer on the Broncos to another victory and sew up another playoff appearance.
The game was awesome to see and be a part of. It did get a touch cold and it didn't help that Holmes liked to point out that the temperature on the scoreboard was only nine degrees. I wasn't really sure what the windchill factor was, but I do know that my beer turned into a slushy and I lost all feeling in my toes and feet.
The game was great all the way up to the end. We were fortunate enough to get to see some overtime with the win! Since we had Ueker seats and were enjoying life at the top row, we had to wait for pretty much everyone else to leave the stadium in order for us to get out.
We headed back to the light rail where we said our goodbyes as we were heading in different directions. After a brief 45 minute wait in the freezing cold, I was finally able to board the packed train. A couple of younger men were standing next to me and they had way to much to drink. It got so bad that one of them had vomited on himself. It was pretty disgusting, and I was glad I was just far enough away from them that I didn't need to be near them.
After the long train ride home, I was happy to get in the car and blast the heat all the way back to my parents house. When I got into bed, Pam told me I was still ice cold. I didn't care. I had an amazing gift, got to spend time with one of my best friends, and the Broncos won a spot in the playoffs!
Day 8:
The day started out extra early as it was time to head home. We had planned on staying an extra day, but Goliath had made a mess of things down south while another storm was threatening up north. We figured we had a small window to get home.
We gave our hugs and sad kisses goodbye to load up and head south. The roads were great all through Colorado and New Mexico. In fact, we saw very little snow until we hit Amarillo, which still was not too bad. The roads didn't get rough until we hit Lubbock. They had done a good job clearing the highways and we had very little trouble until we hit Lamesa. Highway 349 between Lamesa and Midland was by far the worse road we faced. It was icy, slushy and the snow was all over the place. It is rather ironic to think that we had come from Colorado where the roads were clear to Midland where the roads were a mess.
Just a few miles outside of Midland, Pam's car hit a milestone of 100,000 miles. We asked Little D and AK to lead us in prayers of thanksgiving for a great time and getting us home safe. After many miles driven, lots of hours in the car, some toes that might need to come off due to frostbite, seeing Star Wars for the second time, Pam and I putting on our plumbing pants, and a great deal of family time and love...Pam declared the Desparrois Family Vacation on the Fly complete. As we rolled in, we realized our dogs were not pleased that we left them behind-- all in hopes that Kelly would have something to read for eight mornings while she enjoyed her coffee!
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