Well, it seems, in *all* of the discussions back and forth with *those* people about shots for kennel cough, etc, they never explained we had to reserve a spot up front with a payment. Sure enough, it's on the web site, but no one ever bothered to inform us of this little tidbit of information. Had we known, we would have been right down there, paid the reservation fee and boarding fee up front and not had to worry with it when we dropped the pup off.
However, they didn't occur. So, when Kathy tried to drop off the pooch, the
So, not preparing to do so, we took her with us. Change of plans.
We gathered up everything and headed to Graham. We arrived pretty late Thursday night, but we planned on getting up early, going in to town to eat some pancakes at the American Legion Building and then watching the Red, White and You Celebration around the square. By the time we got out of the house, the pancake breakfast was winding down. Change of plans.
I woke up early and watched some TV while Kathy slept. She woke up about 10 am and we got ready to go in to the parade. As I was taking a shower, my 'fed up' quota hit the boiling point and I decided I was going to rip the tub out of the lake place and put in a shower. I have been contemplating this for some time, but today was the day that I had 'had enough' of this ill-designed bathroom. Since I am pretty busy on weekends at the office, I would have to hire this out.
We headed in to town and were met at the 5th Street with a cop detouring traffic. The parade wasn't going on, yet, but they were already redirecting traffic. The chance of finding a parking spot close to the square were remote, so we opted to bypass the festivities and go grab some lunch at Mi Familia. Change of plans.
It was a good thing we got there before the parade was over. We arrived and were seated rather quickly. By the time we finished and were ready to leave, the waiting area was full and people were still pouring in. Graham is in desperate need of more quality restaurants.
We drove over to the shop and checked on things. Everything seemed ok. I placed a vacation sign out announcing our first weekend closing since we opened last year and then we headed to Tractor Supply to pick up a slightly bigger doggie 'prison camp' so the pooch had a little room to breath in while we were gone on our planned excursion on Saturday.
Saturday morning we got up really early and headed out. Our plans were to stop in Newcastle at the Bobcat Cafe for some breakfast and then head to Oklahoma for some gaming action at one of the Indian Casinos. We arrived in Newcastle about 7:15 am to find the Bobcat was dark. Change of plans.
Knowing there is a place to get some breakfast grub in Olney, we headed over there. We drove through town to the outskirts and the place I thought would be open wasn't. Change of plans.
No fear, there is a Texas Stop Sign (that's a Dairy Queen to you folks north of the border), and they serve breakfast. We pulled into the driveway and found it was dark as well. Change of plans.
Well, damn. There's a Sonic next door, so we wheeled in and was greeted by a pleasant voice who provided a prompt and courteous delivery of our breakfast burritos shortly after ordering. We finished off breakfast and went in search for fuel, only to be bent over by the stations in Olney ($4.099/gal). We could have made it to Archer City ($3.899/gal) or even Wichita Falls ($3.859/gal) but it is better to start off on a full tank and we weren't sure what the price would be up the road.
Headed North, we crossed the border into Oklahoma and continued north to Norman. Our destination was the Riverwind Casino outside of Oklahoma City. At our rate of speed and number of miles left to go, I estimated our arrival time at 11:00 am. I fired up the GPS and plugged in the address and it confirmed my awesome navigation skills by estimating our arrival time at 11:01 am. What I didn't take into account was the 75mph limit on the HE Bailey Turnpike. After paying all of the trolls, er, tolls, we arrived 17 minutes ahead of schedule at 10:44 am, even though we had a minor snafu with the unmanned toll booth on State Highway 9. It didn't register the 50 cent toll we dropped in, *twice*, and tossed up a red light when we left. I can't wait to get a hunk of some Okie's a$$ when they try to write us a ticket for that.
We went inside, got a player's card and proceeded to donate a chunk of paycheck to the casino. I guess it makes up for our government's treatment of the American Indian. Oh well, we had a good time. It's a nice place with plenty of tables and lots and lots of slots. If you are in the OKC area, it's worth a stop.
Our plans for the Riverwind trip were to go do some gambling and then head on over to Toby Keith's Bar in Oklahoma City [Bricktown]. I have always wanted to go see the place, being a big Toby Keith fan, so this weekend we decided to combine a gambling excursion with a trip to the restaurant.
The GPS took us right to the restaurant. We arrived and got a seat in the bar area. The waitress took our drink order and I had tea (of course) and Kathy ordered up a Jack and Coke.
We decided to get an appetizer. We normally don't when eating out because most portions are so large you get full on the appetizer and don't get to finish your meal. But, the Tumbleweed sounded too good to pass up. And it was. What a choice. Amazing.
Kathy picked out the #672 Sirloin while I opted for the All-American Cheeseburger. Those words, cooked on our flat grill, and fresh ground chuck make my mouth water. I will review the burger on my other blog later this week.
I scrapped the Freedom Fries for some SW Cream Corn. I am certain the Freedom Fries would have been delicious, but the SW Cream Corn was indescribable. Kathy's sirloin came with two sides, so she chose the corn and the Mashed Potatoes. Looking at the plate at the end of the day, one could tell she enjoyed her choices.
When our meal arrived she dropped a dollop of Mashed Potatoes on my plate and I was sorry I didn't order an extra side of those. Mmmmm.
We paid the check and stopped at the
Before leaving we stopped in a pretty rough area of the outskirts of Oklahoma City and filled up with fuel and bought some PowerBall tickets. The area reminded me of Northside Fort Worth or Fair Park in Dallas, places you might not want to go walking around in late at night.
The drive back was mostly uneventful. At one point, with a front door, we were cruising at about 93 mph, making good time, until we had to stop to pay the troll, I mean, toll.
We arrived back at home around 8:30 pm and let the doggie out of her 'prison camp'. She was none the worse for wear and quickly forgot her long day cooped up when she saw us.
Looking back at all of the 'change of plans' that occurred thus far, the last couple of days haven't turned out too bad after all.
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