Betting High!

On this wonderful Memorial weekend, my husband and I traveled to the wilds of Nebraska to attend a friend's wedding. We couldn't afford to fly and our car is in decent running order so we drove up with a couple friend of ours. It was 17 hours of fun. We saw farmland, grazing land and wait...more farmland. It was actually quite beautiful but the vast emptiness was making me a little anxious.

We finally arrived at Ponca and collapsed into a deep sleep. The hotel was booked solid for the wedding and Memorial weekend. When we finally woke up the whole town had closed down around 5pm. So, we had to go to next largest town, Sioux City, to eat some grub and to buy me a sweater since the temperature was 20 degrees cooler than it was in Texas. At the Walgreens they sold not only sweaters but Girl & Boy Scout oufits and fake funeral arrangement flowers, too. I noticed that besides the temp difference, the sun set almost at 10 o'clock at night. They have some long days up there.

The next day before the wedding, we drove around visiting small towns, eating at local cafes and drinking at a winery. I have never tasted Elderberry wine before but I am in love with that stuff after one sip. Also, I've never gambled before and casinos are everywhere as soon as you leave Texas. So, I decided to have my first experience in a convenient store casino in Vermillion, South Dakota. I bet one dollar, played some joker poker, won, then cashed out. Overall, I netted 3 bucks. Not to bad for a newbie. I am posing with my cash ticket in the pix.

The wedding was an intimate affair. The groom's side, which I've noticed is usually the smaller crowd, was representing and was as big as the bride's if not bigger. I tried to listen for the flat Midwestern accent but I couldn't hear it but I noticed that I start dragging out my words when I spoke and I could hear my Texas accent. Weird, I've never noticed it before but now that I am back in Texas it has disappeared. The drive back was long because we kept missing our turn, so we visited quite a number of states, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Iowa and Missouri. I am glad to be back in Texas. Overall, the drive was long, the trip short but I had a great time.

P.S. I just noticed this is the second time that I have posed in a convenient store in my postings. I think I might have to make it a habit when I visit a new town to take a pix of me in a store.

Let there be light? Forget that! LET THERE BE BEER!

You know, you never truly appreciate your right to purchase alcohol until it's been cruelly taken away. After a long, butt numbing 3 hour ride from Austin to Irving (next to Dallas), we finally arrived at our hotel. We then had a crappy dinner at IHOP. We were all a little keyed up from the trip so we decided to buy some alcohol to help us sleep a little better. Plus, what else is there to do at a convention except get a little snockered. So, my girlfriend and I went into a convenient store and we couldn't find the beer. We asked the clerk and he informed us that we were in a dry county. I was shocked and thinking what the hell. Dry counties in Texas are usually small podunk towns and we were in a suburb of Dallas, not exactly a one horse town. After hitting up two convenient stores we finally found a local that gave us directions to a store that was literally 50 yard from our hotel. We drove down this dark and desolate road and in the distance we can see car lights heading towards the most brightly lit shop-n-rob I have ever seen in my life. You could have probably have seen it from orbit. I knew immediately that it was the place and I wowed my friend in my ability to sniff out booze like Scooby sniffs out Scooby Snacks. We go in and I swear it's a frat boy's dream. There was literally beer stacked to the ceiling, as you see in my glorious take at Vana's pose. The whole store was dedicated to beer and malt liquors and maybe one or two aisles for munchies. I picked up my Mexican beer while my friend picked up her Zima (chic beer) and we made our way to purchase our hard won booty. Unfortunately, the salesclerk was the nastiest man I have ever met. Not only was he experiencing some kind of scabby rash business going on but it looked nasty ass infected. I was afraid something was going to squirt at me. I threw him my money and got the hell out of there. Overall, I am thankful that I got my beer, I didn't get cooties and that I live in Austin where I can buy beer without having to leave the county.