Laughlin

(I know, it was almost 2 weeks ago. Life has been busy, bear with me!)

I have visions of someone with a white sheet and slide projector in my living room. But, surprisingly, I did not take very many pictures this weekend. I have a few: our view from the hotel room, a couple of casino shots, but most of the weekend was spent at the Lodge in Bullhead City and the River walk. Our first night was spent in Bullhead City, practicing for the competition the following day. Well, Mike and his fellow officers practiced. I sat at the bar and drank really strong...Shirley Temples...all night long. Apparently the bartenders there had no idea of the proper grenadine to sprite ratio required to make a delicious ST.

After their practice was over, they all came back over to the bar and we hung out for a bit. Eventually, we all headed back across the border and walked around the casinos for a bit. I went up to bed, and realized just how much the casino owners don't want you in your room. No free wi-fi here. If I want to use my laptop upstairs in our room? $12 a day. Downstairs in Starbucks? Free. Except I'd already gotten my pj's on. So, no computer. I decided to turn on the tv, and the remote didn't work. GREAT. I was tired, so I just went to bed. Mike decided to stay downstairs for a bit, and I have no idea when he came back to the room, at least after midnight. Somehow he can survive off of 2 hours of sleep. I don't get it.

The next morning we were up bright and early, and back over in AZ. The officers got ready to compete, and while I waited for them to be done, I sat in our 'green room' and did homework. Two homework assignments later, they came out, very proud of themselves. Before we got the results, there was some free time before the banquet, so we wandered around Laughlin for a few hours. I don't know if it's just me, but once you've been in one casino, you've been in them all. I got bored really quick.

Finally, it was time to head back to the lodge. Our dinner choices were salmon or pork. I loaded up on allergy pills and got the stuffed pork, which was pretty good. Then we got to the important part. Four of our eight officers got Champion for their positions, Mike included! Yay!!! First and second place teams get to move on to the State competitions. We got 3rd place by two tenths of a point. So no state this year, and Mike's win seems a little bittersweet, but they did really good, and we've got next year.

Since this was our first time in a 'gambling town' and or even Nevada, Mike kept me up most of the night walking up and down the River Walk, stopping in all the casinos. We didn't get back to our hotel room until after 4 a.m. And even though I didn't have the kids, and I need at least 7 hours of sleep, my internal clock still woke me up at 8 a.m. Stupid clock. After checking out, we wandered up and down the river a bit more, then headed for home. Since we carpooled with a friend of ours, I got to sleep most of the way home.Which wasn't very comfortable.

The trip to Laughlin taught me a few things, some of which I knew already but needed reminding of. First, Mike can survive off of WAY less sleep than I. I still haven't caught up on it all. Next, I am not the gambling type, or the drinking type, or the partying type, at least not anymore. I would much rather curl up on the couch with the dogs, the kids, and a good book. Third, some people just turn into zombies as soon as they sit in front of a slot machine. I mean, I know there's Gamblers Anonymous, but wow. You could tell the ones that were there because they had to be there. No smiles, no fun, just push the button and hope for a jackpot. Finally, I miss my kids. It was nice to be away from reality for a few days, but once it was over, I was glad to be home.