Had a great time in Shreveport this past weekend. We stopped first in Tyler, Texas (about half-way between Dallas and Shreveport) and visited the Tiger Creek big cat sanctuary. They are a great organization helping the big cats live out their lives in comfort. The cats (mostly Bengal tigers) came from various backgrounds – circuses, abused animals, previous pets. They run tours every hour. The tours are led by interns who get college credit for working at the facility. It was a gorgeous day in Texas, mid-80 temperatures and sunshine. We spent about 2 hours there. There were 5 other people in our group. One of them was a little boy about 3 years old and they brought a wagon along to pull him around in. Evidently big kitties LOVE red wagons and little boys!! We’d come up on an enclosure and the cats would be napping and for the most part ignoring us, but once they saw that wagon, well let the stalking begin! The little boy would pull his wagon along and the tigers would just follow until he was well away. Red wagons with chewy kid centers – yummmm!
We made it to Shreveport in time to quickly run my freeplay through at Diamond Jacks and then headed to Sam’s Town where we’d spend the evening. I had a $40 food credit, so we had dinner at Smokey Joe’s café. My husband had a steak and I had a burger – it was just o.k. We had enough credit left over to get a fruit salad to go – we’d be leaving very early in the morning to head back to Tyler for a 2 mile race my husband was running in. There’d be nothing open to get breakfast that early, so we thought the fruit salad and nut bread would be a great light breakfast.
I got an invitation for a drawing for slot play at Sam’s. The line was long when we got there, but moved quickly. I got a whopping $5 ? My husband didn’t plan on gambling, but he decided to put $20 at risk. We went over to some 100 play penny VP machines. We both played 25 lines @ 5 cents a hand (yep, we’re whales). I was holding my own when my husband nudged me. He got dealt quad 4’s with an Ace kicker – and he was playing Triple Double! That’s a quick $500! He played it down to an even $500, risked $20 more on virtual blackjack and then packed it in for the night! Hit and run, baby!
I continued to plod along for a few more hours playing more VP, 3-card poker and craps. I finished the night down $40 but I definitely had $40 worth of fun!
I headed up to the room at 12:30am and we were up at 5am to be on the road by 6am.
We made it back to Tyler by 7:30am. Tyler was in the midst of their Azalea festival so it ended up being the most gorgeous setting for a race! My husband started running after recovering from a heart attack and triple bypass surgery last June. He’s joined a running club in Dallas, and has been very dedicated to his fitness and health since his heart attack. I’m so proud of him! He’s inspired me to get off my butt and start walking and eating a little better. Anyway, the race started from a lovely park that was surrounded by older, very grand homes whose gardens were just awash in colorful azaleas. Just beautiful. There was a great turnout for the race and a good time was had by all. We took the back roads for out return trip home. We were plenty pooped by the time we got home, but just had a fantastic weekend. I’ve got 7 more weeks until I get to go to Vegas with my sisters. Can’t wait!
- Linda in TX
We made it to Shreveport in time to quickly run my freeplay through at Diamond Jacks and then headed to Sam’s Town where we’d spend the evening. I had a $40 food credit, so we had dinner at Smokey Joe’s café. My husband had a steak and I had a burger – it was just o.k. We had enough credit left over to get a fruit salad to go – we’d be leaving very early in the morning to head back to Tyler for a 2 mile race my husband was running in. There’d be nothing open to get breakfast that early, so we thought the fruit salad and nut bread would be a great light breakfast.
I got an invitation for a drawing for slot play at Sam’s. The line was long when we got there, but moved quickly. I got a whopping $5 ? My husband didn’t plan on gambling, but he decided to put $20 at risk. We went over to some 100 play penny VP machines. We both played 25 lines @ 5 cents a hand (yep, we’re whales). I was holding my own when my husband nudged me. He got dealt quad 4’s with an Ace kicker – and he was playing Triple Double! That’s a quick $500! He played it down to an even $500, risked $20 more on virtual blackjack and then packed it in for the night! Hit and run, baby!
I continued to plod along for a few more hours playing more VP, 3-card poker and craps. I finished the night down $40 but I definitely had $40 worth of fun!
I headed up to the room at 12:30am and we were up at 5am to be on the road by 6am.
We made it back to Tyler by 7:30am. Tyler was in the midst of their Azalea festival so it ended up being the most gorgeous setting for a race! My husband started running after recovering from a heart attack and triple bypass surgery last June. He’s joined a running club in Dallas, and has been very dedicated to his fitness and health since his heart attack. I’m so proud of him! He’s inspired me to get off my butt and start walking and eating a little better. Anyway, the race started from a lovely park that was surrounded by older, very grand homes whose gardens were just awash in colorful azaleas. Just beautiful. There was a great turnout for the race and a good time was had by all. We took the back roads for out return trip home. We were plenty pooped by the time we got home, but just had a fantastic weekend. I’ve got 7 more weeks until I get to go to Vegas with my sisters. Can’t wait!
- Linda in TX
