A night on our own

For the first time since Chandler was born, Ashley and I spent a night away from him. It was our six year anniversary and as a gift, Ashley’s parents gave us vouchers for a casino they had because they are Portland Trailblazer season ticket holders (GO BLAZERS!). So for our big night away from our baby, we stayed at the Spirit Mountain Casino, got $50 to play the slots with, and $75 to spend at one of the restaurants.

Ash and I aren’t really gamblers. Well, Ashley took a huge gamble on me, but other than that we never put our money where our mouths are. But if it is someone else’s money, then our mouths are all over it. I actually think slot machines are really dumb. I apologize if the guy who invented slot machines is reading this and I have offended him. I just can’t imagine putting my real money into a so-called game that I have no actual control of. I’m more of a Russian Roulette guy.

Ashley and I had a blast whittling away our free money and it was a ton of fun to watch Ashley’s gaming strategies in action. She really made sure we got the most bang for our virtual buck.

All that losing gave us quite an appetite. A $75 appetite. We had several dining options. There was the buffet, which was Ashley’s first choice simply because going to the buffet is such a major part of the casino experience. And there was a lady with a pretty sweet mullet standing in line. It was hard not to just get in line behind her and stare at it. But the buffet only cost $19 and we had a full $75 that we were going to spend. So eventually Ashley came around to my style of reasoning and we agreed upon the “Legends” restaurant.

We sat down to our table and perused the menu. It was very important to us that we spend exactly $75. No more. No less. (the tip was not included in our voucher) So we picked an appetizer and each chose our own entrees, plus we each got a soda (we’re responsible gamblers). For the appetizer we got crab and artichoke dip. For our entrees Ashley chose the fish and chips, and a salad. I had the Doryman Platter (seafood sampler) and clam chowder. It was all REALLY good.

This left us with $22 for desert. So Ash got the Mud Pie, which was GIGANTIC, I got the Cheesecake, and we split a Crème brûlée. Seventy one dollars down, four to go. So we topped it all off with two scoops of ice cream. We hit $75 right on the nose. Our waitress, who revealed to us that everybody does this, was pretty impressed with our strategic menu choices, but even more impressed with how much of that meal we were actually able to consume. It was one of the most filling and most delicious meals we have had in years. More importantly, it was the most fun meal we have had in a long time.

Having a night out without our baby was a really enjoyable experience. We can’t wait for it to happen again…in like a year or so.