Friday, September 11, 2015

Trip without the Mammoth!

Saturday, September 5th

Well, this is an odd post for a travel blog, but because our traveling vehicle is now our home, its role has slightly changed. 

With Labor Day approaching, we decided to take a trip to Durant, OK to enjoy the casino. Normally, we would be taking Mammoth and heading to the Choctaw KOA. This time, we decided tear-down and set-up would be too much for a quick weekend trip, especially with school in full swing and Friday night  football games have now begun. 

 We made reservations at the LaQuinta Inn & Suites in Durant, since they were a pet-friendly hotel. We headed out about 1pm in the truck, kitties in carrier, and back seat loaded with *gasp* luggage! (When we go in the Mammoth, there's no need for luggage.)

We had an uneventful trip there, using the truck's navigation system. The most unfun part was across from Denton toward McKinney on 380. Lots of stoplights! 

We got checked in, then made arrangements to go to eat with Tony's folks who were also staying in Durant for the weekend. We picked them up and went to eat at Chilis. It was good food, great service and visiting! 

After dinner we took them back and had a quiet evening watching tv. The cats were exploring everything. I bet I get no sleep! 

Sunday, September 6th

Well I was right, no sleep. Cats up and into stuff most of the night. Morning came, and Tony got us waffles and sausage at the complimentary breakfast. We had eaten Texas shaped waffles at the LaQuinta in Eastland, but sadly, they did not have Oklahoma shaped waffles here. 

After breakfast Tony headed to the casino and I stayed home with the kitties and rested since I barely slept. After a while he came home with burgers and shakes from Braums, one of our favorites in Terrell, the that we don't get in west Texas. 

Even with just me in bed, they have to be touching me. 

After lunch we went back to the casino and played some more, hanging out some with Tony's folks. I actually did pretty good, playing one slot machine for a few hours. 


Yes, we found the window! Wow, it's high up!

Third floor, center section, kittie watches. 


Late afternoon we headed back and stopped for a quick dinner bite at the Rib Crib. It was ok, not great. We watched tv and relaxed the rest of the evening. 



Monday, September 7th

The cats did much better last night, finally settling into sleeping with us most of the night. Even in a king sized bed, they sandwhich me in! Tony got us breakfast of eggs, sausage and biscuits this morning, then went to play the free money he got from the casino. He returned about 10, and we finalized our packing and checked out at time, 11am. 

We decided to go home a different way, more countryside driving: Sherman to Gainesville to Bowie, (ate lunch) then Jacksboro to Graham to Breckenridge and home. It was a much more pleasant and scenic drive. As we approached the town of Saint Jo, we were met with large amounts of toy haulers, jeeps, and trucks pulling trailers with a variety of muddy off road toys, including a number of "monster trucks". With a little research, I figured out there was an event outside Saint Jo over Labor Day, called "Rednecks with Paychecks", apparently geared toward having a blast with off-road vehicles. It must have been fun, lots of dirt on those we saw "going home". 

We got home just before 4, and had time to relax for the evening. Although I don't mind this kind of travel, I sure missed MY bed, MY bathroom, MY towels and sheets. But the kitties do fairly well, so we may entertain it again in the future.

It was good to be home in the Mammoth again.