I’m Back – Did You Miss Me?
Well, here I am – officially 40 years young. Hooray, I suppose. The Lovely Mrs. G. and I escaped town last Wednesday and spent four glorious nights in Minnesota trying to pretend that we didn’t have to get old. We ate, we gambled, we ate, we shared a delightful aperitif, we ate, we drove around looking at stuff, we ate, we rode roller coasters, and... oh, yeah – we ate. I’m still full.
I made the most out of turning 40 the old fashioned way -- by sniveling. Hey, if it works for genuine senior citizens who seem to bitch and moan all the time, then it should work for me too, right? Anyway, I whined to the desk clerk at the hotel that it was my 40th birthday, and he bumped us up to a “theme room” from the standard typical motel room. The Quiet House hotel in Red Wing, MN has themed rooms – the “Roman Bath” room, the “High Tech Geek” room, the “Fisherman’s Lodge” room, etc. Well, we somehow managed to end up in the “Fur Trappers Room”, which was decorated with log-cabin style walls, a stretched and hanging beaver pelt (with little holes where his eyes and nose had been – definitely not a PETA-approved decoration, that’s for sure), a large wooden four-poster bed that I kept hitting my head on, and a fake, poorly sewn moose head on the wall. The poor “moose” looked more like a skinned gopher with antlers, but who were we to complain? It was very nice of them to upgrade our room for us, and we’d gladly stay there again – maybe in the “Old Farts” room next time.
I also practiced my birthday whimpering at the Treasure Island casino buffet, where they had a beautiful huge prime rib waiting for us. I told the carver that it was my 40th birthday, and as a present I really wanted a slab of prime rib, if you don’t mind. Sure enough, that’s exactly what they gave me. This chunk of meat was at least two pounds and a good two inches thick. Sweet! As the server dropped this roasted behemoth on my plate, she told me “I don’t think you’ll be back for another one.” I almost did go back for another, just to tease them, but I did eat it all. (And that was just about it, except for that piece of chocolate cake. It was my birthday, after all.)
Unfortunately, all the pathetic whining in the world didn’t have any affect on the slot machines – damn them anyway – and they immediately took my money without even the courtesy of saying “thanks” or “happy birthday”. (I did think one managed to belch a little bit, though.) In my usual not-so-lucky-on-the-slots way, the one armed bandits fully lived up to their names. Oh, well – easy come, easier go.
We had a great time in Minnesota – we went to the amusement park, saw the Twins beat up on the Tigers, shopped the Mall of America for a while, and ate a whole lot of good food. Have I mentioned the eating part yet? Sioux City’s restaurants stink on ice for the most part, so we really enjoyed having access to the Cheesecake Factory and Pizzeria Uno. Good, good stuff.
So now vacation is over – time to go back to work and pretend to be motivated. Still, Mrs. G. and I had a swell time, and have accepted our 40th birthdays with about as much grace and dignity as possible. Because it could’ve always been worse – we could be 50. Right?
I made the most out of turning 40 the old fashioned way -- by sniveling. Hey, if it works for genuine senior citizens who seem to bitch and moan all the time, then it should work for me too, right? Anyway, I whined to the desk clerk at the hotel that it was my 40th birthday, and he bumped us up to a “theme room” from the standard typical motel room. The Quiet House hotel in Red Wing, MN has themed rooms – the “Roman Bath” room, the “High Tech Geek” room, the “Fisherman’s Lodge” room, etc. Well, we somehow managed to end up in the “Fur Trappers Room”, which was decorated with log-cabin style walls, a stretched and hanging beaver pelt (with little holes where his eyes and nose had been – definitely not a PETA-approved decoration, that’s for sure), a large wooden four-poster bed that I kept hitting my head on, and a fake, poorly sewn moose head on the wall. The poor “moose” looked more like a skinned gopher with antlers, but who were we to complain? It was very nice of them to upgrade our room for us, and we’d gladly stay there again – maybe in the “Old Farts” room next time.
I also practiced my birthday whimpering at the Treasure Island casino buffet, where they had a beautiful huge prime rib waiting for us. I told the carver that it was my 40th birthday, and as a present I really wanted a slab of prime rib, if you don’t mind. Sure enough, that’s exactly what they gave me. This chunk of meat was at least two pounds and a good two inches thick. Sweet! As the server dropped this roasted behemoth on my plate, she told me “I don’t think you’ll be back for another one.” I almost did go back for another, just to tease them, but I did eat it all. (And that was just about it, except for that piece of chocolate cake. It was my birthday, after all.)
Unfortunately, all the pathetic whining in the world didn’t have any affect on the slot machines – damn them anyway – and they immediately took my money without even the courtesy of saying “thanks” or “happy birthday”. (I did think one managed to belch a little bit, though.) In my usual not-so-lucky-on-the-slots way, the one armed bandits fully lived up to their names. Oh, well – easy come, easier go.
We had a great time in Minnesota – we went to the amusement park, saw the Twins beat up on the Tigers, shopped the Mall of America for a while, and ate a whole lot of good food. Have I mentioned the eating part yet? Sioux City’s restaurants stink on ice for the most part, so we really enjoyed having access to the Cheesecake Factory and Pizzeria Uno. Good, good stuff.
So now vacation is over – time to go back to work and pretend to be motivated. Still, Mrs. G. and I had a swell time, and have accepted our 40th birthdays with about as much grace and dignity as possible. Because it could’ve always been worse – we could be 50. Right?
posted by Tommy G at
4:19 PM
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