Valentine's Day Adventure and More

On Valentine's Day Helen and I made another attempt to locate some of the wild ponies and burros near the Red Rock Canyon Natural Area.

We headed out in the early afternoon in search of the animals, some 10-15 miles west of our apartment. The area is beautiful and the road climbs steadily in altitude as we meander up into the mountains. The temp dropped steadily from 62, 59, 54 as we climbed. But after about an hour of driving, we didn't see any wild animals at all.

So we headed down to the Strip to have an early dinner and ended up at BB King's BBQ place at the Mirage. I had eaten breakfast there once last year, but Helen had never been there so she really was excited to check it out. We had a great meal - Helen had a pulled pork dinner with baked beans and slaw, while I opted for a big combo platter of BBQ chicken and ribs along with beans and slaw. Both meals also came with a tasty cornbread muffin and we had beverages. The bill came to $59 including tip. Good Eatin' and we're already talking about going back there.

We also exchanged Valentine's cards and I bought us a bag of Ghiradelli chocolate squares that we've been munching on for the past couple of days.

Yesterday I headed to MGM to play poker, while Helen did laundry and talked with friends on the phone. My poker went OK, but had great potential that didn't pan out.

After about two hours of playing, I looked down at two Red Aces. It's pretty uncommon to get Aces - a 1-220 longshot. Anyway, I bet 5 guys put in their $2 blinds, but when I raised to $6 they all folded. A big hand, but no big pot.

I was a bit disappointed when I looked at my VERY NEXT HAND and found TWO BLACK ACES. Aces back-to-back!! Here's my chance to make up for the last hand, I thought.
Again, five guys paid $2 for their blinds and this time, instead of raising, I just called.
The flop came K-Q-6 and I hoped someone hit a king. So I bet $5 and EVERYONE FOLDED again!! AAAAARGH!!!!!

That was the highlight of my poker session, which saw me take home a profit of $22. Better a small win than a small loss...

On the way home, I stopped at the Middle East Market for fresh pita bread, hummus and Kalamata Olives. We'll have that for dinner tonight. Last night's dinner was scrambled eggs with onions and red peppers. With some of those chocolate squares for dessert.

This morning Helen plans to go to her Bible Study group, while I get some bills paid. Maybe this afternoon I'll head to Red Rock for some hoops bets or blackjack. And so our adventure continues...