the Dark Marauder
<font color=red>Proud Redhead<br><font color=green
- Joined
- Sep 14, 2002
- Messages
- 6,121
Wakeup time: sometime after 8am. There was no rush this day. We (me, dad, stepmom, aunt & uncle) were heading deeper into Southern CA, towards San Diego, to the Wine Country. Wine Country is where many of the wineries of CA are, obviously. The scenery was awesome, and seeing all the grapevines on the hills and just everywhere was beautiful.
Our first stop was where we had a nice little picnic. It was at Wilson Creek Winery. They had a very nice picnic area and you could enjoy some wine and shade. Very beautiful place. My aunt & stepmom bought a bottle of wine, which we tried. I did not like it. I have only met two wines I like even a little bit--the communal wine from my old church is one. The other is one I had at a wine tasting that a former patient of my office works for. It was a white wine with an apple kind of finish.
There were no tours of the winery available, but my aunt did end up joining the wine club at the winery. Doing so allowed her to get a few samples of almond champagne in dark chocolate (edible) shot glasses. The almond champagne is advertised as the "oh my Gosh" champagne. I tried it, and was surprised. The champagne lived up to its name. I actually liked it! I would gladly order a bottle and send it as a gift to those who like champagne. It really was that good.
Next we stopped at South Coast Winery. My dad told me that the wineries he's used to seeing are nothing like these. These are more extravagant and luxurious. The ones he's used to are small little shops with wine tasting, tours, and lots of vats and barrels. This winery has a resort, spa, and restaurant attached to it! There was a series of events going on, including a wedding. The wedding, unfortunate for us, was taking place in the barrel room, a room that I wanted to see. Oh well, it was still a beautiful place.
We were staying at a motel 6 for the night. I got a room to myself, which was unexpected. I thought I was going to share with my dad & stepmom, but that didn't happen. *shrug* We relaxed by the pool for a little bit, and then we headed to the Pechanga Indian Reservation & Casino.
Wow. The casino was impressive. I had been on casino boats before, but never in a full-size casino resort. It was a fun experience, which had both good and bad about it.
Bad:
Crappy craps tables. Instead of having dice that were passed around, the casino personnel had a machine which spat out two cards, equal to the dice roll. *** is that? There is no fun or excitement in that. I had been the shooter on the casino boat and had some amazingly LONG shooting streaks. No such luck here.
No coin-op slots. Everything is digital and takes dollars or vouchers. ***. The "clang-clang-clang" of people cashing out is part of the excitement.
I lost. But that's okay, I only brought $60 with me to have fun with, which I did. I left with $8 in my pocket.
Good:
$5 three card poker. My dad gave me an extra $20 to play with, which I was able to win back for him. At one point I was $25 ahead. I kept playing, though, and did lose. I had a lot of fun with that.
Real texas holdem. On the casino boats, you play against the dealer. In this casino, you actually play against other dealers. My first hand was a full house. Another time, I got four queens. I was ahead at one point by $35. I got cocky, though, and lost a lot. D'oh.
It was a learning experience. I'm learning more and more to know when to quit, when to walk away, etc. I know better than some people who get credit card advances or use the ATM. You go in with whatever you can lose, and when you're done, you're done. It was a nice casino, but I wouldn't readily go back there.
No casino pics, but wine country pics!
Our first stop was where we had a nice little picnic. It was at Wilson Creek Winery. They had a very nice picnic area and you could enjoy some wine and shade. Very beautiful place. My aunt & stepmom bought a bottle of wine, which we tried. I did not like it. I have only met two wines I like even a little bit--the communal wine from my old church is one. The other is one I had at a wine tasting that a former patient of my office works for. It was a white wine with an apple kind of finish.
There were no tours of the winery available, but my aunt did end up joining the wine club at the winery. Doing so allowed her to get a few samples of almond champagne in dark chocolate (edible) shot glasses. The almond champagne is advertised as the "oh my Gosh" champagne. I tried it, and was surprised. The champagne lived up to its name. I actually liked it! I would gladly order a bottle and send it as a gift to those who like champagne. It really was that good.
Next we stopped at South Coast Winery. My dad told me that the wineries he's used to seeing are nothing like these. These are more extravagant and luxurious. The ones he's used to are small little shops with wine tasting, tours, and lots of vats and barrels. This winery has a resort, spa, and restaurant attached to it! There was a series of events going on, including a wedding. The wedding, unfortunate for us, was taking place in the barrel room, a room that I wanted to see. Oh well, it was still a beautiful place.
We were staying at a motel 6 for the night. I got a room to myself, which was unexpected. I thought I was going to share with my dad & stepmom, but that didn't happen. *shrug* We relaxed by the pool for a little bit, and then we headed to the Pechanga Indian Reservation & Casino.
Wow. The casino was impressive. I had been on casino boats before, but never in a full-size casino resort. It was a fun experience, which had both good and bad about it.
Bad:
Crappy craps tables. Instead of having dice that were passed around, the casino personnel had a machine which spat out two cards, equal to the dice roll. *** is that? There is no fun or excitement in that. I had been the shooter on the casino boat and had some amazingly LONG shooting streaks. No such luck here.
No coin-op slots. Everything is digital and takes dollars or vouchers. ***. The "clang-clang-clang" of people cashing out is part of the excitement.
I lost. But that's okay, I only brought $60 with me to have fun with, which I did. I left with $8 in my pocket.
Good:
$5 three card poker. My dad gave me an extra $20 to play with, which I was able to win back for him. At one point I was $25 ahead. I kept playing, though, and did lose. I had a lot of fun with that.
Real texas holdem. On the casino boats, you play against the dealer. In this casino, you actually play against other dealers. My first hand was a full house. Another time, I got four queens. I was ahead at one point by $35. I got cocky, though, and lost a lot. D'oh.
It was a learning experience. I'm learning more and more to know when to quit, when to walk away, etc. I know better than some people who get credit card advances or use the ATM. You go in with whatever you can lose, and when you're done, you're done. It was a nice casino, but I wouldn't readily go back there.
No casino pics, but wine country pics!
