AC Valentines Day Romance 2015
02.13.2013 Ferry Love.
Hey Now! Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends. My newly mended Sweet Ti and I hit the road just after the snow flew in Gloucester County, Va. .From the looks of the forecast, there's more to follow for the entire East Coast. Our son Mark and his girlfriend Becky are meeting us in AC later The roads were well treated on the Eastern Shore, and a mere 4½ hours later- Lewes, DE. They have a promotion going on for VDay. Heart shaped pretzels, Laura's Fudge "imitated-never duplicated" , and champagne. So we boarded, parked Teal the Scion, and headed up to the lounge on the 3rd deck.
We presented our coupons, and Sweet Ti had a glass of Cook's and I had a glass of Welch's. Australia! We met Wallace, the food and beverage director. He asked us what we thought about the promotion, and said there would be more to follow. It was really windy, so we drank up and went back to Teal where we bundled up and snoozed our way to Joisey. Teal managed to get a salt bath along the way across the Delaware Bay, even though we parked near the middle of the ferry.
We headed up the Jersey Shore all the while gettin' blown all over. Soon enough we landed in AC.
We found a spot next to the elevators, 3rd floor. Looks like this car had been drinking...
First thing we notice as we walked into the casino was that our favorite Top Dollar machine was gone. Along with several other machines. Fewer ols 3 reel one line games- more penny games. I set up Sweet Ti with a player's card and a hundy and went to check on our room. Ambrosia took my ID and CC and informed me that there was no reservation in my name. I asked her to check on Mark and Becky's room- none for them either. She gave me a double room comped for tonight, but said they were booked up Saturday and Sunday. She tried my Host's office number, but she was out. I left a message on her cell, and followed up with a text when she didn't call me back. Methinks the game is afoot. I find Sweet Ti playing some slot machine and give her the news. We head out to Teal to retrieve our luggage and take it to the room. I tell S.T. I'm going back for more stuff, and instead go back to the front desk. I ordered flowers to be delivered today and forgot to check on them earlier. Our friends- sisters Renata and Maggie were back from break at the desk. Maggie immediately greeted me and asked me what was going on with the reservations, and Ambrosia and I filled her in. Meanwhile, my Host texted me that we were all set for 2 nights. So Maggie got us straightened out while Ambrosia went in the back for the flowers. Maggie told us to check back tomorrow and she would get us booked thru till Monday. AND she gave us a king instead of a double. She gave us our new keys, Mark and Becky's keys, and Ambrosia gave me Sweet Ti's flowers. I slipped them each a $20. Now that's what I call service! I brought the flowers up and we unwrapped them.
Not quite like the picture on the website. And it looks like they got frostbit. I wasn't pleased, so I called the florist. South Jersey Florist. I asked for the manager. Now I realize it's the day before Valentine's Day, but.... Steve got on the line and was very apologetic. He said he would make it right. He would send over a dozen roses tomorrow. I said that would be fine. Cool. Mark called and they were on the AC Expressway. I told him I had his keys. We switched rooms, and enjoyed the view. Room 3820.
Time to gambol! They have just about decimated the 8/5 BP, so we set about surveying the damage. Turns out there are 29 machines left. There are 10 uprights between the pit and the Security booth. .25/.50. We insert coin. Sweet Ti downloads my $60 free play for today, I insert a hundy. Engage.
We start talking to a couple next to us and make our introductions. They are Bonnie and Hank (Greyfox from the ACCVP forums). We talk about the downgrades at Resorts. Looks like it's now $600 coin in per point for VP. Sure makes it hard to earn 50 points every 6 months to just stay Epic- especially when you only make it here every other month or so. But the food and room comps aren't bad. Usually. Mark and Becky show up and we talk and I give them their room keys. Mark finds a roulette table and Becky goes off in search of STP VP. We are hungry and hit up Soupman for sammaches and soup. Overrated. Even as a comp. Lunch for 2 was $32.
Today's gift is a heart shaped waffle maker, and I stop by the Player's Club for our prize. Not too shabby.
Upstairs for showers and such, we descend for another VP session. Becky plays next to Sweet Ti for awhile, and Mark plays BJ. We play for about 3 hours, S.T. has a pretty good run of full boats, But neither of us gets a single 4OAK. We stop by the food court for a smoothie, and retire early. Zzzzzzzzzz....
02.14.2015 Flowerville, USA.
Hey Now! It's 5 a.m., and I'm ready. I slap on my Ipod and earphones, and descend for battle. There are 5 slants in the non-skoking section between the self park and the food court. $1/$2/$5. I choose $1 8/5 BP. Insert coin. Ouch.
Blew thru that hundy I mean like now. Time to change my luck. I decide to go with Jackpot Station- aka Cue da Dog
Next up is a bit of the old Sex in the City- aka 4 Chicks Gettin' Lucky
Time to get some breakfast for Sweet Ti, so I stopped by Margaritaville Coffee Shop to see Jackie. She filled me in about her mother who lives near Boulder Highway in Vegas. She is doing better. I tell her about my recent trip to Vegas, and we talk about the various casinos in that area. Coffee and tiger paw in hand, I ascend and awaken a sleeping Sweet Ti. We exchange Valentine's Day cards over breakfast. We will just hit the fast forward right about now. Nod nod wink wink...
Let's gambol!
Sweet Ti loads up today's $65 free play, I go with a hundy. We are playing in the so called Margaritaville Casino. It's a small section of Resorts near the boardwalk. There are 4 upright machines against a wall with .25/.50/$1 8/5 BP. Right next to the super secret bathrooms which make it nice. Not too smokey either. Mark and Becky show up, and we make plans for lunch at Ruby's. I stop by the front desk to check on the flowers. Maggie gets on the phone with Guest Services and squares away the rooms till Monday, and retrieves the flowers. They are HUGE. I sneak them up to the room and bring back a big tin of Whitley's chocolate covered peanut brittle for my Front Desk girls. They deserve it! Whitley's is a local peanut processor, and their products are always fresh and delicious.
We all meet at Ruby's Diner and order burgers, fries, and onion rings. This place rocks! Great food, reasonable prices. Pig out.
Mark talks me into a BJ session, and we find a $10 table at the MVille pit. We both buy in for a hundy and last a couple of shoes. Mark is down to $25 and colors up to leave. I'm down about the same but stick it out. I go on a tear, and am back up a bit, so Mark cashes his green chip for 5 red ones along with a single $5. He sits back down and starts hitting everything in sight. Meanwhile, I can't catch a win on anything. I walk with $13 and Mark walks with $150. But it was fun- I guess... We find the girls and hit the MVille machines.
Hey Now!
Splitsville, we decide on some mindless slots. They are off in pursuit of lucky roulette numbers. While S.T. powders her nose, I try a Buffalo machine and have a nice bonus run. Gotta love those bison. We play some Power Spins and have a bit of luck. We tried some roulette and didn't. It's gettin smokey and peopley down here about now. So we order a spinach and 'shroom pizza from Familigia's and head up for dinner and a movie. Not a bad pie. As we look out of our room- it's starting to snow.
02.15.2015 Feast!
Hey Now! Slept in till 5:20. Down to the back to back row of .25/.50/$1 machines in the smoking section between the front desk and the elevators. I'm feeling me some .50 Triple Boner. Insert coin. 2nd hand.....
Cash out time. I head for the Hills. Hollyrock Hills. WILMA!!!!! Here too, big changes. All the full pay slant VP is gone. Half of the old games are toast- yet more fancy bells and whistles $1 machines. The lowest denom. Top Dollar is $10. I find one of the older machines I've had some luck on. Not today... I seek the Happy Budda for guidance.
"Look to the East..."
Brrrrrr....it's about 6º outside. Not a pigeon or rolling chair in sight. Figures. I duck into MVille. I'm playing next to the same chick we saw here yesterday. She has an interesting system. Whenever she has a hit of a full boat or better, the next hand she drops her bet down to one credit. Then if she hits a pair, she goes to three credits. After a 3 of a kind or better, it's back to max bet. Strange.
I hit MVille Java for Sweet Ti's morning fix and make the long walk to the Rendezvous Tower. I kiss her awake and open the curtains.
That last shot was a view of the infamous Thakking You parking lot from last year's Mark's Bday Trip. We admire the flowers...
Time to get ourselves all gussied up for the Capriccio Buffet. We do, and walk over. It's about 10:15 a.m. and there is already a waiting list. They opened at 9:30. So we hang out for a few minutes...
Our name is called, and I greet Ulysses the barkeep as we pass. They have turned his keep into Cielo Wine Bar. Noice. We are seated and once again Jamie and Gabe are our servers. They say welcome back. It's nice to be here. Sweet Ti orders a mimosa, I order a bottle of Acqua Panna still water. Time to eat!
That last shot is a list of the Hot items. I received it from Steve the Executive Chef. We had a nice conversation about the various food items and their presentation. I comment that we have had the buffet at Bellagio in Vegas, and his is right on par with it.
Well, we were really trying to pace ourselves during the meal, but with a selection approaching 100 items, it's really hard. Sweet Ti was having some pain from her recent gall bladder surgery, and high tailed it back to the room. I settled up with Jamie and went to check on her. The buffet is $47.99 per person, and worth every penny. Our comps covered it. Back at the room, S.T. decided to take a nap to sleep off the meal, so I tucked her in and slipped away downstairs. I met up with M & B in MVille and we played VP for a bit, then it just got too smoky in there, so we went over to the uprights near the pit. Right before we cashed out, Mark hit this...
Sweet Ti calls to say she is feeling much better. She joins us, and Mark leaves for another BJ session. An acquaintance, Elaine sits next to me and I introduce her to the gang. I take a bathroom break and run into Mignon on the way back. We have been looking for her all weekend. Turns out she had been laid off- after 19 years, but is back part time. That sucks! We walk back to the machines, and Mignon and S.T. trade Gallbladder stories. Mignon is called away, and we get back to business..
We ended up playing for about 3 hours. For a diversion, I stuck a TITO into this .50 Triple Diamond.
Taking a break, we watch the 40th Anniversary Special on SNL. I last about 30 minutes, and go back down for one last session. Mark is still doing a marathon BJ session, he's currently up quite a bit. He thinks Becky is at Mville. I walk over and sit next to her and insert coin.
We are having a good run, and I like to end the trip with a 4OAK. It's been a running joke about never hitting 5's. Then I do....
With that I cashed out and gave Becky a hug goodbye. Then it was back to the pit to do the same with Mark. He's giving some back, but still ahead. We will be catching the 11 a.m. ferry, they are gonna hang around till early afternoon. Not too long though, as VA is supposed to get around 4-6" of snow tomorrow. Back at the room, Sweet Ti and I do some packing and call it a night.
02.16.2015 Ice Ice Baby
We slept in till 6 a.m. and I stopped by Dunkin' Donuts for some coffee. As we are getting ready to leave I get a text from Christina, who has been taking care of our abode . She sez a tree has fallen in our front yard. There have been some killer storms there.
We turn on the weather channel, and it's not looking too good for later on today. I pack up Teal, and we stop by the front desk to say farewell to the girls and check out. Maggie tells me I can use comps for the newly added Resort fee- $5. per night. Plus $5. per night taxes that I pay cash for. Farewell y'all!!! We make great time to Cape May. It's looking awfully snowy outside. And it's 6°. We are early and made the very chilly walk inside. There is an announcement over the intercom " Due to the ice, the 11 a.m. ferry will be postponed about 2 hours." Bummer. So we got some breakfast and waited. The ice has completely covered the inlet. But driving all the way back to AC, and then the long way around isn't practical. Finally the ferry arrives, and spends a half hour breaking the ice.
They created a bit of open water, and after a scare about
having to change out ferries due to frozen pipes, they allow us to board.
It was quite a journey. We had to run Teal all the way back to stay warm. I went upstairs to use the head, and there was water all over the floor. Frozen pipes indead! By the time we made it to Pokomoke MD, the snow really flew. We crept our way back home averaging about 30 mph. It was difficult driving. We finally made it about 8:30. M&B got home around 10 p.m. But we were safe. Teal did her job...
It's been a memorable trip, that last session pulled us back some, we came home with 3/4 of our BR intact. We earned 45 points, so I figure we had about 27k coin in. Still need 5 more points to stay Epic by May. No problem, we will be back in April. Laters Y'all!!!
