Friday, July 6, 2007

Casinos, Wiring, Friends and Horses






Pics - Arabian Horse. Steve, Dee, Mitch, Kim and Zoe (the dog), Mitch and Steve in the Miata, Kim at Terrible's casino and Mitch & Kim at Steve's.


Casinos, Wiring, Friends and Horses
We went from Minneapolis to Olathe, KS to spend a few days with Kim’s Uncle Steve and his wife Dee. They are just such nice people! Steve has had some heart problems and the Dr. doesn’t want him on a ladder so I was able to help out by wiring his new 30 X 40 shed. I have all my tools with me as this is the kind of thing we want to do on our trip. We just want to be able to serve others. Steve and Dee were so appreciative but God blesses the giver more than the receiver. It was just so nice to be able to help them out. I told Kim on the way there that they would really make us feel at home – and they did. We really had a great time with them.
On the way to Olathe we were looking for a cheap place to just stay for the night. We stumbled upon a Casino called Terrible’s. Well we didn’t exactly stumble upon it as they had a hundred fifty foot tall sign out by the road that was all lit up. To make a long story short, we could stay there for $20.00 for the night. We had to go into the casino to get a voucher though. I saw a Harley in the parking lot and noticed that his front axle cap (that holds the front wheel on) had a loose bolt. I wrote a note on the back of one of our cards and left it on his bike. He called me the next day and thanked me for possibly saving his life. He said he didn’t know how I happened to notice it. I told him I was a member of CMA (Christian Motorcyclist Association) and that what we do is look out for each other. He said he rode with the Silver Wings and that every year CMA members come to their rides. His name was Rick Laird.
Kim and I were eating in the Casino when a guy came up to us and told us he liked our shirts. We then noticed we were wearing T-shirts that said “Who do you think that I am” on the front and “I am the way, the truth and the life” on the back. I think we had on the only Christian shirts in the Casino. Kim and I don’t gamble – so all this casino stuff is new to us. We had to go get a players card to get the cheap camping rate and they gave us $15.00 worth of free slot pay on the card. It is like a credit card. Steve told us we could have put the card in a slot machine and pressed the cash button and gotten the money. Oh well, that’s what we get for being ignorant of such things.
After a few days in Olathe we made the trip to Springfield, IL in just a day. It is 350 miles and that is about all I like to go in a day. That won’t be the norm for the trip. About 200 miles is a comfortable day. Kim went in to pay for the fuel while I was shutting down the pump and when she returned to the coach, she came in and immediately locked the door behind her. I asked her what was wrong and she said there was a man standing outside the truck stop and when she walked out he told her, “You sure are a beautiful lady”. It gave her the creeps. Now I have started asking her if she knows she is a beautiful lady.
We are in Springfield at the State Fairgrounds (IL has two state fairgrounds – one also in DuQuoin) and we will be there next week for the international rally for the Holiday Rambler RV Club (HRRVC). We are here to be with Chapter 400 “Full Timers” of the HRRVC. To be a member you must own a Holiday Rambler RV and live in your RV. You can’t own a home. When you live in your RV full time you are considered “Full Timers” – original huh – wish I’d thought of it. We got here a little after 4 PM last night and got set up and went out to eat with the people in the club. It is a great group of people and we will enjoy getting to know them. Diverse – last night our chapter president Walt was telling how he used to buy drugs using food stamps, alcohol and even steaks. He said he did that for many years – and then he blew the whole image I had of him when he said he was an undercover officer. I guess we’re not quite as diverse group as I thought. Walt is an interesting person and I look forward to building a friendship with him.
Here at the fairgrounds they are having an Arabian horse show. My mom would love it. The horses are so beautiful and majestic. When they get in the arena they go into a performance mode. It is like watching living art. Majestic, proud, beautiful, poetry in motion, regal, elegant, gentle yet spirited – these are just a few of the words that might describe the horses. Kim and I walked down to the horse area because we heard a vendor had root beer floats. I struck up a conversation with a lady and she answered our questions. She said this meeting was one of many divisions in the US and that many of the people own just a horse or two and pay professional stables to keep, train and care for the horses. Another person said he pays $5,000.00 per month for the stable to take care of his 2 horses. This really nice lady took us into their stable area and showed us her horse. She then showed us a horse that was bought last year for $130.000.00. While I appreciate horses, I’ve never really been a horse enthusiast. These horses are so different from and I’ve ever seen that I really love to be around them. I hope to go down to the arena and get a pic to put in this blog. The 400 rally doesn’t really start until 4 today so that will give me time to get a few things done on the coach and go see the horses. Update: We went to see the horses again and learned a few things/ They show in many different classes. The competition we saw was young riders and a man said the horses in that class cost from $2,500.00 to $100,000.00. That is quite a range. He also said people don't really own the horses in the hopes to make money, but rather it is a hobby. We talked to some owners who'se daughter was riding and they were really nice. It seems the owners are pretty much affluent people, yet ready to talk about the horses and very friendly. We met two ladies who owned horses and they said, "We don't have any money - we own horses". Overall - a wonderful unexpected experience to see the horses and talk to the people. When we left Indiana we never imagined we would see something like this and be so intrigued.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Kim, Mitch, sounds like you have had a great trip thus far. FYI, I contacted the HR group you recommended, but, have not heard back from them; maybe they're at the convention. We are off to see family in NY tomorrow, driving the Toyota, not completely comfortable with the reliability of the HR yet. Had to bring it in to the dealer again lost all the DC power, they replaced a solenoid, hope that does the trick. Found both card games at a mall, Kim be prepared!!!! Miss you guys!!! Travel safe, hope to see you in a few weeks. Thanks to you both Jesus is my savior.

Joe