Casino Players Card - Finally Met Gypsy

(Joliet, IL) Hi 76 Lo 49 -- The weather is still great. Warm and sunny, with a cool breeze. We walked over to the casino to get a players card. Casinos give out players cards that are used to earn points; the more you gamble, the more points you earn. You can use the points for food and lodging on future visits. We seldom gamble, so we had no interest in the points. But we heard that you get a coupon book when you first register for a card.

The casino is across a large parking lot from our RV park. We used an Android phone app called Runkeeper to measure the distance. From our site to the front door of the casino it's about three tenths of a mile.

Our view looking toward the casino from the RV park.


We signed up and received our players card and, sure enough we received a coupon book. It included some good deals on food at the various casino eating places. We used one today while we were over there. At the sports bar we received a free appetizer with the purchase of an entree. So I got a chicken wrap sandwich (the entree) and Jim got an order of chicken wings (the free appetizer). Afterwards we lost about $6 in a poker machine. I say we lost it, but Jim says we got $6 worth of entertainment. My goal is to win a big jackpot, but Jim's goal is to see how long he can get his few dollars to last. He does a pretty job of that. After that half hour or so of "entertainment," we walked back to the RV.

Later we headed out to meet Martha, known throughout the RV community as Gypsy. She's traveling from New York to her home in California, and she made a stop in Hammond, IN, about an hour east of here.

Dee and Gypsy

We met Gypsy in the RV-Dreams chatroom in August 2008. Since that time she spent a couple of years solo full timing in a fifth wheel. She's quite an inspiration to everyone with her courage to travel around the country by herself. She's since sold her fifth wheel and truck, but she still scratches her travel itch by wandering around the country in her Toyota Highlander with her faithful companion Lady, a beautiful shepherd. We've tried to meet up with her in the past, but the timing has never been right, until today. We sat in her motel room and got caught up on her travels and our travels. And we picked her brain about the best routes to take out West. We had a wonderful visit, then she treated us to dinner at a nearby Cracker Barrel. Thank you so much for dinner Marty, we had a wonderful time. Meeting you was very special, and we hope to see you again.

We drove back west toward home with the setting sun in our faces. The traffic on I-80 wasn't too bad. What a wonderful afternoon.