Happy Anniversary to Us!

We celebrated our third anniversary February 27! We were planning on a nice evening out when Josh said jokingly that it was too bad we couldn't go to Vegas to celebrate. So that got our wheels turning. We started looking into a night in Oklahoma at one of the casinos there but there were some things we didn't like about it. There were fees per hand at the table games in addition to the bet you place. Most casinos don't charge a fee per hand! That was a little crazy. Then when we started reading more reviews they all were saying the slots were pretty tight. Soooo...

...we decided to book a room at the Eldorado in Shreveport. The drive was great, only a little over three hours. We were hoping we had picked the nicest one because we have never been before and it was kinda hard to tell from the websites. It turned out awesome! It was big and grand and beautiful! Real Vegas style with lots of big statues, pillars of marble and fancy decorations. And a fantastic casino. Law says the casinos have to be on water so some are in river boats, but the Eldorado built a building on the water so it had normal height ceilings and all the ambiance of Vegas. There is nothing like the flashing lights and constant simultaneous ringing of the slots!

We had appointments for massages as soon as we got there so we threw our bags down and headed to the super nice, cushy spa on the third floor. It was spectacular sitting in my fluffy robe waiting for my massage....letting the anxiety of leaving Joseph at home float away. It's hard leaving him, but it got better as the day went on. It's like leaving behind your third arm; I felt like something was really missing. But then after a cocktail and massage, I'd have to say it was a-ok. ;) Although I booked a regular swedish massage, my gal surprised me at the end with a little hot stone treatment. It was the first time I'd experienced that and I loved it! I'd certainly book one of those in the future!

Everything was a Hollywood Art Deco style and really detailed. This medallion-thingie was what greeted guests when they pulled in front of the hotel. And the parking sign below was pretty cool looking too.

After our massages we went to a lounge to have a drink and before dinner and people-watch. The bartender was making a frozen drink and the nicely dressed gentlemen next to us at the bar were laughing at how loud it was. One of them promptly made a call and stated "get a new blender up here please...I don't care, just get one that doesn't sound like a 747 taking off" and snapped his phone closed. Josh and I laughed that we must be in the presence of some big wigs when one of the guys said our drinks were on him!! We introduced ourselves and he was the General Manager of the place! It was really fun talking to him (and the guy that made the call was the president) and so of course we had to drop that it was our anniversary. He told us we had to go to the restaurant downstairs, that it was really nice, and dinner was on him! Yahoo! Score! So off we headed to get ready for dinner.

It was fun to see the Matre'de and hostess straighten up and tell us Mike was taking care of dinner and they would take good care of us. We actually already had reservations there and I'm sure we would have had great service anyway, but this sure did make me feel special! Ha. The restaraunt was fabulous and we really splurged. I had lobster and steak and Josh had two stinking pounds of king crab legs! We spotted Mike the GM come in and walk straight to our table to shake our hands again and ask how everything was. I can tell he really values his customers and enjoys his job too. Then he walked straight back out. It was a beautiful restaurant with waiters in tuxes and low lighting. The cesar was excellent, the wine was superb, the steak was the best melt-in-your-mouth and it all made for a very special weekend away.

Our view out the hotel window was nice with the cute bridge and river...not that we were in the room much, but it was still nice to have a good view. We played slots and blackjack for awhile, lost a bunch of money, and had a great time doing it! As we left the blackjack table our dealer wished us a happy anniversary....BUT we hadn't told her it was our anniversary! It was pretty cool and kinda creepy! Like they had an APB out on us or something. If we were there just for that, I can't imagine the kind of service the really big gamblers get!

So we packed up and headed home the next day. Joseph had been running fever so we were checking in frequently on him. He did great and had a wonderful time with Josh's mom but I needed to call the Dr. on Monday. They wanted me to bring him in and we found out he had double ear infections and slight bronchitis. I felt bad for being gone that weekend but I know his Bobe took good care of him. I imagine she's taken care of her share of sick kiddos, right?!

The Wednesday before we went to Shreveport was our actual anniversary and I got the best surprise! After a knock at the front door I found my sweet hubby standing with a bouquet of the most beautiful flowers. These lilies were outstanding. So we had lunch together at home before he had to go back to work. It was perfect! I think we'll have to make a tradition of this for sure!