Vacation picture dump (2 Viewers)

Got to play a little poker and visit with some great PCF friends last night as well. @ekricket and @travelgirl, it was so much fun to see you all last night.
2da140b0-6b1a-4097-8f52-3ff2d5133675-jpeg.610896
I see @ekricket, but I don't think that is @travelgirl...
 
She is to Darias left at the table! Lol my question is Claysmiths were the best chips in town? I hope they had the ridges sanded down at least.

Looks like you guys had a fantastic time @Lil Tuna it's cold again back east! Just stay there!!
The game was at Kevin and Liz’s friend Toby’s place. Toby is not the chip nerd that most of us here are. :ROFL: :ROFLMAO: Getting to play cards and get together with some good friends has been the bonus of our trip so far.
Dice chips would have sufficed in this situation if need be. :wow::ROFL: :ROFLMAO:
CC79B4A0-062B-4CDE-B419-8427601DFB4E.jpeg
 
The game was at Kevin and Liz’s friend Toby’s place. Toby is not the chip nerd that most of us here are. :ROFL: :ROFLMAO: Getting to play cards and get together with some good friends has been the bonus of our trip so far.
Dice chips would have sufficed in this situation if need be. :wow::ROFL: :ROFLMAO:View attachment 610932
Maybe me smile to see Daria playing poker... I know there is almost no chance, but crossing my fingers that someday she finds the intrest! Would have loved to have been there for that game brother!! Amazing company is what it is all about!! Low stakes tourney obviously but the question is who took it down? Guessing it was chopped but curious.
 
Well the plan was to head out around 4am for Florida and leave this behind!
20210212_155418.jpg

We decided with a nasty Ice storm hitting Richmond VA around midnight that we would get on the road... about 5 hours later in Raeford NC I fear that the temps are following us.
20210213_004630.jpg

31 Miles to South of the Boarder... maybe it will warm up after that!
 
Well... my 26 year wait bucket list item is getting checked off today! Knock on wood nothing is going to stop us now!

Had to stop for a day break selfie with a roll of necessary paper! Lol
20210215_062353.jpg

So far the Everglades look like our swamps on the Eastern Shore of Maryland... a bunch of swamp, except they have palm trees everywhere! Lol
20210215_064931.jpg

First time ever seeing Black Panther crossing signs though. So swamp, air boat rides, gator wrestling, camp grounds every 3 miles with no guests and lots of Indian Villages. Lol
Screenshot_20210215-084854_Waze.jpg


Anyways nothing stopping us now!!

We pull into Key Largo with the iPad on shuffle and as we cross the bridge Ventura Highway by America randomly comes on, my favorite song!
Screenshot_20210215-085324_Gallery.jpg

Again I don't believe in coincidence. Pulling into Key West ole reliable I Pad has Joe Walsh "lifes been good"
20210215_110942.jpg

A trip to Ft. Zacary St. Park. The true southern most point of the continental US
20210215_115221.jpg

From the top of the fort!

Behind these trees is the southern most point!
20210215_120356.jpg

20210215_120810.jpg

20210215_120817.jpg

Breeze was blowing the ole Beard a bit! Then we walked the whole beach line
20210215_120827.jpg

Have I mentioned we parked the truck and the rest of this journey is on bikes and Brie and I haven't rode in many many years other than 5 minutes in the driveway! Lol just gonna send it down Duvall St! Time to check off this bucket list item! Margaritaville in Key West!! Here we come!
20210215_131259.jpg

Chow time!
20210215_132009.jpg

Big fat check Mark yall!! One of the coolest damn days of my life and not joking, extremely emotional. We have a few more stops to check out before a 5 plus hour journey back to the fort, but I wouldn't trade this experience for anything!

Victory!!

Quick stop at the Harley D store for some chips for a Fellow Chipper!
20210215_135801.jpg

Walked to the end of Duvall St. just to check it out!
20210215_140247.jpg

Literally biking down the center of Duval st. is a serious rush when you are not a bike rider.
20210215_141617.jpg

Back to the truck and start our long journey back to Marco Island. We will find a nice spot to stop for some Key Lime Pie but on a diet for so long now, not much room after a big ole burger n fries! Lol

Sucks to have your awesome outing early in the trip but looking at the weather we made a decision and nothing but sunshine down there today. Not sure I was ready for 85 degrees and sunlight when averaging freezing temps back home but we managed LOL!

Dreams come true, I just shared mine with Ms. Brie. Go experience yours!!

Fellow Chipper Ben
 
Last edited:
Well... my 26 year wait bucket list item is getting checked off today! Knock on wood nothing is going to stop us now!

Sucks to have your awesome outing early in the trip

Congratulations!!! Looks like a great day of highlights on your Key West trip.
The weather here was great yesterday so I knew you'd have a good drive and day trip.

Your week is not over, so its not "all she wrote" just yet. Maybe you'll win the big game! GLWP.

Anyway, if you like the idea of shelling (like major major sea shells every inch of the beach) stop for an hour break and lunch at Sanibel Beach on your way up to Anna Maria from Marco Island. It's about mid-way. Best shell beach in North America. You can roam around the shore in the water up to knee high and find many nice shells.

View attachment 637312
 
Congratulations!!! Looks like a great day of highlights on your Key West trip.
The weather here was great yesterday so I knew you'd have a good drive and day trip.

Your week is not over, so its not "all she wrote" just yet. Maybe you'll win the big game! GLWP.

Anyway, if you like the idea of shelling (like major major sea shells every inch of the beach) stop for an hour break and lunch at Sanibel Beach on your way up to Anna Maria from Marco Island. It's about mid-way. Best shell beach in North America. You can roam around the shore in the water up to knee high and find many nice shells.

View attachment 637312
That definitely sounds interesting and we may just try that sir! All we found in KW was rocks! Lol
 
This picture was taken a month ago today on our last day at the resort. What makes this picture happy and sad at the same time is that it was the last time we had such a blast with my step-father (pictured in the royal blue polo). He passed away three days later. To get the WHOLE family together, let alone travel, amidst these crazy times was crazy enough....I'm not 100% a believer in God nor I deny anyone's faith, but I feel like God did indeed will this trip to spend our final few days with him. May he rest in peace.
FB_IMG_1615795690894.jpg
 
This picture was taken a month ago today on our last day at the resort. What makes this picture happy and sad at the same time is that it was the last time we had such a blast with my step-father (pictured in the royal blue polo). He passed away three days later. To get the WHOLE family together, let alone travel, amidst these crazy times was crazy enough....I'm not 100% a believer in God nor I deny anyone's faith, but I feel like God did indeed will this trip to spend our final few days with him. May he rest in peace.View attachment 659784
Awesome family shot !
 
The wife and I started our first RV trip of the summer last week. We are headed from the Detroit area, down to the gulf coast. We are planning to start the coast tour in Corpus Christi TX, and work our way around to the Florida panhandle.

The trip has been going well so far, but I noticed something kinda strange…..it appears we are on the path of following the @TheChipRoom closed/rebranded casino tour!! Since we try to overnight at casinos when we can, our first casino stop was the Century Casino in Cape Girardeau, MO (formally Isle of Capri Cape G). What a cool little casino!! We did well there and even hit them up for a few racks of sweet fracks!!

Cape GI.jpeg


Our next stop was the Century Casino in Caruthersville (formally the Lady Luck casino). While I would love to share a picture of the place with ya’ll, I got frustrated and forgot to take one. We arrived at the casino at 2:30 on Thursday afternoon, only to find out that the casino doesn’t open till 4:00 on Thursday’s…..WTF!!

So we pressed on and headed to Tunica, MS. We pulled up to the Horseshoe Casino to gamble and spend the night…..and what did I notice as I walked thru the parking lot?? Yup, you guessed it, the Roadhouse Casino that was in the process of being demolished.

Roadhouse.jpg


So based on our pass travels, it would appear we are destined to stop at Caesars Southern Indiana (formally Horseshoe Southern Indiana) and the Hard Rock Cincinnati (formally JACK Cincinnati) on our way back home. However, I know one thing for sure….we will NOT be stopping at the Kash Casino in Mexico City!!
 
The wife and I started our first RV trip of the summer last week. We are headed from the Detroit area, down to the gulf coast. We are planning to start the coast tour in Corpus Christi TX, and work our way around to the Florida panhandle.

The trip has been going well so far, but I noticed something kinda strange…..it appears we are on the path of following the @TheChipRoom closed/rebranded casino tour!! Since we try to overnight at casinos when we can, our first casino stop was the Century Casino in Cape Girardeau, MO (formally Isle of Capri Cape G). What a cool little casino!! We did well there and even hit them up for a few racks of sweet fracks!!

View attachment 696511

Our next stop was the Century Casino in Caruthersville (formally the Lady Luck casino). While I would love to share a picture of the place with ya’ll, I got frustrated and forgot to take one. We arrived at the casino at 2:30 on Thursday afternoon, only to find out that the casino doesn’t open till 4:00 on Thursday’s…..WTF!!

So we pressed on and headed to Tunica, MS. We pulled up to the Horseshoe Casino to gamble and spend the night…..and what did I notice as I walked thru the parking lot?? Yup, you guessed it, the Roadhouse Casino that was in the process of being demolished.

View attachment 696514

So based on our pass travels, it would appear we are destined to stop at Caesars Southern Indiana (formally Horseshoe Southern Indiana) and the Hard Rock Cincinnati (formally JACK Cincinnati) on our way back home. However, I know one thing for sure….we will NOT be stopping at the Kash Casino in Mexico City!!

Love the trip updates!

Roadhouse has been closed for the about 18 months at this point. The hotel being closed isn't a huge loss as it was in desperate need of a makeover. Next time your passing through Tunica let me know. I'm about 30 minutes away so it's an easy hop over or your always welcome to stop by for a beer or two.
 
Bought cottage in St Helen Michigan this summer. Great fishing, bonfires, kayaking,View attachment 502814 built a picnic table. Great family getaway 2.25 hour drive. Best entertainment money I’ve ever spent.

We will have a poker weekend up here in September, in planning stages now.

View attachment 502801View attachment 502802View attachment 502803View attachment 502804View attachment 502805View attachment 502806View attachment 502807View attachment 502808View attachment 502809View attachment 502810View attachment 502811
My grandparents had a place on Lake St. Helen. Spent most of my summers on the lake. Great memories!
 
We have been home for a few weeks and I'm finally getting around to posting my final vacation pics.

As predicted here, our RV adventures made a stop in Caesars in Southern Indiana. This turned out to be a pretty cool casino!!
Caesars.jpg


Then we headed to the Hard Rock in Cincinnati. The casino was still under lots of construction for the change over. And that crazy state of Ohio had full Covid restrictions on....mandatory face masks, plexiglass up between players on BJ and craps, cage surface wipe down between every transaction, etc.....cumbersome for sure.....
hard rock garage.jpg
hard rock front.jpg


More casinos updates later this fall when we jump back in the RV and head out east for lobster and gaming!! :tup::)
 
Long week-end on the mountains of Epirus, North-western Greece.
Altitude makes up for lattitude, so "normal" (i.e. southern, coastal) Greek summer just never arrives here.
Forrests with Canadian and Russian levels of wolf and bear populations.:)
Aoos 1.jpg
Aoos 2.jpg
Aoos3.jpg
Aoos 4.jpg
Metsovo Grand Forrest.jpg
Metsovo St George.jpg
Metsovo St George 2.jpg
Metsovo St George 3.jpg


Older, autumn picture of St George's yard in Metsovo
Church_of_St._George,_Metsovo.jpg


Averov winery.
The poor man was named Avyeris and immigrated to Imperial Russia in the 18th century, to become a billionaire. His surname was Russian-ized to Avyerov and ended up as Averov back in Ottoman-occupied Epirus.
He could have lived in St Petersburg or Vienna at the time, spending the equivalent of today's $100K per month just for fun.
He came back to Metsovo, his village, and his grandson donated most of the family's fortune to the Hellenic Royal Navy, for the latter to acquire the name-sake cutting-edge armoured cruiser (1910).

Their vineyard is situated at 1,050 meters of altitude, the highest in Greece and among the highest in the world; the already small yield of Cabernet Sauvignon and local Vlahico is decimated by the bears, who, nevertheless, eat the grapes discreetely and delicately, without harming the plants themselves).
Averov winery.jpg



End of trip: The Ottoman fortress of Bizani, protecting the provincial capital Yannina from the only possible invasion route (the south; since all other three directions are covered by huge mountain ranges).
This complex of serious fortifications was designed and overseen by General von der Goltz, of the Imperial German Army, the German Empire having always been a staunch ally of the Ottoman one.
Upon the completion of the works, General von der Goltz proudly declared that "this is going to be Greece's tombstone".
Greek Artillery and Light Infantry men proved him wrong in February 1913 (so, my grandparents ceased to be subjects of the Ottoman Sultan).
Bizani.jpg
Bizani2.jpg


Nice Ottoman gun emplacement.
Ottoman heavy artillery consisted mainly of German 150mm guns, whereas Greek heavy artillery consisted of French 155mm guns, at the time.
Bizani3.jpg


Edit: @AK Chip this is about bears man! (among other things) :) :)
 
Last edited:

Create an account or login to comment

You must be a member in order to leave a comment

Create account

Create an account and join our community. It's easy!

Log in

Already have an account? Log in here.

Back
Top Bottom
Cart