Spin the wheel, roll the dice, and take a gamble.

While venturing out of town on our summer Abercrombie family road trip, Mr. Chicken Fry had a bright idea.

Instead of driving straight through from Texas to Florida, why not break it up!?!?  Seemed logical to me.  He ponied up and offered a two stop shop suggesting one over night stay in Shreveport, LA and 4 nights in Orange Beach, Alabama before our final destination of Seaside, Florida.    Click on these links to see where we stayed,  what we did and basically how much fun we had.

My eye brows went up and I checked Mr. Chicken Fry’s forehead for fever. Did you just really suggest an overnight pit stop in Shreveport, LA, home of the river boat casinos?  Really, Bossier City?

Y’all,  I had not been to Shreveport since forever ago.  Like 21 years just after Chicken Fry and I began dating.  If my memory serves me right, I recall my experience was trashy, smokey and narley to the max.

I quickly poo-pooed the idea until he showed me Margaritaville.  Jimmy’ Buffett’s Mararitavilla hotel and casino.  The pictures on the internet were shockingly attractive…for a nights stay.  I was not expecting to see a hotel pool and bar, spa, gym, spacious rooms, restaurants and clean casino.  So sure…why not!

Carpe casino.

Rollin up to this hotel I was immediately impressed.  It looked tropical and sort of set the mood for vacation mentality.  It is also quite possible I had lowered my bar so incredibly low that even a Motel 6 would have looked good, but nonetheless, I was a-okay with the location.

We checked in and stretched our legs!  First, I wanted to take a gander at the GYM!  Hot dignity dog y’all.

Not bad!  This workout space was mirrored, clean and overlooked the pool which was decent!  I was feeling LUCKY already!  Like I said I wasn’t expecting the Four Seasons. The pool was much smaller in real life but the outdoor pool bar, The Busted Coconut, was super cute. The pool overlooked the river which gives it some charm. Granted it wasn’t blue water but it was cute.  The music was blaring Buffett tunes and it started to feel like vacation. I was digging it.

The downside was that unfortunately the swimming pool and bar area would only open to folks 21 years and older past 6pm.  DANG!  The look on the teen queens face was sadness.  While we could, we sat outside and enjoyed a shaved ice and glass of prosecco.

Time to look around. Let’s visit the spa. It was about 5:45pm and the spa was closing! Also a total boo moment was the realization that the teen queen could not get a spa treatment.   This was super disappointing but as it turns out no one under the age of 21 is allowed to receive treatments.  I would soon learn that rules of a hotel casino are very strict. (as they should be)

Well…so we decided to freshen up and check out the dinner situation.  Surly people under the age of 21 are allowed to eat!  At this point we were joined by some family.  My cousin, and her hubby along with their two kids ages 15 and 18 heard we were stopping and they couldn’t get to us fast enough.  DUH…follow the Abercrombie’s equals follow the fun!  At least the teen queen would had friends!!!  As a group we collectively chose the  Riverview Brew House restaurant on the property located as you would imagine, right on the river. Look at this view.

Pretty cool right. The food was as great as was the ambiance. Margaritavilla had four restaurants on the property to choose from. There was a swanky steak house called Jimmy’s!  Also, there was a super cool looking Asian/Japanese style cuisine, Bamboo and Like most casinos there was also a standard buffet style joint that was open for breakfast lunch and dinner. I can tell you that ALL of the restaurants and events on site are SUPER CASUAL!  This isn’t glitzy or glam…it’s not VEGAS!  The place was not crowded at all but keep in mind, we were there mid week, mid Summer.

After our filling meal we took the kids to the room with a deck of cards and their technologies.  Sorry kids,  adult play time will begin!

I gotta tell ya I’m not a lover of gambling. I work way to hard to blow my money!  I basically take out $50 lay it on the craps table and roll the dice for about an hour. If I win I walk away if I lose I walk away. I can’t stand to lose my money. Not to mention casinos are just scummy. This was a non smoking casino and quite clean feeling if that’s even possible. The whole casino area was encased by a 12 foot glass wall. It was super secure and strict. The kids were not even allowed to walk past the ID desk.
Mr. Chicken Dry on the other hand loves it!  He’s a card guy. He can sit at a black jack table for hours. 🙄. He’s actually pretty good at it. Maybe its my lack of math skills….NAH, I just don’t like to lose money!

I gambled for almost two hours. At one point I had doubled my money. I was up a whole $100. But as casinos do,  it sucked back $80 before I called it quits. The way I look it is I had two hours of entertaining fun with my cousin and made $30. WHOO-HOO!
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Mr. Chicken Fry was hot!  He killed it!

 

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The moral of this post is…sometimes YOU need to venture out of the comfort zone.  Take a vacation out of your cozy or stifling four wall box and do something DIFFERENT.  It’s A-ok to lower the bar and let life surprise you!  

I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that some of yall can relate to my yucky memory of the trashy riverboat casino experience.  You tried working out way back yander and you hated it.  All you can think about is how miserable and sweaty you were.  How hard it was to breathe and gain traction.  Well TRY AGAIN.  Roll the dice, shuffle the deck and try a new way to workout.  Hire a trainer or plug into a group training class so you aren’t alone. Get outside with a hip upbeat play list!    I have a FITastic virtual FITness program that gurantees results! ⇐⇐ Spin the wheel and give it a chance.  

Lastly, if you’re hankering to get away or desperate for a quick get away, get outta town venture, Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville Hotel and Casino wasn’t bad!  From Dallas, Texas to Shreveport is exactly 189 miles and the hotel is right off of the highway.   Make it a fun girls or couples trip.  If you are a high roller make sure to check out Ernest’s Orleans Restaurant.  It is a 60 year old traditional seafood place with a dark, cozy speak easy kind of vibe. Live music, crab claws, and a free glass of wine with every entree!

Lastly, Margaritaville, is located right next to movie theatre and shopping mall right on the riverwalk.   When the Texas temperatures drop the boardwalk would be great for a power stroll.  The hotel hosts shows and concerts that would be worth looking into and could make a weekend worth the while. Margaritaville, hands down, blows Choctaw and Winstar out of the water.   Just remember to leave the kids at home because there is basically nothing for anyone 21 years or younger to do.

If you are feeling lucky, take a chance and have some fun and try your hand at FITness.  I changed my mind about Shreveport and you just might feel the same way about exercise.  The chips are not stacked against you.  You can beat the odds.  With some dicipline and consistency, the weight will fall off and you walk away a WINNER!  LUCKY for you, my FITness program includes a meal plan!  The stakes are high because I’m talking about your health here. Relax.  Invest a small amount of time.  Start with 15 minutes and work your way up so you don’t crap out.  You are ACE high.  Make it rain girl, make it rain.  I’m BETTING you can do whatever you put your mind to! You’re a winner!

Love, roll the dice and don’t think twice!

Angi

xo 

Here is a quick workout I did in the hotel room. I didn’t have time to hit the gym. 

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