I love my life... I hate poker....

What a weekend.

The good –

I took my baby down the road a bit and we spent our weekend being all touristy in Niagara Falls. We had a blast. Yes we got misted by the falls. No! No one made me go over it in a barrel and YES! We got one of those rooms with a great big Jacuzzi tub and the amazing falls view. ;o)

We also stumbled across two fantastic restaurants and had some of the best Mexican and Brazilian meals we’ve had in a very long time. The Burrito at Taco & Tequila’s was by far, the best Burrito I’ve ever bought in a restaurant. The atmosphere of the place helps to actually make you feel like you’re a lot farther South than just Niagara too. Great tunes, a raised floor, open patio feel and a view of the street and everything that’s going on. I will warn you that just like Mexico, it’s a little hard on the eyes when it comes to too close of an inspection for cleanliness. But again, it’s basically an indoor patio.

Dinner was at the Copa Cabana. If you’re in Niagara, don’t miss this one. We went in around 8:00pm and almost immediately, the band started playing. Some Salsa and Meringue were definitely on tap for Peb’s and I, as the boys really had a hot Latin beat going on that night. Speaking of on tap, this was also another chance for Peb’s to wash down her food with one of her favorite cocktails of choice, the Brazilian specialty, Caipirinha. It’s one of those drinks that really need’s to be made the right way to be good. Judging by the look on her face at first taste and the added happy factor after, I’d say the bartenders there were getting it done right. So we drank, we ate and we certainly danced the night away. All on a beautiful outdoor patio dancefloor, that we often only shared with one other couple. Like us, they obviously didn't want to waste the moment either. And we could really see the love in their eyes as they danced.

In our rush to get the weekend going as soon as possible, it was highways all the way down to the falls. It does make for a quick trip for sure but, it’s all business and the view really tends to suck. So on the way home, I took us off on a little detour. OK, a huge detour! Having been born basically dead center of the two, (Bedrock and Niagara) I have a lot of local knowledge of the back road routes you can use to get away from it all. So that’s what we did. We back roaded it through as much of our beautiful countryside as we could. As we drove along, I realized that I’d forgotten two very cool things. How truly breathtaking some of our country really is and, how much I enjoy talking with my wife and seeing her so happy.

We didn’t really need to be talking about anything in particular to be honest, but we got on one topic that had our full attention, and the discussion was amazing! I will keep my promise and keep our little secrets to myself here but one thing I know for sure, we have a few big surprises in store in the not too distant future. We got on a roll as we’re sometimes known to do and usually when that happens, some pretty fun things can happen along the way is all I’m ready to say for now.

The bad –

When we got back home yesterday, Peb’s wanted to fire up a game of poker. She jumped into a game that she’s been crushing of late and settled in for what was hopefully, going to be a long afternoon of on-line cards. Turns out it was too but then there was, “the miss-click.” Coming down to final table, Peb’s had a dominating hand to what appeared to be an obvious draw. Wanting to get the player off his draw, Peb’s decided to make a bet that he just wouldn’t see worth the chase. Long story short, he was allowed to come along for free and of course, he hit his draw. Both of their hands were very strong after the river, his was just stronger and she was money bubble-girl.

I asked her to leave it up for me, as I was feeling kind of “pokery” myself. Then I went on the FullTilt express to hell, as one by one and over and over again, I lost monster pots on a river card. Boat over Boat, the Nut Flush cracked by an 8 high flush, turned into straight Flush. Pocket Aces turned into a set on the flop, improved to nut Boat on the Turn loses to Quads on the river. Then a poooshfest specialist jamming the pot for the 5th. time in a row on my BB. He gets two callers and I am holding A-A. The quadruple up seems appealing to me and I stick my money into the middle. My opponents who are all in are holding, 2-2, 4-4 and A-2. Flop = crap. Turn = crap but the river….. case deuce of course.

5 games, 5 finishes within 3 spots of the money including 2 money bubbles and an unreal, 5 losses on the river while at least a 4:1 favorite. So rigged!

I’m glad I had a great weekend otherwise…… ‘cause the dinner time Donkery yesterday evening, could’ve seriously tilted me any other time.

My sincerest thanks for dropping by….