October 26th, 2009 pt.1

After our farewells to TwilightError and ErrorWife, we rode south…for about 10 miles to Foxwoods Casino.  We had left early in the morning so we killed some time at the library near the casino.  I plugged myself in to get caught up with the ride report while Amanda went out to have a cat nap out on the grass…a short while later she came in to tell me what had happened.

“I was lying out on the grass in front of the City Hall, (which was closed on Mondays, and it was a Monday!)  which was in the same parking lot so to speak, as the library, so I thought I wouldn’t be disturbed. But however that was not the case! I fell asleep on the grass right beside the stairs that lead into the City Hall because I was exhausted and the stairs provided some shade and it was early enough in the morning.  Then I heard a few cars, which was normal because the Library was open, but on the other hand it was early and the Library was on the other side of the parking lot, and these cars and people seemed awfully close! I had my helmet on because it was acting like a pillow and sun protection from my face, because if you hadn’t noticed I’m a very Fair Lady, and I burn very easily! So anyway, I guess they were having elections and so there were people coming in and out of the City Hall to get campaign signs.  By the time I woke up and noticed that they were walking up the stairs, and that I felt very awkward for being asleep on the grass there, it was too late to move so I just pretended I was still asleep and they left me alone. When they left I moved over to a different patch of grass that was a little farther from the City Hall and the library, but I wasn’t as close to our bikes with all our stuff on it, but I did put my head in a certain direction so I could see the bikes, and I could just wake up and look to see if anyone was bothering them.   Also, I’m sure Will was keeping an eye on them from a window inside the library. So I went to sleep again. The next time I awoke it was because someone or something had hit my helmet. Now I’m normally a light sleeper, but today of all days to have a deep sleep, I was so tired that I would’ve had to be hit to wake up. Thank God I was not on the bike! (Don’t worry I wouldn’t ride in that condition Mom!  She reads the thread twice a day ;)  So I woke up and of course I thought Will was trying to wake me up, but he doesn’t normally do so in such an abrupt manner. So I finally (I know you’re just itching to find out what or who it was, I’m getting there.) As I was saying, so I finally woke up and looked around while I was still lying on the ground, (again expecting it to be Will,) but it was a Police Officer. He was asking me if I was ok. He said that he had been calling out to me, but I didn’t respond, so he thought I was dead!   Now on a little side note, I did see a sign on the right side of the City Hall that said ‘Resident Trooper’ , but I didn’t pay it much attention because I thought to myself, (maybe I should of thought longer, but I was really tired!) If he was working there at the present time there would be a cop car, or that he’s gone for the day. But I wasn’t hurting anyone, but I guess I did give him quite a scare! I felt bad; he did actually live there, could you imagine coming home to a dead body on your front lawn?  Because that’s what he thought.   Anyway, this story is getting long, only because it was a crazy experience for me. He drilled me for a while, and asked me why I didn’t respond, I told him I was really tired and on a bike trip and my boyfriend was in the library on the computer catching up with family. He asked where we were from, I told him Toronto, Ontario, and we did have the correct license plate to back that up. (Unless he had never seen one before, because Canadians are a strange breed you know LOL! He could have thought that they were fake license plates and that we were on the run from the law trying to stay under the radar. But you never know what was going through his head, he thought I was dead!) Wow I just reread that last part, I do have a wild imagination, and I just made myself laugh, that’s hilarious!  Anyway, he drilled me for a while and then he advised me to do what we need to do in the library and then move on. He was gone again by the time Will and I left, so we got out of there as quickly as possible so we didn’t have to see him again. What a day that was, and that was just the beginning!”

Foxwoods was quite impressive being out in the middle of nowhere.  You’d be riding along and then BOOM; there it is.  We were on a tight budget, but we couldn’t walk into a casino without spending a little bit of money…

Finding parking was no problem on a weekday

One of the sculptures inside

One of the things I noticed as soon as I stepped in was the wide variety of different ethnicities…well let me put it this way…I felt like I was in Chinatown.  The Chinese sure love their gambling let me tell ya.  For the most part of the trip so far we were in areas that were populated predominately by white folk.  Not that there’s anything wrong with white folk, I just noticed for the first time that I blended in and Amanda stuck out like a sore thumb. 

Pick a card!  Any card!

The Theatre District inside Foxwoods

Come on!  Big money!  Big money!

Didn't think it would move...but it did...and yep...it startled me.

After a few pulls at the slots we called it a day and headed down to Uncasville to meet AkaRob.  In case you were wondering…I was up…$1…Amanda was down…$1.

Feeling out of place.

Grandma using her pension.

Do you speak engrish?