(Listening to “The Gambler” by Kenny Rogers)

The wife and I went to Black Hawk, CO…overnight…without kids.  It’s the first time we’ve gone anywhere alone since our youngest was born, so that’s about a year-and-a-half.  It was awesome!

People used to go to Black Hawk to strike it rich. Gold was discovered in May of 1859 and thousands of prospectors flocked to the area; but like a lot of gold rush towns, it faded into history around the turn of the century.  Thanks to a 1990 statewide referendum allowing casino gambling in Black Hawk, people are once again trying to strike it rich in the mountains of Gilpin County.

Black Hawk is a site to see.  As you’re driving on state highway 119, it’s pitch black and you’re wondering where this winding road into the mountains is leading.  Then, it hits you like a pot of gold; neon lights and towering casinos.  You can almost smell the buffets and hear the slot machines as you roll into town.  Black Hawk is home to Monarch Casino, The Lodge Casino, Lady Luck Casino, Golden Gates Casino, Golden Mardi Gras Casino, the 30-plus story Ameristar Casino, and many others.  There are more casinos in Black Hawk’s 1.95 square miles than there are in Atlantic City, NJ.

The idea for this trip was born a little while back. The wife and I were sitting on our couch, looking at our phones, and she said,  “You know, we should really buy more experiences and less things.  Do you think we’ll really remember these phones, or our iPad, or a DVD player?  No.  We’ll remember the stuff we did.”  I agreed and we started talking about what we wanted to do.

We came up with a lot of ideas to do as a family, but we also made sure to think about some things we wanted to do with just us.  That’s important.  It’s easy to get caught in the routine of work, kids, bedtime, housework, wash, rinse, and repeat.  Pretty soon we’d realize a few weeks or a month had gone by and we hadn’t taken any time for us.  It’s not on purpose, it just happens.  Life gets busy and we just forget.

As we were talking, I said, “I got it!  Let’s go to Black Hawk!”

“Yes!” she replied, and in the next couple of days she had the whole thing planned.  She booked us a room at the Lady Luck Casino and found an overnight babysitter for the kids.  Black Hawk or bust!

It’s fitting our getaway would be to a casino as they do play a small role in our relationship.  We’ve always enjoyed gaming together.  We met on a connecting flight in Las Vegas.  I was living in Reno at the time and she was living in Minnesota.  When she would come out to visit, we’d go out on the town to the El Dorado.  When we go visit family in Minnesota and Wisconsin, there are casinos nearby we like to visit.  I’m a craps and blackjack guy.  I learned how to play on a riverboat in Sioux City, IA.  The wife likes to play slot machines and she’s been known to pull up a chair at a blackjack table from time to time.  She’ll also take your money in a house game of Michigan Rummy if you’re not careful.   Gambling is something we like to do together, so this trip was the perfect idea.

We had a great time.  We drove up on Saturday night, treated ourselves to a buffet, played some table games, had a couple of drinks, went to bed late, and slept in…basically everything we don’t do as parents.  And that was the point…just be us, have fun, and miss the kids.  We did all three.  We even lost a few bucks, but really, we came out ahead.  We spent quality time together doing something we enjoy and you can’t put a price on that.

More experiences, less things.