California West Coast Adventure

Day 291 on the road.
Firehouse Coffee Co., Laughlin

It's hot outside and so today's main goal is stay inside. The Firehouse Coffee Company is quiet today with just a few folks eating a light lunch. I'm enjoying the time trying to catch up on some planning, writing, reading, and resting.

I've put in more than 160 hours of poker this month in eight different poker rooms, including three trips to Las Vegas. I've had one tooth pulled, met four Canadians, changed the oil in my car, observed drunken college students on a late night river taxi ride, become intimate with the Las Vegas rail system, flopped a straight flush at the Red Rock, heard a country band play before a mob on Fremont street, discovered that blending cranberry juice and pineapple juice is a good idea, and laughed often with guys like Bruce, Lee, and Tim.

It's been an interesting month in the desert. But I'm ready to hit the road again.

I will drive to Las Vegas on Monday and stay there until Wednesday. On Wednesday I head west to Bakersfield, California. On Thursday I'll be in Solvang, a Dutch community founded in 1911. I've had many people talk about Solvang, so I'm going to check it out. Once in Solvang, I'm not sure of my plans. The Chumash Casino Resort is near Solvang, and so I'll be checking out the poker room there. I might decide to just hit the infamous coastal Highway 101 and drive north along the California coast until I run out of money for gas.

By this time next week, I'll be on the Pacific Ocean thinking about what to do next.

Marathon Man

Day 290 on the road.
Starbucks, Aquarius Casino, Laughlin

My Memorial Day weekend was like a scene from the movie, "Marathon Man." I'm just now getting over it.

"Marathon Man", one of my favorite movies, starred Dustin Hoffman and Laurence Olivier and was released in 1976. Directed by John Schlesinger from the screenplay by William Goldman (who also wrote the novel), the story features Olivier as a Nazi war criminal who loves to torture people with the kindness of a grandfather. Hoffman is innocently caught up in a search for diamonds when his brother (played by "Jaws" star Roy Scheider) ends up dead in his apartment. Olivier wants his diamonds and he believes Hoffman knows where to find them.

When Olivier kidnaps Hoffman, one of the most infamous torture scenes in film history unfolds. Olivier finds a cavity in Hoffman's tooth and begins to stick and probe until he finds just the right nerve.

Everyone can relate to tooth pain. That's why this particular torture scene is so riveting.

On the Thursday before Memorial Day I developed a tooth ache. At first it wasn't severe, but by Saturday it was clear I needed immediate help. I did not sleep Friday night at all. The over-the-counter pain killers at Walgreens were worthless, so I sat up Friday night thinking about the movie "Marathon Man."

On Saturday I was scheduled to stay in Boulder City. I drove there thinking I might be able to find a dentist office open. I was delusional, of course, in so much pain my brain was preoccupied with keeping me from jumping off the Hoover Dam into the Colorado River. On Memorial Day weekend no dentist was going to be available.

As I sat there in downtown Boulder City at the Starbucks, drinking nothing, I knew I needed relief. There was no way I could wait until Tuesday (Monday being a holiday) to find a dentist. Therefore I went to the Boulder City Hospital emergency room to buy some drugs.

After a 45 minute visit and paying $385 in cash, I walked out with a prescription for Hydrocodone and an infection medicine. I went to my motel in Boulder City, took the meds, and spent the next 24 hours in bed.

Back in Laughlin on Tuesday I found a nice dentist (thanks, Dr. Larsen) and he finally ended the torture. I had an upper molar pulled and will later have a root canal done on another tooth.

But for now, I'm at least getting back to normal.