Flying home from another March Madness trip - only this time we didn’t go to Vegas. I flew into New York City  on Thursday (I got up at 3am and drove to Indianapolis for my flight). Mark picked me up and drove into Manhattan. Mark worked while I met my Aunt for lunch. Mark and I met up when his school day ended and drove back to Brooklyn, found a place to eat and watch games. Elisa met us for dinner, then went home and made us cookies for our Friday trip. We stayed behind and watched Butler dismantle Syracuse, West Virginia over Washington, Kentucky beat Cornell and then Kansas State in a double overtime classic over Xavier. We didn’t bet the games, but I’m first in the big pool I enter ($1600 for first place), so I had a lot to root for.

Friday we made our way to Hamden, Connecticut and went to lunch with my Mom while Mark met with his mom and sister. Then we drove to Uncasville to meet up with Ezra, Ben and Andy at a hotel near the Mohegan Sun casino. The hotel was nice - we had a large room with two queen beds and a pullout couch. We took the hotel shuttle to the casino to eat dinner and watch the games. This weekend there also happened to be Bon Jovi concerts Friday and Saturday, so the place was packed with big hair and tight jeans on women whose tight jeans days had long since passed. We settled on Michael Jordan’s Steakhouse and after a wait and some bickering with the hostess, we found a booth that suited us. This night we had figured out a way to bet on the games (a guy Ben knew named John - or maybe Mike), so we rooted for Northern Iowa over Michigan State, Tennessee to beat Ohio State, Purdue over Duke, and Baylor over St. Mary’s. Only NIU and Purdue didn’t cover. We had the over in the Duke/Purdue game and for most of the game it didn’t look good. They finally managed to hit 127 - which was what we thought was the exact number, so we were satisfied with a push, but when we got back to the room, it turned out we got 126 - so we covered by a point! 

A girl that Ben has just started seeing showed up (she and a friend were headed Bon Jovi). Good to see Ben feeling good about his situation - he seems happy. After the games Ezra and lost money quickly at blackjack and went back to the room.

Saturday we found a community center in Stonington to play basketball. They were also holding a farmer’s market which prompted Mark to utter the gayest line of the weekend, “Can I tell you how crazy I am about mango chutney?” After basketball, Andy, Ben, Mark and I went to the pool and Ezra found a local place for a massage. It was called Shogun and he said it smelled like a pet food store. There were security cameras at the entrance and a movie playing loudly in Chinese in the next room. Regardless, he gave the massage a B+/A-. Andy and Ben spent the rest of the weekend speculating whether or not Ezra could’ve gotten a “happy ending.”

I went with Andy to the casino - me to look for gifts; him to play poker. I didn’t find anything, but I ordered pizza for us from Pepe’s for dinner. We couldn’t find the shuttle (despite Mark yelling at the front desk), so Ben picked me up and as a courtesy, the hotel heated up our pizza. We watched two games in our room as Butler beat Kansas State and West Virginia shocked Kentucky. We did pretty well on our bets and all ended up about $100, which basically paid for the room. 

After games we went back to the casino, but we couldn’t find any cheap tables. I lost some more quickly at blackjack. Ezra and Andy played poker, but Mark and I went back to the room.

This morning we went to Herb’s Country Store & Deli for breakfast - an awesome little place that ironically just happened to employ the same girl we complained about at Micheal Jordan’s Steakhouse as its cook. We talked at length with the family that owns it - a Jewish family in Uncasville. I bought the last “Herb’s” t-shirt, but didn’t realize until I turned the package over that it also had a bald eagle, American flag, NY skyline with the World Trade Center and “They Woke a Sleeping Giant” beneath! I gave it to Mark and he exchanged it.

We left there and met my brother, nephew, and mom for a quick visit in Hamden. Mark dropped me back at LGA and I’m wondering if Duke pulled out a win. If so, I just may win $1600!

I’ve got a two and a half hour drive back to Evansville, but I can’t wait to get home and cuddle up with my girls!