Another Trip to the Horseshoe

Miss Donna had the itch, and when Miss Donna has the itch, there's nothing to do but throw the old girl in the car and get her to a casino as quickly as possible.

We left last Saturday morning and made our leisurely way across the state to Longview. We lived in Longview for a brief time before purchasing a home in Kilgore, where we remained until we retired in 2011. But while in Kilgore, Longview was our main shopping town being only a few minutes from Kilgore.

Along our route east, we were amazed by all the water. We saw water standing in the fields, and stock tanks were full. As we crossed Whitney Dam, only the tops of shelters over picnic tables were visible in the parks on either side of the lake. Water was being released downstream. Everything was lush and green for this time of year.

Donna had been talking recently about Fisherman's Market, a favorite of ours during our time in the area. We decided to make it to Longview and spend the night there, enabling us to have a nice meal at Fisherman's Market. The restaurant is located in an out-of-the-way strip center, and it has a faux New Orleans feel and look about it. As you approach the entrance, you can hear the zydeco music playing, and that certainly gets you in the mood for some Louisiana style seafood. You order at a counter and your food is delivered to your table. Donna ordered one of her favorites, a dozen raw oysters. She also had half a pound of boiled shrimp. I opted for a fried shrimp dinner. Both of us enjoyed our meals.

Exterior of Fisherman's Market

A dozen raw oysters for Miss Donna. I enjoy putting cocktail sauce on crackers as a snack while Miss Donna gobbles down her oysters.

Half a pound of boiled shrimp.

Half a dozen fried shrimp with cole slaw and steak fries.

Interior of Fisherman's Market

We had a nice comfortable night in our hotel in north Longview. After a good breakfast the next morning, we headed towards Shreveport/Bossier City (SBC). We opted for a leisurely drive along US 80 rather than using the interstate. We hoped to see some color, but there really wasn't much. Most of the best fall color in East Texas appears between Thanksgiving and Christmas, so we were a bit early.

Once in Shreveport, we headed to Sam's Town for a while. There is a progressive Deuces Wild game we play there, but we were having no luck so we did not stay long. We then crossed the Red River into Bossier City and checked into our room at the Horseshoe.

After settling into our room, we made our way to the casino. For those of you who have never been to SBC, 5 of the 6 casinos there are riverboats. The casinos themselves are actually on the riverboats, while their accompanying hotels, restaurants, and other facilities are on land. Thus, for most casinos there, the riverboats and land-based facilities are connected by a ramp. You can always tell how high -- or low -- the river is by the ramp. If you have to walk down the ramp into the casino, the river is down; if you walk up the ramp into the casino, the river is up. The picture below shows the condition of the river from the perspective of the 'Shoe.

That's a pretty good slope heading up the ramp into the 'Shoe. The river was way up, probably higher than I've ever seen it.

Photo of Shreveport across the Red River from the 'Shoe. Taken from our room on the 11th floor. Notice how high the river is, especially on the railroad bridge in lower left of picture. The other bridge is the Texas Street automobile bridge. Tall buildings to right are Eldorado and Sam's Town hotel. On their left are buildings of downtown Shreveport.

Margaritaville and Louisiana Boardwalk on Bossier City side of river. Margaritaville is the only land-based casino along the river in the SBC area.

I zoomed in a bit for this shot of the Red River. Notice how high the water is on the pylons of the Texas Street bridge. You can also see the riverboats along river at bottom of Sam's Town hotel at left of picture. 

On Monday, we got our and visited Boomtown and Diamond Jack's casinos, also on the Bossier City side of the river. We like to visit these places from time to time to see if their game inventories have changed at all. As usual, they had not changed, so we didn't put a single penny into their machines. We used to play Boomtown a lot, especially when it was Casino Magic, but we've never played Diamond Jack's much (formerly Isle of Capri).

Tail end of Boomtown riverboat. Notice how high the river is along the opposite bank.

We followed this outing with a visit to Posado's for some Mexican food. We had a pleasant meal and returned to the 'Shoe.

On Tuesday, we ventured out to Ralph and Kacoo's, which has become our favorite eating place in the area. It is located very close to the 'Shoe, so it is very convenient, and perhaps that is one reason we like it so much. Regardless, we had another nice meal there. Donna enjoyed a salad and gumbo, while I continued my practice of trying something new each visit and sampling their crab au gratin with a Cajun stuffed potato. The crab au gratin is crab meat in seasoned white wine cream sauce, topped with cheese and baked.

Unassuming exterior of Ralph and Kacoo's, with I-20 in background.

Donna's salad and gumbo.

My crab au gratin and Cajun baked potato.

Interior of Ralph and Kacoo's.

We also enjoyed the buffet at the 'Shoe one day. It has one of the better seafood buffets in the area, and Donna especially enjoys this. I think she sampled just about everything on the seafood side, such as boiled shrimp and mussels. I concentrated on salad, soup, Chinese, and a few other things. We both enjoyed their wonderful bread pudding topped with ice cream.

Overall, we simply relaxed and stayed mostly at the 'Shoe. The video poker games there are not particularly good, but we enjoy the relaxed atmosphere, good drink service, and comfortable rooms. As long as our rooms continue to be comped, we will probably play there. At this stage of our lives, we find it enjoyable to sit at good machines, sip an adult beverage, and listen to music while trying to beat the odds. Although we rarely come away winners here, we have a good time.

We left early on Wednesday for the long drive home. We stopped in Brownwood as we often do for lunch at Prima Pasta, but I must admit I was disappointed with this place this time. It certainly was good to get back home.