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Happy Birthday Kenny!

Kenny and I took off for a long weekend to Hot Springs.

{It had been a long time since we had gone out of town just the 2 of us.}

ABOUT THE FOOD: Before we left we did research on restaurants - nothing like planning a weekend away around food! Reading reviews on Trip Advisor {I think that's right} really helped us find what we wanted. We ended up eating some really good food in places with great atmosphere.

We ate, what they called Latin American food, at Rolando's which was delish and probably our favorite. We also had Italian at Belle Arti which was good and in a wonderful old building downtown but probably too busy which is what you get when you choose a highly recommended Italian restaurant on Saturday, February 13th! Our last evening we had Chicago-style pizza at Rocky's which was a great sports bar right across the street from the track. It was packed, busy and loud, but it was suppose to be. I had the bianco pizza which had an alfredo sauce, chicken, spinach, and topped with Parmesan. delish! . But, the main reason we were in Hot Springs in February is that it is race season! And when you are at the track in Hot Springs, you eat corn beef. Kenny said he started to take a picture of me trying to eat my huge Reuben but thought I would rather he didn't. I should have taken a picture of me just holding the box that they served it in before I attacked it! YUMMY!!

ABOUT DAY ONE: After leaving really cold weather and multiple days of rain or snow, we were really excited that the forecast for Saturday was SUNNY! It was a gorgeous day. We had awesome seats because Kenny made friends, and we ended up sitting in reserved seating on the finish line.

I learned alot about racing, wagering, horses, jockeys, track conditions, positioning, and luck! Kenny and I had a blast making decisions about our wagers and then cheering on "our" horse. One of the best payoffs I had was winning against Kenny and him having to go stand in line to buy lunch. Amazingly, we also won some money!

I also got to wander around with my camera. It was a fabulous day to take pictures outside. As usual, I think I am taking a crazy amount of pictures but later wish I had taken more! The jockeys were such fabulous clothes and the horses were amazing. ABOUT DAY TWO: Initially, we had not planned to go back to the track, but we had such a good time we decided to go back. The weather was completely different than the previous day. By the time we got to our seats {thanks to our new friend Connie}, it had started to snow. No standing on the rail today and minimal outside photos. Our luck, much like the weather, was not as good either. Although in the end, I came out even which is pretty good for 2 days full of fun. I think it is funny that there is a TON of information about these horses, jockeys, trainers, owners. There are "tip sheets" that advertise their percent of winning picks. There is a whole T.V. channel kinda like ESPN SportsCenter. But even with all of that, the last two races were won by a horse that was 70-1 and then 90-1. It really snowed and if the temperature had not reached 50 the day before there probably would have been significant accumulation. Instead it was melting and the track quickly became muddy and the official track condition was changed to "sloppy". I would have never known that their are horses that are rated higher on "sloppy" tracks and horses that are considered "snowbirds". It was a whole new experience! The regulars who we sat in front of were a wealth of knowledge and loved that I was a newbie. ABOUT LEAVING TOWN: Kenny and I had a fabulous time and decided it shouldn't be so long before we get out of town again! And as soon as I say that, I think, Carly would have loved the track. I would not have been able to get her away from the paddock or the rail.