Ishnala and Ho Chunk Casino

 Just got back from an overnight outing, complete with dinner at Ishnala, gambling at Ho-Chunk, overnight at the Ho-Chunk motel, and breakfast at Paul Bunyan's in the Dells.

First, dinner at Ishnala:

Arrived there about 5:00. Place was packed. (Sister) Dawn and I had to wait 1.5 hours for a table. Had a couple of Old Fashioned cocktails to pass the time and sat outside on one of the decks overlooking Mirror Lake.

For dinner, I had twin lobster tails, wedge salad, and baked potato. For dessert, key lime pie. Dawn had a beef filet with deep fried shrimp and au gratin potato. All delicious. Service was superb. Neither of us had been to Ishnala in years. Our dad, Howard, used to occasionally tend bar there when it was owned by the Hoffman brothers, whose photos are still up on wall just inside the entrance. 

Next stop, Ho-Chunk Casino, where I played blackjack at a $10 table with live dealer. Wanted to take a break from the blackjack machine. They say the odds are the same, but I am convinced the machine is rigged. I cant tell you how many times I've stood on 20, and the dealer gets 21. I won $20 at the table. Dawn played the machine and broke even on her $20 buy-in.

Then onto our room, where we promptly went to bed, tired and full as a tick from the dinner. Up at around 8 a.m., got dressed, and head to Paul Bunyan's for breakfast.

We both ordered the standard all-you-eat breakfast, which consists of scrambled eggs, sausage links, ham, fried potatoes, biscuits with sausage gravy, pancakes, donuts, OJ, and coffee. All very delicious. This was a trip down Memory Lane for  Dawn and I; we hadn't been there for probably 40 years. The place hasn't changed a bit. The gift shop had plenty of Wisconsin Dells crap, including rubber tomahawks and beaded moccasins. What a laugh. I'm sure the Native Americans don't find it funny, however.

From there, the drive home along Highway 12 was very pleasant. We got home around noon. What a pleasant outing this was.