Putting the Ambitious Plan Together

In March, John approached me with the idea of visiting some casinos. The thought was a trip similar to our Colorado outing. In September, we spent a few days visiting the casinos in Black Hawk, Central City, and Cripple Creek. This time, only in a few locations would the casinos be clustered together. This would require a long road trip.

Mapping out our plan

The first step was finding all the casinos in the states we were visiting. Google Maps helped with searches and provided a place to pin all the locations. We decided to visit casinos in New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Indiana, and the southern part of Michigan. We would fly in and out of Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. This made our route a giant loop.

Trip Goal: Visit 66 casinos in 15 days.

Casino map — Map of planned trip to 66 casinos Map data ©2021 Google

Outlining 15 days of travel

The next step was outlining the estimated travel time and the 66+ stops along the route. Pinning locations on a map was easy. Mapping out the route required more work. Google Maps was once again a major help.

Pictures of casino exteriors and signage was one of our goals for the trip. Images would come out best if taken during daylight hours. My first planning restriction was to limit arriving at a casino after dark. If we were spending the night nearby, we could alternatively take exterior pictures the following morning.

The second planning restriction came from our visit to Atlantic City. We wanted to visit for multiple days, but not stay on a Saturday night. Therefore, Atlantic City was written in “permanent marker” on the schedule. From here, I spent multiple days estimating travel time between casinos and possible locations to spend the night. The resulting 20-page outline lists casino features and amenities, estimated departure and arrival times, links to trip routes and possible hotels. It will be published over five posts.

Rearranging plans

When checking in on our plans a week or two before the trip, I discovered a hiccup. Our original outline had us driving to Gary, Indiana on the second day of our trip. The conflict: Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana was not open yet. It was opening the second weekend we were there. This meant a rearrangement of our plans.

Our Atlantic City days were already locked onto the schedule. In addition, we prepaid a room in Washington, DC for the weekend. We needed a creative rewrite. I shifted our schedule so that we visit Indiana at the end of the trip, instead of the start. At this point, the planning stage was complete. Time to see how my plan compares to reality.

Final plan: Visit 66 casinos with 68.5 hours of driving + a 1.5 hour ferry ride in 15 days.

Next Task: Pack two checked bags and two carry-on bags for 15 days on the road.

John excels at numerical calculations, but spatial arrangements are my specialty! I love the game of Tetris. Packing is just a live-action game of Tetris.

Packing beyond the clothes

I purchased a collapsible cooler. The 30-can cooler collapsed to under three inches tall. This would be filled after landing with water and other drinks purchased at a store. Hotel mini-fridges and ice would keep the drinks cool throughout the trip. We could refill drinks as needed.

Over time, even blackout curtains in hotels do not fully touch nor overlap in the middle. When I was a math teacher, I was traveling with a stack of papers to grade. I discovered that binder clips are even better at holding curtains closed! So to combat a possible problem, I packed some binder clips. I also packed a couple of sleeping masks, earplugs, and a blanket.

A laundry stop was likely necessary along the way. I packed a one cup container with two laundry pods and a couple folded dryer sheets. The greater fear was COVID restrictions limiting access to laundry services. Clothing items were chosen accordingly.

Lessons learned

The cooler was amazing! It kept our drinks cold throughout the trip. The sides were a little too easy to accidentally collapse, but just as easy to correct. Next trip, I will pack a few gel ice packs. I can refreeze them overnight. A reusable shopping bag or tote would be helpful for better holding snack items also. Plastic water cups in hotels make for great to-go cereal bowls and snack containers.

The binder clips were a great help on the trip with the curtains. Another problem came to light (pun intended) during our travels. More technology and gadgets, means more blue lights glowing. Next trip, we will be packing painters tape. A few small pieces in a layer work great to mute the lights.

I padded our schedule to accommodate time for gas, meals and traffic. However, I will schedule dining breaks better for future trips, like planning out what restaurants we want to try in casinos versus easy food to grab on the road. Struggling with knowing what food venues were open without looking at each restaurant individually was part of my inspiration for adding dining pages to our websites. Our Atlantic City Casino Dining Guide is an example of that.

John and I make an excellent team! Long hours of driving, stressful weather, toll roads and traffic can put a strain on two people stuck in a car together. Renting a comfortable sized car and discussing ways to help each other made the experience pleasant, even during the high stress moments. The trip was a success and I look forward to our future trips!