The Breakfast Club
An Affiliate of the
The Knife & Fork
Breakfast Club Visits Parker, Blue Water
Resort & Casino
10 Jan 2004
by Warren McIlvoy
The Breakfast Club event
to Parker,
After announcing our intentions in the blind in the Luke Alert Area, and
monitoring our group flight following frequency of 123.45, I could
almost get a sense of something happing because I could here reports from
people that have not been with us for a while. Once out of the Alert Area,
I chimed-in with our report. We had departed on time but I could almost
determine that we were well back in the pack. As I neared Parker and
listening-in on the unicom frequency, it was becoming
very apparent that we would have a tremendous attendance. The position reports
were now coming in staccato fashion as the
Breakfast Club aircraft were meshing into
the pattern like the gears of a fine Swiss watch.
By the time that I has shut-down on the ramp, parking
was becoming quite spread-out and there were more aircraft on the way. Upon
exiting the aircraft, it was obvious that we would not need our jackets as the
sun was warming the air (and our spirits) like a spring day. I donned my camera
to get some shots of the folks who had gathered into small groups on the ramp
as we waited the arrival of the last of our group. One of our members, Chuck
& Irene Graves, has a mobile home just up the river from the airport
and they had volunteered to supplement the airport shuttle service with their
van, to the Blue Water Resort and Casino. The ramp was becoming quite crowded with Breakfast Club
attendees and it was decided to start shuttling our folks to the Casino rather
than waiting for the "tail-end turtles" to arrive.
As it turned-out, the Casino is only about a mile and a half from the airport
so the task of shuttling everyone to the Casino, did not take an inordinate
amount of time and effort. The Blue Water
Resort and Casino is set back from the
highway by about 150 yards (give or take), so it did not appear to be anything
out of the ordinary. But as we disembarked the vans and entered the main lobby,
that assumption was soon vanquished. The main floor had the usual array of slot
machines with other types of gaming available in smaller side rooms. The
dinning area called The Feast Buffet, was to our left and further into
the casino. With a crowd of our size, it was not possible to seat us together
but we did, in some cases, have 8-10 people at a single table. It was
interesting to note that, upon entering the dinning area,
that you did not pay before getting seated. I am guessing that the
casino operators believe that you had not quite lost everything at the slots
and that you still had a few coins to pay for your meal. Trusting souls aren't
they!
At the serving line, one could get custom-made omelets as well as the usual
breakfast fare including French toast, biscuits and gravy, breakfast meats, and
the "All American", oatmeal. There was another line that provided an
assortment of pastries and fresh fruits. Since our group was scattered to all
corners of the dining area, I started the sign-up sheet and tried to give
directions as to where it should go next.
After breakfast, it was time to scout-out the place. Some of our group had been
here on precious occasions and they added suggestions regarding what needed to
be checked-out. The west end of the building is dominated by a five story
atrium that encompassed the indoor swimming area. The upper level of the
"pool" area featured a series of winding wading areas that terminated
in a twisting, winding, water slide that got you to the lower level. The lower
level encompassed the main pool area where the
water slide spate you out, a smaller children's wading pool, and a hot tub that
was along the window wall. All-in-all, a very impressive
recreation area. I summoned the elevator to the lower level so that I
could explore the lured of the exterior grounds.
Once outside, I took-in the grandeur of the Casino. The center core section was
flanked on either side by a five story tier of hotel rooms; all with private
balconies facing the
Some of the group felt that it would be appropriate to make cash donations to
the Indian economy by testing their luck at the slots. As I understand, all but
one person was successful in making that contribution. After extracting my
wife (no, she was not the lone winner) from the slots, we rejoined Chuck
for his van ride back to the airport. With the weather being so pleasant, there
were people still milling around the ramp enjoying the opportunity to converse
with friends and new acquaintances. While walking back to the airport office
for the mandatory "pit stop", I noticed two folks that looked like
locals working on a very small kit build aircraft. I inquired of them about how
many turns of the rubber band that it would take to get it off the ground. One
of two gentlemen turned and addressed me by name. I did not recognize him at
first but there was something familiar about his face. He reminded me that his
name was
To soon it was time to load-up and head home. The
flight home was every bit as smooth as the morning's flight had been. There was
a slight 8-10 headwind but the weather was so nice, no one really cared. We met
a lot of old friends and enjoy phenomenal weather; it just doesn't get any
better than this.
The Parker Gang
I would like to extend a hardy and enthusiastic thank you to Chuck
& Irene Graves in helping to shuttle the Breakfast Club gang
to the casino. We have not seen them in a while and it was sure nice to
meet up with them again.
What's Next?
The
February Breakfast Club event will see us making an encore visit to Tempe Bar
(U30). The March event will see us returning to a favorite, Borrego
Springs and the La Casa Del Zorro Resort. We are planning on dinning
in the Rose Garden if the weather is favorable. That's all for now but
remember, fly safe.
Click on the Parker link to view photos of this fly-in event.