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Bonneville Travel Log – June 28th, 2007 – Day Three
I got to sleep in this morning – one of the benefits of not having a specific agenda. Jon got up earlier than I and left me alone to do my girl things, mostly involving cleansers, moisturizers, etc.
After I was done preening, Jon and I headed out for our day’s activities. Our first stop was lunch at Mildred’s Gourmet Hamburgers. Mildred’s is a cute little mom & pop joint located in a blue & white double-wide alongside the road on the way to the Wendover airport (Turn south at the pawn shop by the Nugget. It’s on the right-hand side just past the railroad tracks).
The owner is a charming man named Allen Rowly. He’s a music and history teacher at the local school, but during the summer and weekends he is the host, server, cook, and cashier at Mildred’s.
Mildred’s offers 50+ gourmet burgers to choose from. Jon ended up having the Wendover Will, while I opted for the Texan – which Allen served to me complete with a southern drawl. Like I said, he’s a charmer. He even tried to talk Jon into eating the Gihugus burger. Gihugus is a 12” hamburger, and if you complete the job you receive a t-shirt that says “I Challenged Gihugus and I Won.” A 12” hamburger probably doesn’t sound so big, but when he showed us the bun that comes with it, I swear it was the size of a hub cap. As of this writing, only two people have won the battle with Gihugus.
For anyone who gets a little sick of strapping on the feedbag at one of the casino buffets, Mildred’s is a nice alternative. They will be open during Speedweek, although they are only able to offer a limited selection of burgers (about 10 or so) because of the increased number of customers. Allen loves having the racers come by, and this year he plans to add some extra seating and possibly an outdoor grill to accommodate a larger crowd. I hope everyone reading this decides to check it out at least once to try their great tasting burgers and support a local small business in Wendover.
The next leg of our trip took us to the airport museum. It was my second time there, but Jon’s first. The photos and exhibits they have are very interesting. It’s hard to believe that at its peak during WWII, the air force installation at Wendover housed around 20,000 military personnel. The museum includes actual photographs taken at the base during the 1940s, various artifacts from the era, and a large model showing the base lay-out during the height of its activity. You can also drive around most portions of what still exists from the original base. Key structures are labeled with historic marker signs. The original hangar that housed the Enola Gay still stands, although I would classify its current condition as somewhat depressing. Donations left in drop boxes at the museum are put towards restoration efforts. I dropped some money in the box on my way out of the museum. I’ll probably get a better return on my money there than I ever will at a damn slot machine (the cussing is an unfortunate side effect of three days of gambling and subsequent LOSING).
After checking out the past, we decided to take a look at the present. I was curious to see how the people of Wendover lived. The neighborhoods really weren’t all that different than your typical suburb. There were lower income areas consisting of affordable housing apartments and mobile home parks. There were your average, middle income houses. And then there were the houses along the golf course where the “rootie-tootie” people, as I like to call them, lived. Not that I have anything against them, of course. I wouldn’t mind being “rootie-tootie” someday, too. Although you would think people with that much money would be happier. Everyone we drove by in that neighborhood had a sour puss on their face. Maybe it was the heat, but I suspect it was the attitude.
Jon and I finished out tour of town and headed back to the Montego Bay. We spent some more time at the slot machines with similar results (feel free to insert your own cuss words here). Then I conned Jon into eating dinner at the café in the Nugget. I have to say the food was just okay, but the real reason I wanted to go there was for a vanilla shake. I discovered their vanilla shakes during Speedweek last year and wanted to be sure to have one when I was in town again.
After dinner, we spent a little more time playing the slots at the Nugget. I ended up sitting at a machine adjacent to a man and his wife who were also playing the slots. They had their two small children with them and kept yelling at them in Spanish. They appeared to be telling them to lie down and be quiet so as not to be noticed by security, but my Spanish is pretty rusty. Seeing that kind of ruined my gambling appetite for the evening, however.
Since it was our last night’s stay in the suite, Jon and I decided to crank up the hot tub one more time. Coming home to my regular bathtub is going to be a rough adjustment. There aren’t any fancy jets in my tub. I guess I’ll just have to fill it up with hot water and ask Jon to splash me.
That’s it for day three.