500 down, thousands to go

This is my 500th post. I had hoped that there would be more to report at this milestone than there is, but alas, life has a funny way of working out differently than you'd expected. Better, in my case.

I'm employed (for the moment) at a job I like, I live in Manhattan with no strings attached and I have the love of a woman so wonderful and special that I still have trouble believing she lives with me of her own free will and accord. In short, life is good. It's rare that we sit back and dwell long and hard on how good we have it. For all the bad things that happen to us (and have happened to me), it's a special thing to be able to recognize when the sun is shining through the clouds.

Ok, before this post becomes a Hallmark card, it should be noted that Ali is starting her 3rd and final year of law school today. This means that I will be facing the prospect of many a night of her freaking out about a paper or a test. But it also means that she will be having finals in December. And finals means lots and lots of studying. So much studying, in fact, that my own presence is not to be tolerated. And that means:

POKER!

So, it's being announced officially, I will be taking another of my world-famous poker trips from Dec. 4th through Dec. 13th. I don't know where, yet, but my preliminary thoughts are trending towards 5 possibilities:

1. Arizona - I fly in Phoenix and spend a week making a huge circular loop around the state, hitting every poker room on the way. I end up back in Phoenix around Thursday and spend the rest of the weekend hitting the Phoenix poker rooms and fly back from the same city (a rare treat). 14-17 casinos possible.

2. New Mexico - There are two tacts I can take with this trip:
A. Fly to San Antonio and drive to Eagle Pass, Tx to hit the only poker room in Texas. Drive back to San Antonio and fly to New Mexico, using the rest of the week to hit all the rooms in the state.
B. Ditch the Eagle Pass option and just fly directly to NM. There are fewer rooms in New Mexico (7 in total, all based in Alberquerque and Santa Fe, with one near Roswell), so a good portion of the trip would be spent sightseeing. Desert Buttes, tremendous sunsets, Roswell UFO's, White Sands National Monument and the Carlsbad Caverns would all be on the menu.

3. Oklahoma - This one would get hairy. Most likely, I would fly into Dallas and attack the state from the bottom up, making a circle around Oklahoma City, before coming back there to fly out. Alternatively, I could force my way up and fly out of Tulsa in the North-East corner of the state. This option would probably have the most driving and the most casinos (about 27!)

4. Southern Indiana to Missouri - This is another big driving trip, but it's more casual and there's more sights to see. I'll be doing a rough sqauare starting in Indianapolis, going down through Lexington, KY, into Nashville, TN and ending up in St. Louis, MO. Lots of great music, Mint Juleps and midwestern cooking to be had.

5. Northern and Central Florida - Starting in the west end of the Panhandle at Panama City, FL, I'd drive due east to Jacksonville and then go south towards Daytona. Cutting Westward, I'd go through Orlando, stopping at Disney World to placate my inner child, before ending up in Tampa. Florida has that stupid $100 max buyin rule for NLHE, but the drive could be fun.

There are probably other itineraries possible, but I was trying to avoid northern states as I'd be traveling in December. I'm specifically leaving California out of this list because Ali said she'd like to go with me on that trip, especially to San Francisco, where one of her friends lives.

Anyone else have an idea on how I can visit lots of poker rooms in the time allotted?

Or better yet, does anyone want to come with me? It's gets lonely on the road...

Here's to the next 500 posts!