It is hard to decide where to begin because there were so many fun & great things that happened on this trip. This was a six day trip so I guess I should just begin with day 1.
I awoke on Wednesday morning at 4:00 am determined to eat a high-quality breakfast for the long day ahead. Everything was already carefully packed for the trip, except for a few last minute items that I purposefully wait until last to store. I had been vigorously using the Precor elliptical machine for two months and I have also been eating better quality food so my energy level was improved and I wasn't worried about the early rooster hour rising.
My son brought me to the airport as he always does. The lift/ride to the airport, regardless of the hour, has become sort of a family ritual between he and I. One of my rituals is that I tell him good-bye on each of these trips just in case we don't see each other again. I'm not worried about flying and dying (like some people D.M. hehehe). I just remember my uncle who passed away suddenly when I was only 13 years old and for decades, I ached for not having the chance to tell him how much his presence in my life had meant to me. You never know how long you're going to be on this earth. RIP Grady.
So I arrive in Fargo North Dakota at a little after 12:30 and Mike Page, owner of Fargo Billiards and Gastropub picks me up at the small but conveniently located airport. After a brief tour of the some of the city sights, I see this enormous sign for his poolroom jutting upward to the sky. I guess the sign had to be enormous because it was standing next to one of the largest stand alone building poolrooms I had ever seen. The building was shaped like a huge box, not quite a square but almost. It had some insulated panels on the outside of the building that were painted in a light but not quite pastel color, maybe a mixture of yellow and orange. As we parked around the side of the building, I was excited to get inside to see what I had missed in his photographs that he took those many years ago and posted on his web site.
The first thing I noticed once inside was that the poolroom wasn't like any pool room I had ever been in. It was like being in multiple pool rooms all at one time. There were twists to his pool room at every junction. I have a slight hearing impediment but I immediately noticed that no matter where I stood in the building I could hear the VERY nice listening music everywhere I went, with none of it too loud or too quiet.
As Mike was giving me the tour, I was looking at these fittingly sized painted murals all over the pool room. They had to be about the size of a bar table, vertically positioned on the walls all the way around the building. Each mural was an EXCEPTIONAL painting done by a local artist that depicted one of the 15 balls that you would find in a rack on a pocket billiard table. Each painting had its own unique symbolism and were lit with lighting that helped the paintings to look like exhibits in a museum. Whoever painted those paintings had great talent and they knew pool, of that I am certain.
Mike and I played a couple of sets of 8 ball trying to get used to the cueball that would be used at the 4 Bears Casino tournament and neither of us played well but we both shared a win in one set each. We had a meal afterwards and I am always apt to try something new so I spotted the Strawberry Hamburger and I went all in.
It turned out the delicious but I had to be careful because the strawberry juice didn't like to stay in the bun. lol There was a great selection to choose from and from the size of the kitchen and the many elegant tables all around the building, I know plenty of people have enjoyed many a mean at Fargo Billiards and Gastropub. Mike even has multiple rooms for company events or functions as well as rooms designed to help individuals celebrate every kind of celebration known to man and woman, including anniversaries, weddings and just parties in general. I think the FB & G can accomodate any size event one has in mind. They even have a training room for pool players, equipped with all of the recording and display features you would want in a training facility.
I stayed there until about 2:00 in the morning, playing pool with some of the guys, including Robnotes, Travis, Mike, Jesse Engle, Prad sp?, Austin and many others. Mike introduced me and others to a new game, called "Pitch it" which turned out to be the perfect ending to one of my most pleasurable evening in a pool room.
After getting a modest amount of sleep, I awoke quickly, excited about the new day. We were heading to New Town, North Dakota and I was now going to get a chance to see some of North Dakota from passenger side of a car, up close and personal. (more to follow)
I awoke on Wednesday morning at 4:00 am determined to eat a high-quality breakfast for the long day ahead. Everything was already carefully packed for the trip, except for a few last minute items that I purposefully wait until last to store. I had been vigorously using the Precor elliptical machine for two months and I have also been eating better quality food so my energy level was improved and I wasn't worried about the early rooster hour rising.
My son brought me to the airport as he always does. The lift/ride to the airport, regardless of the hour, has become sort of a family ritual between he and I. One of my rituals is that I tell him good-bye on each of these trips just in case we don't see each other again. I'm not worried about flying and dying (like some people D.M. hehehe). I just remember my uncle who passed away suddenly when I was only 13 years old and for decades, I ached for not having the chance to tell him how much his presence in my life had meant to me. You never know how long you're going to be on this earth. RIP Grady.
So I arrive in Fargo North Dakota at a little after 12:30 and Mike Page, owner of Fargo Billiards and Gastropub picks me up at the small but conveniently located airport. After a brief tour of the some of the city sights, I see this enormous sign for his poolroom jutting upward to the sky. I guess the sign had to be enormous because it was standing next to one of the largest stand alone building poolrooms I had ever seen. The building was shaped like a huge box, not quite a square but almost. It had some insulated panels on the outside of the building that were painted in a light but not quite pastel color, maybe a mixture of yellow and orange. As we parked around the side of the building, I was excited to get inside to see what I had missed in his photographs that he took those many years ago and posted on his web site.
The first thing I noticed once inside was that the poolroom wasn't like any pool room I had ever been in. It was like being in multiple pool rooms all at one time. There were twists to his pool room at every junction. I have a slight hearing impediment but I immediately noticed that no matter where I stood in the building I could hear the VERY nice listening music everywhere I went, with none of it too loud or too quiet.
As Mike was giving me the tour, I was looking at these fittingly sized painted murals all over the pool room. They had to be about the size of a bar table, vertically positioned on the walls all the way around the building. Each mural was an EXCEPTIONAL painting done by a local artist that depicted one of the 15 balls that you would find in a rack on a pocket billiard table. Each painting had its own unique symbolism and were lit with lighting that helped the paintings to look like exhibits in a museum. Whoever painted those paintings had great talent and they knew pool, of that I am certain.
Mike and I played a couple of sets of 8 ball trying to get used to the cueball that would be used at the 4 Bears Casino tournament and neither of us played well but we both shared a win in one set each. We had a meal afterwards and I am always apt to try something new so I spotted the Strawberry Hamburger and I went all in.
It turned out the delicious but I had to be careful because the strawberry juice didn't like to stay in the bun. lol There was a great selection to choose from and from the size of the kitchen and the many elegant tables all around the building, I know plenty of people have enjoyed many a mean at Fargo Billiards and Gastropub. Mike even has multiple rooms for company events or functions as well as rooms designed to help individuals celebrate every kind of celebration known to man and woman, including anniversaries, weddings and just parties in general. I think the FB & G can accomodate any size event one has in mind. They even have a training room for pool players, equipped with all of the recording and display features you would want in a training facility. I stayed there until about 2:00 in the morning, playing pool with some of the guys, including Robnotes, Travis, Mike, Jesse Engle, Prad sp?, Austin and many others. Mike introduced me and others to a new game, called "Pitch it" which turned out to be the perfect ending to one of my most pleasurable evening in a pool room.
After getting a modest amount of sleep, I awoke quickly, excited about the new day. We were heading to New Town, North Dakota and I was now going to get a chance to see some of North Dakota from passenger side of a car, up close and personal. (more to follow)
, it is easy to see why many people count on him being part of the decision-making process for the area. Ray has a military background as well. 
. Now, I just have to figure a way to get them cashed in at the New Town, 4 Bears Casino since I am now of course, back in New Orleans. I'll probably keep one of the red chips as a memento for a memorable trip to the Dakotas. Hopefully, it won't be the last one.
I'm not sure if the burger was a Bison burger and not sure if that would have made the meal tough enough for you. Lol
