I recall as a teenager fantasizing about what it might be like to wake up at Battlefield Mall and be able to get dressed in whatever I wanted every day.
Then there was the Disney World dream. In that scenario I had the run of the place and could take my very best friends in and out as I chose. Oh, I almost forgot, I also owned a positively exquisite castle in which each room was decorated to suit whatever mood I happened to be in.
Yep, I was something of an imaginative child, and none of these things ever actually happened to me - at least not until a couple of weeks ago.
I was driving back from Houston, Texas, with my husband and two daughters on a foggy Monday after a weekend visit with relatives. The further north we traveled, the worse the weather became.
Finally, somewhere in Oklahoma, we encountered freezing rain. This slowed the trip considerably and prompted us to inquire further about the road ahead. Every indication was that conditions would continue to worsen into the night. When we finally reached the Interstate-44 interchange in Big Cabin, Okla., we learned U.S. Highway 69 was closed just behind us. I-44 didn't prove to be any better, but the prospect of spending the night in the car on the side of the road kept us cautiously creeping ahead. We literally saw dozens of cars and trucks abandoned in ditches or straddling the barrier fence between east- and west-bound lanes. It took nearly two and a half hours to travel the next 70 miles to the Missouri border. We were instructed at the toll gate that I-44 was closed ahead for the next several hours.
It was then that fate lead us to the recently opened Downstream Casino Resort located at the intersection of Missouri, Oklahoma and Kansas.
Alas, my castle awaited! We found the hotel and casino to be warm, welcoming, fantastically decorated and almost completely devoid of patrons. With I-44 now closed in both directions, it was looking like we would have the place to ourselves.
The more than ample staff gave my family the royal treatment. There were valets available to park our car, a bell-hop that wouldn't hear of letting us carry our own luggage to the room and casino staff that seemed eager for activity.
My husband and I had planned to visit Downstream eventually to see what all the fuss was about, but thought it best to wait until some of the newness had worn off so we wouldn't have to fight the crowds. We never anticipated we would experience the casino resort as a private haven. Likewise, we hadn't imagined ourselves ever checking in for the night with our own bed just an hour away.
We were taken to a beautiful room with contemporary furnishings and an expansive bathroom. The shower was so roomy, in fact, that my daughters decided to put on their swimming suits and play in the water while my husband and I took turns visiting the casino.
I took my turn first, agreeing to wager no more than $20. The penny slots were good to me and an hour later my $20 had turned into $50.
Not being much of a gambler, I was more interested in the handful of other visitors I encountered downstairs. I learned that most were employees trapped by the weather who were experiencing the resort hotel for the first time as guests.
Downstream management provided complimentary rooms and meals to their captive off-duty staff. We also learned that our room had been discounted 30 percent as a gesture of goodwill.
Downstream Casino Resort proved to be a ray of sunshine in an ice storm for my family. We will likely patronize the resort again, though next time we'll probably have to share.
Springfield Business Journal Chief Operations Officer Jennifer Jackson can be reached at jjackson@sbj.net.
