Bill came home from work last week and said that he wanted to take the kids to Casa Bonita for dinner. Said that his friends thought it was fun when they took their kids.
After I picked my jaw up off the floor, I said,"...umm...ok..."
Is there a place from your childhood that was simply magical? And that you fear that if you saw it in adulthood you would realize that it is actually super cheesy?
Ahh...the pink palace of Casa Bonita. We used to drive up from Colorado Springs to this magical place of wonder. As an adult, you might notice that it is in the corner of a super rundown strip mall on Colfax. But as a child, you see the fountain, the belltower...and the glory inside.
So, why was I surprised that Bill wanted to go? First of all, Bill hates crowds and noise. Major claustrophobia sets in. Second of all, we never take Luca to restaurants. Just not a fun time. Would you take a child who cannot sit still for five minutes to eat, even at age almost five, to a restaurant?
But I thought -- hey. This would be a fun addition to my month of New Mexican eating! Eatso much. Peso little. All you can eat of our notso good food.
Let's be fair. They make no claims about good food. It is all about the entertainment. Picture a multilevel restaurant filled with palm trees lit with green christmas lights. I had my old camera with me so the pictures do no justice to the atmosphere.
In the middle of the restaurant is a large waterfall which feeds into a deep pool below. Next to the waterfall is a platform where, every 20 minutes, there is a show. Kinda like high school theater. The fun part is that someone always gets pushed off into the pool below.
Here comes the magic, at least for little Becca. The diver. After the show, a diver comes out, climbs to the top of the waterfall and dives into the pool below. Given my missed opportunities to become an Olympic diver or gymnast (those secret hidden dreams), this part of Casa Bonita was my favorite. Luca loved it too.
Um, yeah, when I was a kid, he wore a Speedo...
The rest of the entertainment involves the tunnels which kids can clamber through (we didn't show those to Luca given the crowds) and the games. We played lots of Skee ball. Here is Luca's method and Mimi's method (yeah, this is a picture posting marathon!)
I had fun rocking the town on Centipede (high score BEC!) and Luca loved the bowling video game. Mimi's fun was with popcorn - balls that shoot out of a popcorn popper and you try to catch them in a pan.
The cherry on the top of the Casa Bonita sundae is SOPAPILLAS. Oh, how I remember those warm pockets that you fill up with honey. Good thing I have my memories.
OK. New Mexican journey almost over. I am hoping to make tamales and sopapillas to end the month. I will also do a cost analysis on some of these meals. But I tell you. I can't wait for this godawful month to end. There has been some serious bad juju at my house this month - mostly bodily and some emotionally. Let's get on to February already!
