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Dave And Buster’s

Thursday, June 5th, 2008 by Alyice

The boys don’t get all the fun thanks to a wonderful place called Dave & Buster’s. Women get to laugh and play and have fun, too. We even get to eat and drink and be very merry. If you’ve never been to a Dave & Buster’s, I highly recommend the place!

We first experienced the adult arcade/restaurant when we lived on the west coast. I still remember the first week it opened—my husband and I were doing our usual mall shopping when he spotted what appeared to be a fancy arcade.

“Is that what I think it is?” he asked.

I thought, “No, no, no! Not another arcade. I hate those places. They’re dirty, most of the machines don’t even work properly, and good luck on trying to get your money back on a broken machine.”

But he was excited and there was no stopping him. As a young child, my husband and his friends spent many days and nights in arcades and at each other’s homes playing board games. So it was only natural that, as an adult, he would try to give his children the same experience. Unfortunately for him, he married a woman who never did much board game playing, let alone arcade hopping.

But that day everything changed.

We walked up to the entrance of Dave & Buster’s and were greeted by a security guard requesting to see our photo IDs—turned out you have to be 21 or older to enter, or with a legal guardian if you’re a minor. Already I liked the place!

As we entered Dave & Buster’s I couldn’t help but feel like I had just left home and went on a mini-vacation. It was like a scene from a Las Vegas movie, but instead of slot machines there were wall to wall video games, virtual reality games, carnival games, pool tables, and card tables. There was even a fancy looking restaurant smack dab in the middle of the place.

That soon became our once a month hang out. We’d start with dinner, then grab a few drinks, and take the kids from game to game. We even grabbed a babysitter a few times so we could experience the “adult” scene—complete with card playing.

Leaving the west coast was easy, leaving Dave & Buster’s behind—not so easy.

So imagine my husband’s joy when he discovered there was a Dave & Buster’s just two hours away from us. No more arcade dives. No more feeling like he was trying to recapture his youth. No more lost coins or broken machines. He couldn’t wait to make the trip, but I, of course, could never justify driving two hours to spend the day in an arcade. I didn’t want to stand around waiting for him to “be done already.”

It’d been nearly ten years since we stepped foot in a Dave & Buster’s and I’d forgotten the excitement that comes from experiencing a day at Dave & Buster’s. All I could think about were the boring, broken down arcades we’ve been to since leaving the west coast and I wasn’t looking forward to the two hour trip, but last Monday my husband decided the trip would be worth it and off we went.

Dave & Buster’s in Omaha, Nebraska isn’t quite as large as the one on the west coast. There weren’t any virtual reality games. There wasn’t a golf simulation game. There weren’t any pool tables. But there was a horse racing game, a virtual bowling game, carnival games, a card playing room, and a hundred or so video games. And if you make it on a Monday night there’s even a “No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em Poker Tournament” from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. It was also much more relaxed atmosphere wise—there wasn’t a security guard in sight!

They’ve even made Dave & Buster’s much more affordable than I remember. For $50, you receive 300 chips. Add $3 and you’ll receive a bonus 75 chips. Eat at their restaurant and order one of their specialty meals and you’ll receive $10 more dollars in chips. And let me tell you, eating at their restaurant is worth it. The food is really, really good. And you can’t go wrong with one of their desserts, either.

We spent a hundred dollars total on food, drinks, and chips and spent an entire four hours at Dave & Buster’s laughing, competing against each other, and having a good ‘ol fashioned family bonding session. In fact, it was so much fun that I can’t wait to make another trip out there. We’re even thinking of making it a once-a-month family event!

If you’ve been contemplating getting rid of that pent up energy check out Dave & Buster’s, I highly recommend it—just make sure you bring plenty of cash and a big appetite. Then visit Dave & Buster’s online for a location nearest you or drive to 2502 South 133rd Plaza Omaha , NE 68144 or call 402-778-3915.

Until next time…

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Tornado Season

Friday, May 30th, 2008 by Alyice

Last night we had our first official tornado warning for our hometown and we weren’t happy but then again who is ever really happy when a tornado comes roaring through their hometown?

Usually the tornados in our state don’t get this close and it’s one of the reasons I like living here, but last night was a different story. We’ve had severe thunderstorm warnings, on and off, for the past few weeks then last night a severe thunderstorm began making its way towards us. The news had been reporting tornado warnings on and off all night, but nothing near us.

Then we saw our city name flash across the television screen and heard the word: Tornado. We were in disbelief. We’ve never experienced a tornado before and didn’t want to experience one now. But no sooner did we see our city name flash on the screen did we hear it: the warning siren.

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It was time to make our way to the basement. We grabbed our shoes, closed the doors to each room (don’t even know why I did that), grabbed our caged animal friends, and walked down to the basement where we commenced to turn on the radio and await the news that the tornado had passed. There was only one problem, we didn’t have any batteries in the radio so as my husband and I made our way back upstairs I stopped to look outside the kitchen window and pray.

The winds grew so strong that the trees no longer appeared to be dancing in the wind but moving about with anger and rage, the sky grew darker, the seconds between each sound of thunder and the actual lighting grew closer together, we felt the rumbles in the ground, and the house began to shake. For the first time in my life I was afraid that a tornado would touch down on our home, in our city.

I thought about my prayer and realized I wasn’t praying with all my heart, I had allowed the surrealism of the moment to take hold. So I stopped praying. Looked outside the kitchen window again and prayed again. I prayed that the tornado would not harm us. I prayed for protection of my family by naming each member one by one. I prayed for our home, and I prayed that the tornado would dissipate.

Then I made my way back downstairs where I heard my husband say, “this is going to be a long night” and my son say, “it’s going to be a boring night—we don’t even have a television down here to pass the time.” I glanced over at my daughter and smiled as she sat Indian style on the floor, blanket surrounding her, and earplugs in her ears. She was watching a movie on her iPod and oblivious to what was taking place around her.

Fifteen minutes later we were notified that it was okay to leave the basement. A half hour later my daughter received a phone call from her friend: “Are you okay? Were you scared? If we make it through this night alive do you want to hang out tomorrow?”

Until next time…

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The Book Shop

Thursday, May 22nd, 2008 by Alyice

Here in the Edrich household we hate to see our hard-earned dollars go to waste so in the past, when we grew tired of a book or video we purchased we passed them on to family members and friends. Then when we moved away from our family and friends, we began donating our used books and videos to local libraries and thrift stores but this weekend we discovered a neat little used bookstore in the heart of downtown Sioux Falls and now we have a new philosophy: resell the used books first, then what doesn’t get sold can be donated.

It’s actually a great idea considering we’ve had to cut back on our new and used book (and video) buying thanks to the higher cost of living due to outrageous gasoline prices.

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The Book Shop has a new owner. She’s pretty reserved as far as personality; especially when it comes to greeting, meeting, and mingling with her customers so don’t expect Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) in “Youy’ve Got Mail” to come greeting you at the door or the cash register. But she’s nice enough.

The process of turning in your used books is rather simple, too. You arrive at the shop with your bag or box of used books. You meet the owner at the counter where she informs you that it will take awhile to look up the books, decide if she can use the books, catalog the books, and print you out a receipt so you can either browse the bookstore or do a little shopping downtown.

You’ll then be asked to fill out a little ticket with your address and phone number, along with how you’d like to be paid: cash or credit. And that’s where you really need to know what you want because once you make a decision you cannot go back (even within 10 minutes of receiving your receipt) and ask her to change your payment method.

If you opt for credit, you’ll receive 50 percent of the store price so if she decides to resell your book for $7 you will receive $3 store credit. But there is a catch: when you decide to buy a book from the bookstore you cannot use the full credit to buy the book. You must split the difference 50/50. In other words, 50 percent of your purchase can use the store credit but the other 50 percent must be paid for in cash. (Credit cards and checks are also accepted.)

If you opt for the cash, you’ll receive 25 percent of the store price so if the book resells for $7, you’ll receive $1.50. Not a bad deal at all! Especially considering you can spend all day hosting a garage sale only to walk away with peanuts for the same book and lots of wasted time.

The store credit is good for an entire year so if you don’t see something you want when you turn in your books, you can always return later in the month or the year to use your store credit.

Oh, and one more thing, the owner says she prefers books that are in “like new” condition.

My daughter and I arrived at her shop with about 15 books ranging from youth novels to photography to decorating and left with four books which the local library gladly accepted. An hour after arriving in the bookstore, we left with $34.95 in store credit. We opted for the credit because my daughter wanted to do a little book shopping during the summer. All in all, not a bad return for an hour’s worth of our time.

If you’ve been contemplating getting rid of some of your used books check out the The Book Shop, I highly recommend it—just make sure you know whether you want cash or credit before you turn in your little slip then drive to 223 South Phillips Avenue, Sioux Falls, South Dakota or call 605-336-8384.

Until next time…

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