Reno, Part 2

We took a day trip to Virginia City. It was a clear day. I guess the smoke hadn't gotten there or else we were so high we were above it. Remember on Bonanza, the old tv western, when they went to town for supplies, or the doctor or sheriff, they went to Virginia City? It's very touristy, but still fun. I love seeing original buildings with 1864 or 1848 painted or formed in brick on the front of buildings.

Lake Tahoe was amazing. Gorgeous scenery, even though we were told that it's much better without the fog. Still very steep--we ate lunch in Incline City.

We went to a delightful art museum and an independent bookstore, always one of my favorite stops. Someone asked me if I bought anything. Seriously? I'm totally incapable of leaving a bookstore without at least one purchase. Usually two. Or more. In this case, more.

I have to mention our drive through a residential area. There was a yellow road sign that said TRAFFIC CALMLING. I was clueless. Turns out that's what they call speed bumps! People who don't live on the east or west coast are definitely a different breed. One of our daughters lived in Kansas for several years and was amazed at how polite drivers were. For instance, when there was a sign to merge lanes, people did it at the sign. No one raced down the vanishing lane trying to get a few cars ahead. And it seems to me that speed bumps, while they do slow people down, mostly seem to annoy them. Calming? Not so much.

I haven't mentioned gambling yet. I saved the best for last. When I got off the plane in Reno, I was nauseous--A LOT of turbulence for the last forty-five minutes of the flight, and exhausted--I'd been on the go for nearly fourteen hours. I dragged myself through so many sections of walkway that I was starting to wonder if we'd landed in a neighboring town. Finally I reached the terminal and started to laugh. The corridors were lined with slot machines.

I was too miserable to even think of taking a photo, but figured I could do it when we were on our way out. Unfortunately, we had a last-minute change in our flight and had to be at the airport at 6:00 AM instead of 6:45. We barely made it, due to a couple of hitches along the way. There was no time to take even a quick shot. We were the last people to board, except for one woman behind me.

But here's a shot of the slots that are also available in every grocery store!