Remember Reno

Posted on by

Remember Reno … I had to do that because of an encounter we had with a nice lady in one of the thrift stores we visited our last day in Reno. It was a long conversation that started when the lady sitting behind a desk, doing financial ‘stuff’, telling us that she was just minding the store for the owner who had stepped out for a moment, but she would attempt to answer any questions we had.

At that particular moment we didn’t have any questions, so thanked her and started looking around. Shortly, however, my natural affinity for communicating with strangers broke out and I found myself in need of striking up a conversation with this stranger. The store was small enough that both Diane and I could participate in the conversation as no one else was in the store.

Though we have no idea what her name is, we learned that she’s lived in Reno for about 40 years and has never, ever been to the Oregon coast. She said that when we told her we were from Oregon. Much of the conversation revolved around various travel events and eventually progressed to bucket lists. Hers, specifically. On her list is the Oregon Coast to which we added, Mt. St. Helens, the Columbia River Gorge, Crater Lake, Silver Falls State Park, and Sparks. Another item on her list was Burney Falls. Since we had never heard of it we quizzed her about where it was and she took her best guess, but didn’t really know. So, that conversation dwindled to a stop, and we decided it was time to leave and returned to our room.

Once back at the hotel, we got to talking about out route home. The original plan was to head up to Klamath Falls and spend the night, then head home. Upon looking at the map, however, the wiser choice became a trip up through Susanville, then kinda NW to I-5 just below Weed, California. That’s a little ways north of Redding. So, plans were changed and we decided we’d head for Medford for the night.

After a terrific breakfast at Hart’s Cafe in Susanville, we took Highway 36 then split northwest on Highway 44, part of which was on Hillcrest Road, go figure, then we took a hard right turn onto Highway 89 just about directly north of Lassen Volcanic National Park. We didn’t stop there.

On on Highway 89 Diane asked it there was something interesting to see along the way. So I looked on my trusty iPad to see. Up ahead there was a place called McArthur-Burney State Park. We considered this an omen because of yesterday’s conversation with the thrift store lady. Apparently fate placed this location directly in our path because we were supposed to stop there. So we did.

It normally costs $8 to enter the park but, since we’re old, we got a dollar off. Considering that we needed to get to our hotel, that we hadn’t yet picked, before headlights were mandatory, I asked the Ranger at the gate (RATG) how far it was to the falls. He looked to his left, pointed, and said, “about 75 feet that way.” Funny guy.

When we pulled into a parking spot we were delighted to meet Stan & Irene whom we’ve never ever in our lives met before. They were just climbing out of their 5th wheel trailer in which they spent the winter in Laughlin, Nevada, like they do every year. Since their license plates revealed they were from North Dakota, we understood why. Together, we all walked to the bathrooms, relieved ourselves, then walked back to the parking lot adjacent to the falls and here’s what we saw …

 

 

 

DSC_4973

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OK, it’s really pretty, but the falls are only about 40-50 feet high. Pretty, but not Bucket List Pretty. But, this lady lives in Reno so who am I to cast aspersions upon those dreams. I can only compare what I see with what I’ve seen. Normal, right? I try to not display bias when visiting new visual delights, like Burney Falls, but living in the Great Northwest and having so many beautiful places to visit by accident, spoils us. Sounds snobby, I know, but it’s true.

Oh yes … we made it to Medford for the night and will be home tomorrow afternoon. We had a Pizza Hut dinner.

Vacation – Day 13 Reno Update

Posted on by

It’s 1717 and we’re back in our room, safe and sound. A few dollars lighter, but safe and sound.

We started by checking out our vehicle from it’s assigned parking space from which a hotel employee must remove it. We’ve never used valet parking before so it was a little difficult for Diane to surrender it for someone else to drive. They are taking good care of it. I could tell because all the trash we left in it is still there.

When we hit the street, I used SIRI to locate all the thrift stores in the area. She came up with 15 of them within a few miles. In all, we visited 4 of them and spent way less than we would’ve had we entered a casino.

In the middle of all that shopping and carousing through the old stuff, we stopped for lunch at the Silver Peak for something to eat. I think it was between 1 and 2. It was a random choice, but an excellent one. We both had cheese burgers on the bar side because they always seem to be better over there, even though we don’t drink and more. Or less. The food was totally awesome and the french fries were the shoe string kind so there were a lot of crunchy ones, my favorite. Diane did well on hers but stalled on the last two bites. Still, it was a valiant effort to rid the plate of a 1/2 pound of beef with all the trimmings. I, of course, ate the entire thing. As a courtesy, I refused to eat the rest of Diane’s, like I normally do, which is the reason I weigh about twice as much as I did when I entered high school. In my defense, that was a long, long time ago and I was more active then. Really, I was. I wrestled, did track and field ‘things’, and other stuff.

Our last event of the day was to visit Goodwill in Sparks which is waaaay on the other side of the junction of I-80 and US-395. I’m guessing, but believe I’m right. I almost always believe I’m right when I guess. Ask Diane.

We’re done for the day and plan to pack up this evening, and head out first thing in the morning, destination Klamath Falls, Oregon. It’s just over 5 hours away. From there, it will be a long day’s drive home on Thursday. Not long for me since my driving duties are restricted to the navigation chair. I have to say, I’m a good navigator, most of the time. The times where I’m deemed to be wrong are usually the result of the driver ignoring the navigator and making a decision based on street signs, people in cross walks, and traffic. Odd things like that. But, we always get to our destinations, and usually within the time limits allowed. The time limits are set to avoid any driving after sun down.

So, tomorrow I’ll be chatting at you from our beloved Oregon.

Vacation – Day 13 Still in Reno

Posted on by

It’s 0900 and we’ve been up for an hour. I know that’s true because I asked the boss. But, what she doesn’t know is that I was awake long before that. It was still very dark outside the first time I stumbled to the bathroom and I’m guessing it was about 0600. I didn’t look because I didn’t want to add a bright light to an already dangerous situation caused by me bumping into things in the dark. It was a long trip to the bathroom and I’m sure I’ll be able to identify all the pieces of furniture by the location of the bruises. You’ll all be proud to know that I didn’t utter a sound during that round trip.

Turns out is all for nothing because she was already awake, too. I suffered for no reason.

Today we plan to visit as many second hand stores as humanly possible in the 4-5 hours we allow ourselves to be outdoors in areas with a rarefied atmospheres.

21ce936d570bd793a33a9650b5e926f2

 

Now I am compelled to make a shameless plug for our friend, Cindy A, who owns Pearl Fiber Arts in the heart of Portland’s blooming Pearl district. I’m going to go there and buy something to make a pretty doily. Yes, I really do that stuff …

 

 

 

 

 

And, here’s something from our friend, Kat B, who still lives in Minnesota. Voluntarily …

.485193_483069765081661_1560587475_n     420628_488029017919069_452105475_n

Us? It’s going to be 75 here in Reno today. I think.

Now it’s time for breakfast – Cheerios, toast, and my 4th cup of coffee. Just used the last of my creamer so we’re either going to have to leave for home today, or find a second-hand store that sells it.

Vacation – Day 12 Reno (update)

Posted on by

Just a quick update to let you know we didn’t leave the building. But, we left the room and spent some time in our hosts’ hot tub. The tub is elevated on an exposed portion of the 7th floor of this 16 floor facility, and is surrounded by lounge chairs almost exacry like the ones we salvaged from the dumpster outside Warner Brothers Construction offices on a corner not far from our house. A room key is necessary to access the hot tub enclosure which is glass on 2.2 sides. The 1.8 solid sides worked perfectly to shade us from the sun while we shriveled in the hot water.

I contracted a terminal rash on my lower left stomach and upper right chest area from leaning those portions of my fragile body against the side of the tub in order to see my iPad, where I set it on the edge where there was no danger of it falling into the water. Like the last iPad I had.

OK – the rash isn’t terminal, and it pretty much cleared up with a shower. Now I’m squeaky clean.

I should wash more often, I guess.

Vacation – Day 12 Reno

Posted on by

Greetings.

We left around 1000 walked up the street where we had a terrific breakfast at Peg’s Glorified Ham & Eggs. This chain was started in Portland in 1959, by a couple who lived in Eugene. Excellent food and service. I had half an order of their signature ham & eggs and it was perfect. I guess the full portion of ham is platter sized.

After eating we walked, very slowly, to a museum, which was closed, of course. They always are on Monday’s, it seems. This one isn’t open until Wednesday. Out front they had some sculptures that are pretty nifty. One is a horse made from driftwood, but all the pieces are made of metal. I think simply making a chunk of metal look like a piece of driftwood is pretty cool, so the horse was even better.

There were a couple of other places that SIRI thought were museums but they turned out to be business. It appears the area where we are staying is surrounded by law firms … dozens of them … and they are ensconced in these incredibly beautiful old homes. Since we hear sirens all the time, being a lawyer here is a lucrative business. While walking around, they were easy to spot. Suits were everywhere. We felt quite safe out there in the daylight with them.

Diane’s knees, and my hip started giving out on us after all that walking so we returned to our room for a well deserved rest. Diane has a notion about attending some show about menopause at the Eldorado, which is only a couple of blocks away, but she has her shoes off and don’t know if she’ll be motivated enough to get them back on. We may just sit here and read until time for Dancing With The Stars. If we don’t, I’ll be sure to let you know, like you’re all holding your breath to see what Jerrie & Diane do next. Right?

Reno News Flash !!

Posted on by

Upon arising this beautiful morning, at 6:45 am (!!), I was quiet like a little mouse to ensure I didn’t wake Diane. All of you know why. The punishment is severe when I wake her before she’s ready to be awake. I especially do not touch her because of the severe reaction it causes.

Anyway, while mousing around, I was making bathroom coffee when, viola!, she arose. At first I was concerned so I backed into the corner to see what was going to happen. It was nothing! She walked by with a cheery “Good morning,” and that was that. That meant I was allowed to make a little more noise, not be so careful.

Then she went back to the bedroom/living room/kitchen/dining room/family room, fired up the TV and promptly learned that someone was fatally stabbed last night at 2nd & West Streets. Nifty. Our hotel is located at 122 West Street, so this happened 1/2 a block away.

Now we’re heading out the door to have breakfast at Peg’s Glorified Eggs & Ham, which is the other direction from the stabbing, up near a museum we had already planned to visit today.

Wish us luck.

It’s OK To Be A Slug

Posted on by

slug  |sləg|

noun

1 a tough-skinned terrestrial mollusk that typically lacks a shell and secretes a film of mucus for protection. It can be a serious plant pest. See also sea slug.

[Order Stylommatophora, class Gastropoda.]

2 a slow, lazy person; a sluggard.

3 an amount of an alcoholic drink, typically liquor, that is gulped or poured: he took a slug of whiskey.

The title of this brief entry refers to choice 2 above, although, I suspect slugs are happy campers being who they are as choice 1. Unless, of course, they live in the vicinity of a family who has curious young minds who wonder if it’s really true that slugs dissolve when covered with salt, which is just a mean thing to do because it causes the slug to secrete itself to death in self-defense. So I’ve heard. Just saying…

The #2 choice is something I’m really getting good at. So is Diane, but I do not consider her a slug. No siree. Not me. She’s Queen of the Hop, Top of the Heap to me.

I’m the slug, and I think that’s really OK, considering my advanced age. I can still walk, but I move slow. I’m get more wrinkly all the time. And, although I do not secrete a film of mucous for protection, it drips out of my nose all the time. Regarding that, I’ve learned to love my mustache because it keeps the mucous off my lips, and the mucous in my mustache works nicely to keep my whiskers in place when I comb them. Diane is not a fan of this new attraction I have for my face. She’s always telling me, “quit petting your face!”, or “put that comb away!”, in a very stern voice. I don’t see the problem.

Perhaps some of you may see other benefits of being a slug of sorts, and would like to share them with the world. I’m always up for learning new ‘stuff’.

Vacation – Day 11 Reno

Posted on by

Today I met a new cousin – Hi Kristie!

Kathie introduced us. Simply by being related to Kathie, and me, Kristie is already a special person. You all know that’s true, don’t you?

We were both up early this morning, between 6-7 am, because it was hot in the room. We didn’t take the time to figure out the A/C last night before killing all the lights. The first thing I did, of course, was dink around with the thermostat until the vents started whooshing cold air. Consequently, we had a fine breakfast of bathroom coffee, Cheerios, and toast. We only have one bowl with us so had to take turns eating our Cheerios, and that’s OK.

While eating, we read our books, something we do pretty much every time we sit down, which is often. Amazon and the Apple Store love us because we purchase a lot of books. You’d think they’d’ve given us some kind of discount for volume service, but they haven’t. Maybe I should write them a note …

Around 10:30 or so, we wandered outside to see what we could see. It’s a nice sunny day, and the temp’s supposed to soar to 75 or so this afternoon, so it was pleasant to be out. I forgot to mention that, yesterday, on our trip to Reno, the temperature got up to 85 at one point. Even at the 7000+ elevation it was still in the 60s. So, 75 here is good.

Not far from our abode, The Plaza Resort, 121 West Street, is the Reno version of a river walk. Not as elaborate as San Antonio’s, but still very nice. The ‘walk’ is composed of paths, and bridges around and over the Truckee River. An island splits the river and there are a series of manufactured rapids on both sides created for the joy of kayakers. Here’s a peek at it …

This is looking upstream with the island to the left … our hotel is on the right about a block from the brown bridge. DSC_4914

This is looking downstream with the island to the left. DSC_4905

I captured this buy just as he was coming under the bridge. He fiddled around a little, playing in the water, then went merrily on his way. DSC_4861

A happy goose standing guard.DSC_4886

Girls having fun. I asked permission from one of the adults watching them to take a picture. I kinda expected them to play king of the mountain, but, sadly, they were very nice to each other.DSC_4892

And here’s the reason I’ve been married for 45 years.DSC_4902

On a corner, adjacent to the walk, and about a block from the hotel, is a theater. Since we missed seeing ‘Croods’ in Point Arena, we thought it would be fun to go see it. But we didn’t. Instead, we got tickets for the 12:30 pm showing of ‘Oblivion’, a shoot-em-up sci-fy with Tom Cruise and another few people. It was really good. I got popcorn.

After the movie we decided to get a sandwich from Subway which we took back to our room. We drank milk with it and ate some of our chips. Total cost was about $7 for the both of us. We split a foot long ham and cheese.

It’s 5:09 and we’ve been sitting around resting and reading since eating that sandwich. I’d say we’re in for the night, but there’s a wine tasting event here in the hotel at 6:30. After that, we’re in for the night. Diane will taste the wine and I’ll eat the snacks. I suspect this is an event designed to encourage participants to buy lots of wine from the vineyard that’s putting it on. Considering how comfortable Diane is, stretched out on the couch with her book, wine tasting my not happen.

So, I’ll end this. My next entry will be about how nice it is to be a slug.

Vacation – Day 10 Reno, Nevada

Posted on by

Today was extremely pleasant and relaxing. It started when I exited our assigned bedroom at K&M’s, in Foresthill, and found Mike sitting on the couch watching TV with the sound off. The coffee was done so I grabbed a cup and we sat. We talked while watching the silent TV until the women awoke. I have no idea when I got up, how long we talked, or when the women arose which is a testament to the value I place on the conversation Mike and I had.

I don’t remember everything we talked about, but it was very enjoyable. It was manly type stuff, I’m sure, involving tires, computers, trucks, and such. And cooking. Mike is really good at that.

Once the women got up and were communicating as good as Mike and I were, Mike retired to the kitchen to work on breakfast. It was an oven bake of eggs, shredded potatoes, and ham. It was most excellent. We all sat at the table and ate almost all of it.

Then Mike went to work to fire up the BBQ grill in preparation for the ribs he was going to cook in the afternoon. While he was doing this, Kathie, Diane, and I walked down the street to one of their neighbor’s homes where a sale was in progress. Everything was going out the door. Since we were late, all the good stuff was already gone, of course. We’ll never know what we missed. But we did buy a 6×9 area rug and Kathie got a really pretty bowl. I rolled the rug up, put it on my shoulder and trudged back up the hill with the girls.

Then we all climbed into Mike’s new Ford F-150 Crew Cab Short Bed Pick Up Truck and got a tour of Foresthill. Diane now officially has Truck Envy. I must admit, Mike’s truck is a beauty. Foresthill is a small community in a very picturesque setting at a 2600 foot elevation. I say small, but it just looks that way because all the houses are spread out over a large area. The town has a new high school with a total of 200 students. Just the right size.

After returning to the house Diane and I sat on the couch while Kathie and Mike worked on the incredible meal to come. Actually, we packed up our stuff and stuffed it in the Buick, in preparation for our planned 5 o’clock departure. We visited for a short time, bid our adieu’s, climbed in the Buick and headed down the hill back to I-80. Remember … it’s left at the end of the road, left at the end of the next road, then right onto I-80, and about 95 miles to Reno.

The trip was uneventful except when we climbed to 7000 feet and I was concerned that it might be a bit chilly if the Buick broke and I had to walk for help. Thankfully, Diane was driving, nothing broke, and we made it to our Reno abode around 6:50 pm.

Our room is very nice, for which we’re pleased. It’s on the 13th floor with a view of the city.

Once we were properly ensconced, and everything was put away for the duration of our stay, we went about fixing simple things to eat. Our room has a toaster so Diane had peanut butter toast, a glass of milk, and an apple. I was going to have a chunk of cheese and an apple but had to modify that choice when I discovered the cheese was missing. Dang! I hate when that happens. I’m the one who reloaded the cooler so it’s on me for leaving it behind. Diane contacted Kathie, via text, and begged her to bring the cheese to us, but she refused. Actually, I begged Diane to ask Kathie to bring the cheese, but she refused. I was kidding, of course. We’ll drive back in the morning to get it, and the lettuce and onion I left behind. Either that, or go buy another Tillamook Loaf, which would probably be a lot cheaper. And, Kathie told Diane they were going to make salad with what I left. That’s fair.

So, that was our 45th anniversary dinner … pretty simple fare, alone in our room. We’re both OK with that. And, we got to watch a couple more episodes of Big Bang Theory.

Thanks, Mike & Kathie, for your hospitality and a great visit.