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Headin' to the Little City
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LilyJDragonfly



Joined: 03 Mar 2009
Posts: 425

PostPosted: Nov Sat 01, 2014 8:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hell yeah! One of y'all young bucks could strap on a camera and get to shootin' for us... who will it be?
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Shooty



Joined: 22 Jan 2006
Posts: 182

PostPosted: Nov Tue 18, 2014 4:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Alright, I made it back from Reno, here are the details.

The basic point of the trip was to buy a new VW Golf. The TDI versions just hit showrooms in late August, and I wanted exactly what I wanted. After scouring the internet for about 6 weeks, I found one to my taste in Stockton, CA. But I didn't want to pay CA tax, so I arranged for a Reno dealer to sell it to me. I'd then go to Reno and drive it home.

I also had a bunch of leave to burn before the new year. 6 days worth. So I made a big trip out of this.

I flew to Salt Lake City and rented a car. Why Salt Lake? Because it's near one of my favorite places in the US, the hot springs in Lava Hot Springs, Idaho. I spent Thursday night there, and the daytime hours on Friday. On Friday night, I was to catch the California Zephyr in Salt Lake at 11:00P and ride it west to Reno, arriving at 8:35A. However, long-haul Amtrak trains on the west coast are always late, so it wasn't a huge surprise when I learned my train wouldn't leave before 1:45A. What to do in Salt Lake City on a Friday night? I went to a movie, in Bountiful, a 9:15P showing of Intersteller. It was really, really good. Then dropped the car at the airport, taxi to the Amtrak station, and settled into my seat around 1:40A.

I slept a couple hours on the train, aided in no small measure by the $5 box of white wine I bought at a Utah liquor store/DMV. Not wanting trouble, I drank it from a plastic cup, and masked its presence by keeping a half-full 20oz. bottle of Nestle Green Tea on the tray. I don't think the Amtrak crew really gave a darn, I certainly wasn't creating a scene. Still, best to be safe.

Around 8:00A Saturday, somewhere after Winnemucca, I went to the dining car for breakfast. I was seated with a pretty young woman with long, messy red hair. Her name was Shyla, she was 22-23, and said this was her first time out of her home state of Florida, save one junior high trip to Georgia. She said she'd met friends who live in Reno and decided to move there. That's quite a leap!

She told me she'd never taken a train. I asked her why she didn't just fly, and she said it was because of bag fees, she had 2 checked bags and didn't want to pay to fly them. She then confided that the looked like heck because she'd been on trains since Monday morning, now almost 5 days ago, with no access to her checked bags with all her clothes and girly-what-nots. Apparently she didn't realize she wouldn't have access to her bags during her 12 hour layover in Washington DC or 6 hours in Chicago. She said the food on the train was really bad, and that the hamburgers in the snack bar "come from a plastic bag and are put in a microwave!" I bought her breakfast.

We pulled into Reno about 1030A. It was time to get my car. First, I dropped my two bags at Harrah's, making sure to have the license plates from my home DMV with me. I then went to Cal Neva and put $200 into my William Hill online sports account, so that I could bet from my iPad. I then went over to the bus terminal. I love riding public transit, always have. I bought a 24 hour pass for $3.75 and rode the Rapid to Atlantis. I churned through $20 there, just to keep my name active with their slot club (something I always do in Reno places I like).

I then took a taxi down Virginia to get my new ride. A shiny red 2015 VW Golf TDI SE. First stop was Scheels, the huge sporting good store in Sparks. I then went over to Wingstop in NW Reno for an early dinner. Love that chain, don't have them where I live.

Then went back downtown and checked in at Harrah's. Since I still have the bus pass, and since I'm not a drunk driver, I hopped #11 to Sparks and played a little bartop VP at Bourbon Square, which is the former Silver Nugget (right?). Then went to the former JA Nugget and played some more bartop VP. Dang but that place is generous. 9/6 JoB on a bartop at the quarter level and quick bar service from the older barkeeps at the Horseshoe Bar, even on a busy Saturday night. On the way out, I noticed that the cheesy prospector statute was missing. A group of staffers told me that, with the new ownership, it had been moved to a nearby parking lot for delivery to some museum in town. Which museum they weren't quite sure.

On Sunday, I wanted to get to know my new car better. With the Niners playing an early game in New Orleans, and with the car outfitted with Sirius, I decided on a good roadtrip. At 9:30A, I headed east on 80, then south to Yerington for breakfast, around 11:00A. I've been everywhere in Nevada (EVERYWHERE), but I don't remember being in Yerington before. I ate at Dini's Lucky Club, which looks to be an old mainstay casino downtown. No table games, but lots of slots and a very good club sandwich.

After lunch, I continued south, hooked up with US395 just north of Topaz Lake, then took a right turn to my favorite mountain road, CA-89 over Monitor Pass. A week earlier it'd been closed by snow, and they don't plow it in winter. But on this Sunday it was sunny and 60 and the pavement was dry. I was going to stop at Grover Hot Springs nearby, but my soaks at the far-superior Lava Hot Springs on Thursday and Friday met my needs, and so I continued through Markleeville back north to Carson City.

In Carson City, I'd read about a little hole in the wall near a laundromat that serves great tamales. Yelp was right, The Lady Tamales are terrific. I had three, added some rice and beans and a can of Coke for $7 or so.

The last stop with my new ride would be Virginia City. I'd been through Virginia City many times, but it was always just a side trip on a Tuesday morning or some such, when nothing was going on. Well, on this Sunday afternoon in early November, the town was very busy. Especially the Bucket of Blood, full of older white people dressed in pretty elaborate cowboy and cowgirl costumes. Nearly all of them had holstered six-shooters, and I expect most of the guns were real and loaded. There was a pretty good country western band playing, David John & The Comstock Cowboys, perfect for the crowd.

Descending into Reno, I paused to take the one photo worth sharing.



Back in Reno, it was time to maybe gamble a little. I put some money on that night's Warriors game and watched them lose from the Harrahs sports bar. I then walked around downtown, sprinkling a little play at Sands Regency (how that place stays in business is beyond me), Circus Circus (a $30 win card-fueled win), Silver Legacy (some crazy slot machine for 20 minutes or so), and bartop VP at Eldorado, where I slurped down 3-4 Godfathers.

I then hit a $5 single-deck BJ table at Cal Neva populated by a group of 5 young guys in their late 20s. They all went to Cal then became friends working at some sort of student police unit. Not campus police apparently, but affilliated. The table was great fun, but I lost maybe $10 after two hours of half-heartedly spreading $5-$20 via the KO system.

Last stop was a midnight Awful Awful at the Little Nugget. God I love that place and that burger! For years, it's been the same cook at the grill, a chubby latino who makes 'em just how I like 'em. Don't know your name, but I love what you do!

Monday I slept late. I played some pai gow poker and slots at Siena. Once my favorite casino in the world, mostly for its ridiculous generosity. I'm sure I helped them go bankrupt years ago. This new Siena has better management and deals reasonable games, but I can't stand the fluorescent lights over the pit. Hideous!

Afterwards, I took the bus down to Peppermill for the fantastic happy hour in the Fireside Lounge. Love this place. Got there at four, but there were five couples at the machines and I didn't get seated until 4:40P. At first, the seat next to me was empty. But soon another young redhead, Christine sat down, half drunk. I let her be, wasting her $1 bets on video blackjack while the great Mark the Bartender served us free huge tropical drinks (Mark said one of the fruity monstrosities he served me was called Burning Gonorrhea) and free apps (shrimp cocktails & potato skins) while I slowly played good quarter 9/7 DB.

Then Christine's Mom came. I was chivalrous and moved aside so all three of us could sit. After about 20 minutes, Christina left and I chatted with the Mom, whose name I've of course forgotten. Then Christina comes back and says she think she has hives from bad seafood at Oceano. She then asks me what I think about all the small bumps now appearing on her chest. I had been quite aware of two largish bumps in that general vicinity for some time, of course, it's what got me through the excruciating small talk. But I had to concede, following uncomfortably close examination, that the small ones she was complaining about were also undeniable. I wish I could say this was a Penthouse forum moment, something with me saying something witty then us retiring to the Safari Adventure Suite upstairs, but the simple truth was that she indeed seemed to be breaking out in hives.

Mom gave her a Benadryl and begged her to stop drinking, but I don't think Christine's the sort who stops drinking. After about two hours of them coming and going, I then met Mom's husband Ray. Nice guy, from Fairfield. I'd had enough. Bus back downtown.

Back to Siena. Watched the end of the Eagles thrashing of the Panthers from the Siena bar, then headed upstairs to Harrahs for bed.

Tuesday was my last day in Reno. It was Veterans Day. I hadn't been to Bonanza in years, so I went there. Surprisingly good selection of machines, this must be one of the test beds that slot manufacturers use. I then went to Rail City, another place I hadn't been in many years. It's really grown, and was pretty busy. I was impressed. Good looking odds too, in the tiny pit and on the VP. Threw some more money away on the Warriors, watched that game mostly from the Showroom Bar at Eldorado. Watched with the bartender, a 30ish white guy. When the announcers mentioned that the San Antonio Spurs had hired a WNBA veteran to be the NBA's first female assistant coach, the bartender, sensing he had an ally, thought he'd be funny and said "What's she going to do, give massages and backrubs?" I told him that was an assinine comment, that the Spurs are probably the smartest organization in the league and that if they thought she should be an assistant coach, it's because they respect her abilities. He didn't backtrack, veering next into how the workers holding traffic signs at construction sites are invariably female. I told him why I thought that was, and he kind of agreed. We mostly agreed not to fight about it and to enjoy the game. The Warriors lost, so not sure I enjoyed it much. Bedtime came early.

Woke up at 4A on Wednesday, drove 910 miles towards home, hit the pillow at 930P. I'd had a great long weekend in Reno, lost $31.50, and had a shiny new car. Can't wait for another reason to return!
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LilyJDragonfly



Joined: 03 Mar 2009
Posts: 425

PostPosted: Nov Tue 18, 2014 9:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

DANG!! What a grand adventure, plus a shiny new car! Nice tip on the half-full bottle for the train... but you're also correct in your assumption that the porters don't really care...
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stan_allen



Joined: 19 Dec 2005
Posts: 1129

PostPosted: Nov Wed 19, 2014 12:54 pm    Post subject: Renown Reply with quote

Great stuff; thanks for the writeup! Enjoy the new wheels....
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spdmrcht



Joined: 12 Oct 2012
Posts: 498

PostPosted: Nov Fri 21, 2014 8:51 am    Post subject: Great Trip. Reply with quote

You got it down Pat! Up until 3 yrs ago My Neighbor and I used to
do the same trip every Mo. or so. Love Yerington, stayed at
Casino west, and went back and forth to Dini's. Then on to
Hawthorne and back to Minden CVI.
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CaSwede



Joined: 28 Feb 2006
Posts: 866

PostPosted: Nov Fri 21, 2014 10:28 am    Post subject: Zoom back to home Reply with quote

Now that is being creative. You want to buy a new car and somehow figure out a way to work it into a trip to Reno, even though you are almost 1,000 miles away.
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remano



Joined: 20 Dec 2005
Posts: 717

PostPosted: Nov Wed 26, 2014 3:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Shooty, thanks for the TR. Sounds like you had a good trip, not only to Reno but also some interesting side trips we don't usually hear about. Good reading.
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Shooty



Joined: 22 Jan 2006
Posts: 182

PostPosted: Nov Thu 27, 2014 3:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the kind words about my TR.

If I was to make one strong recommendation, get to the Peppermill's Fireside Lounge for Happy Hour, it really is a good one. Great VP, great comped drinks at the quarter level, great apps, great bartender, great environment, truly the best.
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