My husband K got up at 7, so that he could take a shower. I slept until 7:30. I checked the Weather Channel app, when I woke up- 55 degrees!
We were to breakfast at 8:15 and found that the juice machine was still broken. K decided I needed orange juice and paid $3 at the vending machine for a bottle. Then, the coffee machine went down. So very glad we are leaving here. The next place doesn't have breakfast, but we won't have to put up with a subpar one, either.
We left around 9:40 (24987 on the odometer). Very quickly, we were not only seeing mountains, but also riding through mountain passes.
The trip was pretty, but uneventful and brief. K wanted to visit the National Automobile Museum. So, we headed there first, when we arrived in Reno. We parked at 10:20 (25022).
There are certain advantages to getting older and one of them is senior rates at museums. Thanks to that we paid only $13 each.
The museum mostly houses the collection of William F. Harrah, of the gaming empire. They are sort of in chronological order and don't really go past the 1940s from what I could tell. There were some truly classic cars in there and all of them could be sponsored or already were. Each had a large info card giving the make, model, year and other info. I think this 1892 Philion and the Panhard & Levassor were the oldest we saw.
I'll be honest: I'm not a car enthusiast. I know enough about the innards to recognize terms. However, I did love Matchbox cars and some Hot Wheels for the way they looked. So, I did not spend time reading all the signs. I photographed the cars that I thought were important or gorgeous. And, yes, some really old cars can be gorgeous, although I'll admit that the Philion is not one of them.
I know that I've heard of a Locomobile. I did not know that it had a steam engine. Looking at it in profile, you can understand why they were called "horseless carriages".
There were early examples of other familiar brands: Packard, Oldsmobile, Ford, Cadillac, Peugot, Rambler ( my parents had a Rambler, when I was a kid), and Stutz. It's amazing how many of these were red, my favorite color.
Some cars were just objectively gorgeous.
Seeing the 1947 Volkswagen served to show how imperceptibly little the car changed.
They had some classic Burma Shave signs, as well as a fascinating display of old gas pumps. They look nothing like today's.
Other brands were shown from the 1920s and 1930s: Studebaker, Rolls Royce (American, as in made here), Duesenberg, Mercedes Benz, M.G., and Porsche.
They also had a REO-Speed Delivery truck and it was a beauty. They acknowledged on the info card that the group REO Speedwagon took their name from a 1915 version of the truck.
Besides the old cars, they had some from screen and television or inspired by them. They also had a gold-plated DeLorean, which, while not on the screen, did inspire the use of a DeLorean for Back to the Future. Yes, they had one of those, too. I was very excited by the TV Batmobile. I kept hearing the opening notes of the theme song!
We stopped in the gift shop, which was mostly toy cars.
It was 1:32, when we left and we were definitely hungry for lunch. Since we'd been thwarted our first day in Reno, we decided to give In N Out another shot. There was one in Keystone Square and just 8 minutes away (25023). K ordered a cheesburger for $3.20 and a medium Diet Coke for $1.85. I got a burger for $2.85 and a regular chocolate shake for $2. I also ordered fries for us to share for $2.05.
Since we are still careful because of Covid- and probably always will be- I found a table away from folks and I held court while K got the meals, when our number was called. The food was as tasty as we remembered.
We left at 2:30 and drove just two minutes to the nearby CVS on the other side of I 80. I wanted more of the Band-Aids I'd gotten in Burns, but no luck. I picked up some that were supposed to be gentle.
Since the next hotel did not have breakfast, we drove across the street from the CVS to a Raley's at 2:52. We got bagels, a tub of cream cheese, some mandarins, bananas, and juice for me.
Thus supplied, we drove to the Peppermill Resort Spa Casino, our last hotel of the trip. We had to circle the large complex, because Google couldn't find the entrance. It wasn't terribly easy for us, either. At 3:48(25029), totally confused, we parked on the surface lot near what seemed to be the main entrance, which was under a long overhang with fancy lights.
It was the correct door to go in to the registration desk. The casino was nearby, as were two shops and a small area with food and tables. We stood in line and saw that they were advertising the ClarinetFest on their electronic board behind the registration desk.
It took us until 4:08 to get checked in. Then, we had to go out and move the car up into the parking deck. At 4:14 (25030), the car was parked in row 4E. We unloaded everything and headed for the elevators. These only took you down to the second floor. Then, you walked a long ramp to the escalators and stairs or took the elevator. Any of these took you down into the registration area, which you passed to get to the elevators that took you up into the hotel towers. This had to be reversed to get back to the parking deck. This was ridiculous, as far as we were concerned.
There was remodeling being done in the hotel and they said they'd given us a room away from it. We were in Room 1123, which was spacious, with a nice bath and interesting gold-themed art.
We got unpacked and put cold things in the mini fridge that was part of the unit across from the bed.
Since we did not know the area and he needed to check into the conference, K made a 6:30 dinner reservation at the least expensive restaurant in the complex, Biscotti's. The service was seriously subpar. First, they sent us to the wrong table. After we'd sat there a bit, they moved us to another that had no silverware or napkins. We kept waiting for them to be delivered after we finally placed our order for K's Everything Salmon Salad ($22) and my Biscotti's Chopped Salad- Full ($14).
When the salads were brought, the server said to enjoy it and I asked how. So, he went and got silverware and napkins. I noticed a pitcher of white dressing was put next to mine. I asked what it was and was told "balsamic". "No", I replied,"look at the color." After a moment, he took it away. He'd had to ask whose was whose, which should never be done, when you are charging those prices.
At least the food was good. I ordered the Peppermill Signature Salted Caramel Liefe Waffle only to be told there was none available. It took a ridiculously long time to get our credit card and bill back. I began to become concerned, because K had to pick up his conference registration materials by 8 and it was well after 7:30. I couldn't send him on, because it was his credit card. Finally, we were able to leave at 7:45.
We made our way to the conference registration table at 7:50, where, of course, he knew people. While he kibbitzed, I noted the fancy bar across from the convention halls. The International Clarinet Association had rightly demanded that no smoking be near these rooms. So, this bar had a sign about being smoke-free during the conference. I guess people in Nevada can't drink or gamble without cigarettes.
To make it up to me for the lack of dessert, K suggested going to the gelato and sandwich café next to the conference rooms. Of course, he got nothing, but I chose salted caramel and sugar-free chocolate gelato ($7.53). Since it was cold inside, we went out to sit by the pool. It was shockingly cold out there for July. Maybe, it is because Reno is basically a desert.
K saw people he knew, who stopped to chat. Finally, frozen to the bone, I headed to the room at 9:07 and K went to the car to get our jackets, because the whole place is cold.
I walked 6,435 steps for 2.2 miles today.
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