So glad to be here.
For lunch, I had something new (for me) -- lettuce wraps. A spicy meat with
water chestnuts and habanero peppers served with carrot and rice noodles and
a half head of lettuce. You wrap the ingredients in lettuce leaves and dip in two
sauces. Fun to eat and very tasty. A California thing.
First evening stop was at a blues bar around the corner from our hotel.
I put a dollar in the poker machine and cashed out with $1.25 -- winner again, even
though I had to endure the wise cracks from a barmaid who wasn't impressed
when she cashed me out.
At Fitzgerald's Casino, a few blocks away in the middle of downtown, we watched a
classic lounge singer who Gail recognized from last year. He told us that years ago
he performed at two (now gone) supper clubs in Dayton, The Tropics and Suttmillers.
He also worked Dayton references into the lyrics of old songs that he sang.
As I watched the lounge singer, I got a free beer for playing the poker machine at
the bar. I turned 20 nickels into 92 -- $3.60 ahead. I broke even on quarter machines.
I am starting to feel the pressure -- I've beaten every gambling establishment this
side of Utah, so far.
Out hotel, The Sands. We are in the tower on the right.
The view of downtown from our room at dusk.
The same view at dawn.
Guess what this is.
Relflections of vehicles in the parking lot in the windows of the other tower at
The Sands. The little rectangles are air conditioners.
Downtown at sunrise -- view from the street in front of our hotel.
The mountains around Reno in the morning light as I walk a few blocks to Jack in
the Box for some breakfast sandwiches.
Reno with Gail -- Arrival
Gail's flight came in on time and I was there to meet her. We checked into the hotel and relaxed by the pool.