For reasons included in a friends-locked post (don't worry, I'm okay), I had to go back to Reno this afternoon. The timing was such that I did not have time to each lunch before heading into town, and by the time I got away, I was getting pretty hungry. So I decided to do something I've not done for several years and have lunch at the Manhattan Deli at the Atlantis Hotel. Those of you who attended the 2011 Worldcon may have eaten a meal or two there. It has been described by some sources as the best New York-style deli in Nevada.

Having been burned before by their larger portions, I had a half-sandwich (pastrami) and a cup of matzo ball soup. I forgot to take a picture, but believe me, it was filling enough.

I marked a keno ticket while eating, and won $1. Unfortunately, the ticket cost $5. Ah, well, that's why they call it gambling.

Lisa has been up nights of late, avoiding the heat by sleeping during the day, and of course I normally have to be up before dawn for the Day Jobbe anyway, so we took advantage of this by heading to Reno to do our grocery shopping. WinCo is open 24 hours anyway, and getting there before 7 AM on a Sunday made shopping a breeze, as customers were outnumbered by people finishing overnight restocking, and we mainly had to dodge pallet movers.

It was still pretty quiet when we decided to go have a look inside one of the places we hadn't visited since before the pandemic: the Atlantis Hotel-Casino, which some of you will remember as the building connected to the Reno-Sparks Convention Center, site of the 2011 Worldcon. We tried to go there once during the depths of the pandemic, not to gamble, but to buy a take-out meal from one of the restaurants; however, the way they caused people to bunch up at the doors to have their temperatures taken (thus violating social distancing and substituting a form of "safety theatre") caused us to balk.

( Edging Back to Normality )

We weren't there to eat this morning, just to check the place out in anticipation of returning again. There are some pandemic protections like putting plexiglass separators between slot machines and at some of the gaming tables that we hope that they will retain.

Although we got most of the things for which we were shopping at WinCo, there were other things that it took trips to three other stores to get. We've had to take the Wedge Parkway Raley's off of our regular rotation because the rebuild into an O-N-E Market has led to them dropping many things we regularly purchased. Fortunately, some of the other Raley's store have most of the other items. (However, not all of them, and it takes trial and error to find out which of their stores have which things.)

By the time we got home, it was near the end of Lisa's "day" and I was pretty tired myself. After having some lunch, I fell into bed for several hours in the middle of the day. For the past week or so, the midday heat has driven me to a state of lethargy, and several times I've taken a siesta, which seems like a good adaption to the hot weather.

About 7 AM Sunday morning, I decided to see if if the Wigwam Restaurant, which reopened a week ago, was sufficiently lightly loaded to risk having breakfast there. On the way, I spotted one of the local rabbits, and it spotted me as well and dashed over to what it presumably thought was a safer location.

( Keeping an Eye Peeled )

There were only two other patrons in the Wigwam, so I decided I could risk having breakfast. The previous morning, the parking lot was full of cars and I didn't even bother going inside. The staff of the Wigwam all are wearing masks, half of the tables are marked off to preserve distance between them, and there are no condiments on the table. Everything is brought to you so that they can wipe them down after you're done.

I enjoyed my breakfast, and I still think the risk under these conditions is low, but I do note that I'm the only customer who wore a mask into/out of the restaurant. (Obviously, I had to take it off to eat.) There have been very few cases of COVID-19 in Lyon County, and only one death, but that doesn't mean I won't take precautions, including making sure there are a minimal number of other people around.

I wonder if the people complaining about restrictions as being contrary to their Freedom think that all science can be put to a vote. Maybe they don't think the law of gravity is real, either, and it infringes upon their freedom to jump off a cliff without dying. Maybe they should organize a cliff-jumping protest to Show Gravity Who's the Boss.

I read yesterday that the iconic Harrah's Reno hotel-casino has been sold and that it will be redeveloped a non-gaming property, changing it from a hotel-casino to an apartment-office-retail building. So today, Lisa and I went to Reno to do some shopping and to look in on Harrah's for what might be the final time.

Since getting the tooth removed that was pinching a nerve, Lisa says that the "primary" tinnitus (the high-pitched tone) is mostly gone; however, years of using a white-noise masking device has left her with "secondary" tinnitus. It's not as bad, but it's still troubling her. There are times, however, when she can get "off the wire," and that led to our shopping trip today.

We plan a trip soon that will take us to hotels with indoor pools/hot tubs. Lisa hasn't been able to be in a pool since she started using the masking devices. She may be able to do so on this trip, and she wanted a new swimsuit. I needed new swim trunks myself. For roughly twenty years, I've been mostly using the San Jose-imprinted trunks that the San Jose convention center gave me while we were bidding for the 2002 Worldcon. Sometime in the past year, I think I must have left them behind in a hotel, because I can't find them. They were pretty worn out anyway. So in we went to Reno to search for swimsuits. We found something that will work for Lisa (amazingly, it was US-made and on sale) and I managed to find something that fits me as well. I'm not really a flowered-swim-trunks kind of guy, having tended to mostly solid black for many years, but these will fit and I'll survive.

After dealing with the shopping, we drove to Harrah's, intending to have dinner. We noticed that they have a big "locals discount" on their buffet for members of their affinity program. Although it hardly makes a difference with the casino about to close, I went to sign up. I discovered that I was already in their system twice and that I'd forgotten about it. Being in there from the Sunnyvale address didn't surprise me. Having a record going all the way back to Sutter did. I told them that both the Sutter and Sunnyvale addresses were me, and that I now live in Fernley. They reactivated my account and issued me a new card.

Before going up to look for dinner, Lisa and I admired a small dragon parade (the hotel being all done up for Chinese New Year) trailing through the casino floor. The buffet had just opened when we got upstairs and the queue was long. Lisa held our place while I used the restroom. When I came back, I found that Lisa had balked; the lowball price on the buffet was because it wasn't all-inclusive and would have nickled-and-dimed us and that annoyed her. We also checked out the Hash House A-Go-Go franchise, where we'd eaten once before, but there was nothing that grabbed Lisa's attention this trip. So in the end, we just ended up looking around and not actually spending any money in the casino before heading home after stopping at Raley's in Sparks to pick up a few items not stocked at the Fernley location.

It's unclear how long Harrah's will remain as a hotel-casino. If you come through Reno on your way to Westercon 74 and the resort is closed, you can still see the last remnant of Bill Harrah's legacy: the National Automobile Museum, which was created from Harrah's massive collection of automobiles. It includes the Thomas Flyer, winner of the 1908 New York-to-Paris automobile race that is the (very loose) inspiration for the movie The Great Race. That race is part of Tonopah's history, as it passed through the town, as commemorated by a mural on the side of the Mizpah Club. Thanks to Bill Harrah, you can come through Reno, see the winning car, then come to Tonopah where the race actually passed more than a century ago.

I won what I call a "free breakfast" from the Wigwam restaurant (enough winnings from gambling in their small casino to pay for a meal) and went there this morning for breakfast.

( Big Tipper )

Then it was time to walk home and start digging through the pile of mail that accumulated while we were gone. I had made an earlier quick pass right after we returned home to check for anything urgent, but there was a lot of mail left, nearly all of it worthless. However, I did manage to get a little bit of value of some of it.

( Junk Mail Roasting on an.... )

Lisa is roasting a duck with honey glaze again, which suits me just fine. When she went to check on it (one of the few times we use the large oven in the kitchen), I took a picture of it.

( Duck Under Preparation )

In a couple of hours we will have our traditional dinner of duck, stuffing, corn, and pumpkin pie.

Lisa and I ran into Reno today hoping to get a part for the travel trailer. Unfortunately, both of the places that we've gone before, both of which have listed open hours on Sunday, were closed when we got there within their posted hours. One of them had a notice saying they'll be closed from December 20 through sometime around New Year's Day. The other had no notice, but I assume they're also taking a holiday. It's not critical, but it would have been nice to know before we (mostly) wasted the trip. It was not a total waste, however, as we were able to get what is probably our last shot at the good eggnog (Strauss dairy) from Whole Foods, and there were some other grocery items we can't get from Fernley.

We had dinner at the Peppermill buffet. I'm glad we were there just as they opened, for by the time we finished dinner the place was packed, so being there at the start meant we got our usual table and were able to get the food we wanted without having to dodge people too badly, although I did almost collide hard with one woman who was coming around a pillar a bit more quickly than I expected. On our way out we chatted briefly with the manager, bade her a happy holiday, and told her not to expect to see us again until sometime in the new year, as we try to avoid the place during the busy times. "Good choice," she said, laughing.

Based on my following the chain controls over Donner Summit via Twitter, it looks like I made the right call about not going to San Jose this past weekend. I might have eventually made it back over the mountain today, but it would have been difficult, nerve-wracking, and potentially dangerous. Even when driving slowly, making your way through ice and snow is hazardous. Today we only had to contend with some nasty high winds through the Truckee River canyon, and that was enough for me.

Early this evening, Lisa and I went into Reno planning to do so some shopping, get some dinner, and finish with our large grocery run. (WinCo Foods is open 24/7 and thus doesn't constrain our plans.) We first went to Cost Plus World Market for a combination of things that we get regularly and few specialty things I wanted to have tomorrow. Unfortunately, they've stopped carrying the pickled eggs that I like now and then. I'm now annoyed with myself for throwing away the empty (except for the pickling brine) jar of pickles last week; I could have dropped some hard-boiled eggs into the jar and made my own.

After Cost Plus, we decided to try something different and drove to downtown Reno, where we rarely venture these days. We walked through a bunch of the casinos, but nothing really interested us, or else we didn't want to wait a long time to get a seat. On a whim, we detoured through Harrah's, where we decided to give their Hash House a Go Go franchise a try. The food seemed pretty good, once you got past what I considered the much too elaborate presentation. If they're really trying to evoke farmhouse cooking, they are doing it wrong, at least compared to this raised-on-his-granparents'-farm boy's memory. And I really don't see the need to toss asparagus and sage on so many things. But again, the food itself was good and we may give them a try again sometime, possibly if we come downtown to see a Reno Aces game this coming season.

After dinner, we decided to skip the WinCo run and head home, it being a bit later than we originally anticipated when we made our plans. We might come in sometime this coming week, after this storm that is moving through (our trip this evening was between the two waves of the storm; we might get snow tonight) has blown itself out.

Still, we really need to remember that coming to Reno on Friday/Saturday is often more than we want now that we live in the area. We're Sunday-Thursday off-peak locals now; the weekend rush and big crowds are off-putting. That's boring we are.

I was feeling well enough yesterday that after work (and after I cleaned the fireplace and Lisa did some repairs to the fireplace door, the latch of which was working loose), we went into Reno to hunt for a Christmas duck from Butcher Boy. They had run out of them in their display case, but had some in the back, so we're set. We went to the Peppermill, where the hostess recognized us and seated us at our usual table even though they weren't generally seating people in that area of the Island Buffet that evening due to it being a quiet night. (We prefer quiet nights!)

Over dinner, I learned another lesson about "check your keno ticket" because it wasn't until I cashed it that I realized that the keno runner had mis-read how I'd marked my request, and consequently she'd issued me a different set of numbers than the ones I requested. I would have broken even on my own numbers instead of losing $8. Yep, need to pay closer attention. I didn't bother protesting. I've read the rules: the ticket they issue is what counts, not what you intended, unless you call it to their attention at the time they issue it.

I think we'll have to make at least one more trip to Reno before Christmas for some grocery items that we can't get in Reno ever since Raley's took over Scolari's grocery store.

This morning we were on the road very early so that we could get to Big O Tires in Reno when they opened at 7:30 this morning. That's because the left-front tire on the Astro has been slowly leaking for a while now, and it was presumably covered by warranty. They found the problem, fixed it, and also rotated the tires as it was time anyway, all covered.

Based on the weather forecast next week, it's looking increasingly like we'll need to travel to SMOFCon in Lisa's small orange pickup, which is nowhere near as comfortable as the minivan, but Lisa's vehicles are 4WD with snow tires, and there's a pretty good chance that we'll need that to get over the top on Thursday morning (or possibly Wednesday afternoon, depending on our last-minute plans.

After dealing with the tires, we went to the Peppermill for Saturday brunch. Luck was with us on keno: I won $10. (One more number in the right place and it would have been $100, but that's how it goes.) We then had some shopping to do, both for ourselves (we both needed shoes, and SAS was running a buy-one-get-one-half-price sale) and for others (we picked up the stuff for a gift basket for my sister) before heading home. Weather was good. Traffic was not bad. It was a pretty good day.

On account of coming back from Utah a day sooner than originally planned, we had all day on Sunday to make the trip home, and could have stopped short had we wished. Without time pressure, we were able to stop and look at some of the things we have previously wanted to explore but didn't have time on other trips.

I know I originally wrote that the breakfast buffet at the Red Garter was okay. I have since downgraded it to "avoid" because Lisa was feeling sick much of the day we ate there and attributes it to their food preparation. (This was a contributing factor, but not the main one, toward our cutting the Utah portion of the trip short.) The beds in the hotel rooms, however, were among the best we've had, and we've stayed in lots of hotels. It was neither so hard that we felt like we were sleeping on plywood nor so soft that we would keep rolling into each other in the center of the bed in our sleep. So we recommend the hotel, but not their coffee shop, and on Sunday we ate breakfast at the Wendover Peppermill. We had breakfast in the coffee shop, as their buffet (and much of the west end of the building) is under renovation.

We would have stopped to look at the small aviation museum at Wendover Field, but it's closed on Sunday. We did not go poking around the outdoor exhibits because it was raining, and it rained hard on us for quite a while today. But it relented a bit at Elko, and a handout at the Red Lion Hotel/Casino tourist information rack reminded us of a museum we'd passed before. Today we finally had a look.

( A Visit to the Mountain of Wildlife )

The museum was well worth the $8 admission (for two) and the time we spent visiting it. We also picked up a book on the history of the Southern Pacific Railroad's Salt Lake Division (Sparks to Ogden), which covers where we live. I'm looking forward to reading this one very much.

( Speaking of Railroads )

Leaving Elko, we pushed on to Winnemucca, where we stopped to have dinner at Winner's Casino. They once had signs all along the freeway touting their all-you-can-eat spaghetti dinner. The signs are gone, but the deal still remains, and it's a good one. Lisa and I had three helpings, and considered the meal good value. This is a good place to stop for a meal if your travel takes you through here.

We had an option to stop here for the night, but Lisa (who actually drove the entire trip) said she was up to driving, so we kept going, and as I said yesterday, we got home about 10 PM. We originally had planned to stay home today, but had an offer from Cost Plus World Market that was worth going in to Reno to use.

( Rare Reno Holiday Visit )

Completing our dining and grocery shopping, we headed home. I didn't get everything done today that I'd planned to do. I hope I can get the Worldcon business done in the next few evenings after work.