Reno: Day One

The day was mostly consumed by the usual air travel events and getting to the hotel. We got to our room around 1:30 and took the all-important nap. We are such exciting travelers!

From the airport we first went to downtown Reno and scoped out the hotel. Not knowing whether it was too early to check in, we decided to find some lunch. I played navigator, directing us north past the University of Nevada–Reno. One would think that being a fairly large campus the property would be ringed with places that serve up cheap eats. I guess college kids in Reno have a lot more money than those in IL, IN, and WI, as we found no “burritos the size of your head” in that area. However, we eventually happened upon the only Sonic drive-in in town. Sonic is the one thing my partner misses from having stayed in Oklahoma for most of a year while working on contract. When I went to the Sooner state to visit and as company for the ride back home, I became particularly fond of Sonic’s Powerade® slushes. So in Reno we stopped and had a couple of their promotional Island Fire sandwiches with an order of cheddar poppers (not available on their web menu), and we satisfied our soft-drink joneses with the crucial slush and a fondly remembered cherry limeade. We would return to Sonic several times over the course of the next week, which leaves me with mixed feelings. On the one hand, there’s so much good food available in the Reno–Sparks area that we really should have tried a few more places; on the other, convenience is a big factor when we are on vacation.

We arrived at the hotel, Circus Circus, and immediately saw a plaque inviting us to “check in as early as 8:00 A.M.” The valet took our car, we checked in, and then we checked in at the reunion hospitality suite. We were given a Sculpin mug and a chance to win one of several prizes in the fundraising raffle. The proceeds, along with the dinner fee, drink fee and donations, paid for the reunion. We bought lots of tickets. Drinks in the hospitality suite were two dollars each regardless of the kind of drink purchased. Being in a generous mood, we drank a fair amount of coffee at two dollars a pop and put some extra into the kitty as well.

Then came time for the all-important nap. What more needs to be said?

When we got up we headed to Walgreens for some forgotten items—hair brush and the like—and, since the hotel put only two single-cup coffee packs in the room, some alternative caffeine delivery systems: a gallon of Arizona tea and some test flavors of Mountain Dew. Then we went back to Sonic for a quick meal, to maximize the time we could spend with the other veteran submariners. We closed the place down, helping the reunion organizer to clean up the mess and count the day’s proceeds. Then to bed because Friday would be an early day.