Friday, November 28, 2008

Day One-hundred-and-fifty-one: More memories

I'm staying in a hotel in Reno that Marilyn and I once stayed at.  I had forgotten how bad it was but at least it is reasonable, and has free WiFi.  I walked over to the Peppermill casino to have dinner but their only likely source of vegan food was a Chinese restaurant that will open the middle of December.  So, I gambled before I walked back to hotel to eat out of my traveling stash.  (I'm limiting myself to $100 per casino unless I'm using their money.)  However, I decided not to reinvest $30 in winnings and the original $20, which means that I only lost $50.

At this rate, my Den of Inequities tour will be very short.  Cigarette smoke and losing take the luster off of it.  I can tolerate the cigarette smoke much better if I'm winning but to have to pay for the punishment...

This trip so far is a series of memories of Marilyn.  Auburn and the Grass Valley turn off all the way to Grae Eagle.  Auburn itself.  Truckee.  She loved to poke around in Truckee's stores.  We were there more than once.  One time we even went skiing at the downtown Truckee ski slope.  She said it reminded her a lot of Mansfield.

Even Reno has several memories, our first or second Thanksgiving on the road was a trip to Reno to stay at the Flamingo Hilton.  As we were walking up to check-in, my son, who was no older than five, was jaw dropping amazed at the machines that gave real money.  Someone had just hit a minor jackpot and the machine was paying out.  Now they are all paper.  It definitely takes the fun out of it and makes it easier to go through money.  There's no slowing to look for double dated, 1976, quarters or pulling out state quarters.

Life keeps changing.  I guess that's what makes it Life after Layoff.

It is a longer drive to Reno from Pacifica than Fremont anyway and the stop, stop, and go around I-680 didn't help.  I think I will try and stop while it is still daylight tomorrow, which means that I need to get to bed early enough to get up and get out early.  So, its off to the shower and then to bed.

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