Friggin' Reno!

Never in a million years would I have guessed that I would end up in Reno, Nevada! Wow, how did this happen? We ask ourselves this question almost daily.

We live about 15 minutes from the California border. We're dangerously close to Lake Tahoe and all of it's pretentiousness and ski bums and hitch hiking snowboarders. Don't we all wish that we had a trust fund so that we could avoid real work and finely tune our skiing abilities? Nah, we're better people for not having had that, I say reluctantly. lol.

So...we don't ski or snow board, but there is awesome hiking opportunities - across breath taking landscapes. The allure of this area is so obvious. But, it doesn't take long to realize that you need lots of money to thrive here. Housing, taxes, gas, food - it's all more expensive here. It makes one wonder how regular people make it out west. You definitly have to be creative!

Reno...what a weird city. It's just packed with casino's and old people. Their state flag should have leopard print on it!! If you're someone from my age group, there is not much going on here. There are a couple of jazz clubs and ice skating down town. Other than that, this is a town that bad country songs are written about. I've heard that it's getting better than it used to be. It's going to have to! Old people don't live forever!

The good thing about living here is that it's close to California, without California expenses. And we are about 2.5 hours from San Francisco where there are almost unlimited cool concerts to go to in the most intimate of venues. An opportunity that the average Michigander doesn't get very often. It's worth living here just for that alone!!

We snail through the week, so that we can explore on the weekends. Last weekend, the weather prohibited us from going into California, because the Donner Summit (7,200 feet above sea level) got a bunch of formidable weather.

So, we were stuck in Reno! We busied ourselves with food from Micheal's deli and visits to the local antique shops and Sierra Trading post. That's really all Reno has to offer.

When does the train leave for Oregon? I'm ready for more adventure... We'll see. First I have to find out why my dirt road journey led me to Reno.

Cheers!