Reno or Vegas? You decide.

All I wanted was to go somewhere warm, go swimming with Gary, perhaps get a massage and relax.  It was NOT too much to ask.  The weekend away turned out great. Whew!

I went in with a "I will not get frustrated" attitude. It worked most of the time.

We took Diva Gerl to a new boarding facility on Thursday morning on our way to Reno. We stopped for breakfast in Newcastle. A Hell's Angel sat in the booth behind us.  He seemed real nice as Gary turned around in his seat and said, "good morning, gentlemen."  A few minutes later, an older man walked up to the table and started witnessing and praying for the Hell's Angel.  He told him that God's angels are always stronger and can take him further.  His response was thankful and the old man left.  Oh, to have that courage.

We took our good time going up the mountain on Highway 80. Its always a little freaky going down the other side with only two lanes and a cement traffic median on one side and a sheer cliff on the other.  I like to have options and that leaves none.  We arrived at Hotel Siena and checked in.  After we arrived, we found it was a pet friendly hotel and we could have taken our Gerl.  Oh well, too late.

The room was horrifically cold.  Gary turned on the heater to warm up the room and of course, it blew cold.  After a few minutes, we called the front desk to ask for a fix or a new room.  While an engineer was on his way, I checked out the pool which was right down the hall. It was perfect.  A rooftop pool that was crystal clear and full of sun. 

I went back to the room to find an engineer announcing that the heater did work and that the room would heat quickly.  We changed and smothered ourselves in sunscreen.  After all, it was 90 degrees outside and I planned on staying a long time.  We did.

We laid in the sun, turned over, laid some more and then splashed and played.  I swam and swam and could feel the stress melting away.  I had worked myself up pretty good over the few days preceding the trip.  We felt a nice breeze as we exited the pool and actually ended up in the hot tub.  Then, a nap next to the pool was extremely needed.  We did it all again and again. 

Nice. 

We cleaned up and went downstairs for a spectacular dinner.  Way too much food but all exquisite. We walked through the casino and decided to walk outside.  We went down a pretty path by the river and ended up at the baseball park across from the hotel.  The game was not something Gary wanted to experience as he was starting to get tired and overwhelmed.  The short walk back to the hotel was stressful as he was walking very slowly and seemed out of it.  He was in bed by 8:30. I logged onto the computer and did some reading.  Around 9:00 he asked me to turn off the t.v. and computer as I was disturbing him.  So, we fell asleep.  I needed it so I was not upset....until about 1:00 a.m.


Remember the "problem heater"?  Well, it had warmed up and sounded like a freight train roaring through our room.  There was no choice but to turn it off. By morning, Gary was "freezing" while I was comfortable.  He complained alot so I got up, showered and called maintenance.  I did not want to be up at 7:30 while on vacation.  Let it go, Ada.

Maintenance determined that heater needed to be disassembled so we had to move rooms.  We do not pack lightly so repacking and moving was stressful on Gary.  He did not understand and had forgotten about the train in our room.  I re-explained several times.  Breakfast was next.  I couldn't wait for coffee. We went to the coffee shop and they had no soy nor almond milk, so since I don't like black coffee, I ordered a diet Pepsi.  We had a breakfast sandwich and went to the room to prepare for our massages.

Wow!  80 minutes later we were massaged and relaxed.  Wonderful.  

Next we had a nap.  Gary was doing well with all the scenery changes and activities.  We went to the automobile museum across the street and saw millions of dollars in classic automobiles.  I only lost Gary once but found him next to a copper Rolls Royce. 



Gary is very proud of his Grandpa hat and t-shirt.


Next, we visited a restaurant called "Men Wielding Fire" for barbecue.  Upon the first pick up of the barbecue sauce, it squirted all over Gary, the table and the window beside him.  I picked it up and dropped it under the table and about a 1/4 cup of sauce poured out on the floor.  The waitress did not seem to care and the amount of fat we pulled out of the sandwich was disgusting.

We headed back to the room and watched television until we fell asleep.  When we were close to asleep, Gary asked if we were in Las Vegas.  I explained we were in Reno and that I understood his confusion due to the casino in the lobby.
We heard fireworks and opened the window to a spectacular display that was closing the ballgame.

We argued over the fact that Reno was in Nevada not California.  After I had him convinced, he then argued that we were really in Las Vegas.  I gave up and fell asleep.

Next morning....Gary argued that we were renting the apartment we were in and we had been there for several weeks.  I explained the truth and started to really get aggravated....then, I let it go.

We packed up and headed toward South Lake Tahoe.  It was a beautiful drive and before we knew it, we made it back to Folsom to pick up the Gerl.  She was thrilled to see us.

I fixed a great salmon salad for dinner using the new olive oil and balsamic that we purchased at the Olive Oil store.  Gary chopped up his food and we ended up storing it rather than eating it.  He had lost his appetite and again, we went to bed early.

Church was fascinating as usual and then another nap was in order. 

Yep, I am rested.  Now, Gary goes back to the CLUB and me, back to work.

Stay relaxed, Ada.