Trip Notes
Breaking the 8.5 hour drive into segments helped the trip feel a lot faster. We stopped at the airport to pick up our booth helpers. Then we stopped in Elko for gas. Then we stopped in Winnemucca for dinner. The hardest leg was the last one because it was late and everyone was tired.
Going to bed right after the long road trip proved difficult. The kids had to burn some energy first. I don’t begrudge them. They were marvelous for the whole drive. Fortunately we had some handy grandparents who were delighted to let them play for a bit.
Setting up the booth went really well and quickly. We’ve got the right team. I always have a moment during booth set up when I look around and fear that we simply haven’t brought enough stuff. That is when I have to remind myself that I did careful math ahead of time and we will be fine.
I don’t like casinos. Fortunately there seem to be enough places which are not mid-casino that we can hang with friends. We’ve already begun to run into familiar faces. This is happy.
We left the hotel for dinner and found an wonderful Italian restaurant called Veccia. The food was amazing, if a little on the pricey side. As we were walking over we noticed a building under demolition. It caught my eye because of the mill wheel stuck to the side of the front building, which was still standing. On the way home we wandered back toward another section of building still stood. We looked at the wreckage trying to determine what the building might have been. We suspected a hotel. This was confirmed when there were open doors in the remaining section. We could peek inside and see that it was a themed hotel. We saw an ocean room, a castle room, a caveman room, and one that was so bare we couldn’t tell what it was. The top floor was inaccessible, but we could peer in the open doors to spot pieces of murals which suggested outer space themes. One lone door on the edge of the wreckage said “pirate room.” It was fascinating to look at this building which had obviously been created with attention and care, but which was being removed to make way for something else.
This morning when the kids headed out with my parents, I felt myself snap into greater focus. Instead of being split across mother things and business things, I only had one. I wish I hadn’t been so tired heading into the day. It was hard to sleep last night.
But now we’re set up and ready for tomorrow. We’ve had a lovely dinner and an interesting walk. Next we’re relaxing and settling in for a long night’s sleep.