Put It All On Red

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I never thought I would enjoy myself so much as I did in a city devoted to sin, avarice and gluttony. Kris and I drove to Reno in the afternoon after my last class at Sacramento State University. We stopped for lunch less than an hour later in Roseville. By 3pm we were heading up into the Sierra Mountains through the Donner Pass. By train this route takes hours at it winds up utilizing many switchbacks, whereas Interstate 80 just muscles its way directly up and over the mountains. The Donner Party came through in the winter of 1846-1847 and got delayed by a variety of mishaps. Ironic that they ended up dining on each other so close in distance to the Sunday buffet at a Reno Casino, though they missed the party by 150 years. As we drove over the pass we marveled at the scenery, the numerous lodge pole pines, the outcrops of twisted rock and the deep blue sky. The trip to Reno was a mere two hours of drive time, so we arrived just in time for the Reno rush hour, which I think means rush into the casinos. We drove along Virginia Street lined with all the old casinos and under the famous Reno sign, the Biggest Little Town in the World. Reno is Vegas light, it's white trash Vegas, it's Vegas on the cheap.

We drove south to our resort hotel, the Atlantis Casino Resort, and parked in front and waited for the valet parking attendant. We checked in and then checked out the slot machines. There are scores of one armed bandits and sitting in front of them are scores of zombie like people automatically pushing the re-load button again and again and again. I saw one old lady sitting at a slot machine with her eyes closed, wearing an oxygen breather motionless in front of the machine. Oh my goodness, I thought, she died in front of this machine waiting for the big payout. But I looked again and saw her with the least amount of effort pushing the button over and over again with one figure, the most minimal amount of motion possible. I sat at a machine a few times, and lost each dollar I put in. I did cash out once when I was up $1.09 after putting in a dollar. Let the good times roll. Kris and I went to dinner at the Napa Bistro, their fancy restaurant on the second floor. They had an extensive wine list, and a good menu. I had the braised ribs, though I never did find out what animal - cow or pork. My guess is pork.

The next morning we went downstairs to pick up our car. The valet service took at least one half hour, we watched as those young men ran all over the parking lot. A valet is probably a prized job for young men because they get to drive all sorts of cars, from the most expensive and fastest sports cars to the old family minivan about to rust through. We drove downtown in search of breakfast, just like the Donner Party 150 years earlier. The Truckee River has been redeveloped with all manner of buildings, residential and commercial, but with the collapse of the American real estate market, this development is unfinished and completely under-utilized. There were plenty of people wandering about and enjoying the sunshine. We found a nice restaurant and had lunch, people and river watching. Further along the river was a Basque Festival, a celebration of all things to do with the Basque culture. Basques are a nation of people without a country; their community spans northern Spain and southern France along the Bay of Biscay in the Atlantic. There were vendors selling embroidery in Basque colours, CD's of Basque music, and other handicrafts and odd and ends. All this under small tents, and under the big tent was the entertainment. We missed the wood cutting exhibition or contest, but we heard two ladies sing traditional songs. I couldn't understand the words, was it in French, Spanish or is there a Basque language? We left this festival and walked along the river and watched some kayakers work the rapids. Their kayak skills were great to watch, especially to see them flip their kayak forwards and rotate over the long axis. Downtown there were people setting up for an evening event called "Controlled Burn", a kind of Burning Man celebration but on a much smaller scale. We didn't stay for this.

Later that evening we attending a comedy show called "The Giants of Comedy", that was less funny than we had hoped. The opening act was David Brenner, who was actually quite funny. He had dozens of cue cards about various news items he had gathered, and made plenty of jokes. Next to perform was Richard Lewis, whom, I thought wasn't funny. It was the same old, same old, the neurotic, the self deprecating jokes about being Jewish. I laughed in places, and I'm glad we went but overall, the show was only half funny. After the show, Kris and I went to one of the smaller restaurants and shared a pizza.

The Atlantis Resort Casino is massive. Hundreds of staff, hundreds of slot machines, dozens of tables, two swimming pools, a spa, several restaurants, a games room for the children (why are children allowed into a casino anyway?), a couple of shops, many bars, and huge ballrooms. And this is only Reno, Vegas light. Kris played blackjack for a while and I set off to take some photos of the casino lights. I returned and watched people shoot craps and play poker. These games are far too intimidating for me to join in, I barely know the rules of the games and the monetary stakes are beyond what I'm willing to gamble. The cigarette smoke gets in my eyes and nose too, so I can only stand to be in the casino for a short while.

The next morning Kris and I went for a swim. The outdoor pool was a nice temperature, the sun was shining and few kids were around. Later that morning we checked out of the hotel and went over to the restaurant buffet for their glutinous offerings. The selection was enormous, everything from a traditional breakfast of eggs, sausage and pancakes, some Mexican selections, Asian and all you can eat lobsters and oysters. These seemed to be an extremely popular choice, I had a more traditional breakfast, followed by a large plate of fruit, and then a cake. Even I had my fill, but there were plenty of people who waddled up for seconds, thirds and fourths. We finished eating..........eventually.........and walked over to play some more blackjack.

We left the casino in the afternoon and drove west back to Sacramento over the Donner Pass with our stomachs full. We stopped in the town of Truckee, which is in California high up in the Sierra Mountains. We had some tea at a very colourful and locally owned restaurant. It appeared as if Mum and her daughters ran the place, the youngest who looked to be about 12 seemed to have the most responsibility. She ran the cash till. We returned to Sacramento in time to think about eating again.

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