Reno, NV to Durham, NH 10/14 - 10/24/2017

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THE BASICS

We traveled only from Reno to Sacramento during our last week plus, and spent much energy getting the RV ready to sit in Sacramento until late January. But we did treat ourselves to a couple of forays into Reno. During the first, we walked past a bunch of casinos downtown and also on the riverwalk, along the Truckee River. The next day, we watched a Susan G. Komen walk along the riverwalk, and later indulged in a massive buffet dinner at a casino. We moved on to Truckee, CA, which we used as a base for our drive around Lake Tahoe the next day. And then, finally, to Sacramento. Highlights included a visit with our former minister, who left our church in July to resettle in California, and a lunch at a Mexican restaurant with a very lively couple whom we met at Flaming Gorge campground. We spent a few hours in Davis, walking around town and through a huge farmer's market. And then we had to visit the California State Railway Museum, a real treat for John the train afficionado. We drove to our RV (and tow car) storage area on the 23rd, finished last details, and then took our first Uber/Lyft ride, to a hotel near the Sacramento Airport. We got to our 6 AM flight in plenty of time, but got delayed awhile in Chicago because of a smaller plane substitution/overbooked situation. We were very glad to see Mike in Manchester, and arrived home with all but one of our suitcases, which was delivered the next day.

THE FLUFF

(I seem to have covered most things in the above paragraph...) Reno was such a pleasant surprise, not just casinos with cigarette smoke billowing. The Truckee River is quite dramatic, even in town. The costumes in the Komen parade were very imaginative and the weather was very nice. John commented later that the people we saw at the buffet were quite different from the paraders, but it was nice to see the large families feasting.

Truckee is a neat little tourist town, where we enjoyed a coffee in the sun, and a walk around. There were train tracks, which makes any place okay with John. Lake Tahoe didn't delight us as much as we had expected, maybe partly because the weather was overcast. There were towns with shops both at the north and south ends of the lake, but the rest was mostly forest or fancy homes.

Between Truckee and Sacramento, we stopped for coffee in Auburn, which we might plan to visit again; an attractive town. After arriving near Sacramento, we had plenty of time to organize for our trip home, and we chipped away at the job and did fairly well. We were so glad to see our minister, who is taking a breather after 17 years in Durham before she commits to her next phase. And her husband is really enjoying his work at a clinic in Placerville, where he is learning to take care of a very wide range of medical needs.

Our friends from Flaming Gorge live an hour and a half north of Sacramento, but were quite willing to drive down to meet us (and go to Costco, Trader Joe's, etc.) People out there seem to think less of distances, generally. I had warned them to avoid the Hogback on route 12 in Utah, north of Bryce, because the narrow two-lane road with no shoulders and very steep precipices on either side had freaked me out years ago. They enjoyed it so much that they drove back and forth across it five times!!! I mention that to show what adventurous folks they are.

Davis had been recommended, partly because we are so partial to college towns, and it is very attractive. Just a lovely day to stroll among students and families, and resist stocking up at the Farmer's Market. The Railway Museum in Sacramento is amazing. It is huge and contains many engines and railroad cars that you can walk through. John took lots of photos to share with his railroad fan grandson. The museum is right in downtown Sacramento, and we wondered if we should have made our hotel reservation for that area, but were wary because of the need to get to such an early flight. But it would have been a fun place to hang out!

Our flight home was fairly smooth. There had been dire forecasts of heavy wind in the northeast that day, and several times the pilot came on to hurry us back to our seats because of upcoming turbulence. Then we would keep "waiting for the other shoe to drop," and it would not. It was disconcerting to have a piece of luggage not arrive, most likely because of the confusions courtesy of overbooking. It is always wonderful to have dependable Mike pick us up. We got to see some of our New England red leaves from the plane and then from the car. But for the next two days, we had torrential rain which deposited many of the leaves on the ground. Oh, well, there's always next year. We hope.

We will fly back to Sacramento before January 24. One of these days, we should settle down and start considering our itinerary from there. We do know it will be southward, at least. Happy holidays to all. Warmly, Linda and John

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Comments

[Susan]

Glad you are back homd but I will miss reading these wonderful blogs till January!!