a trip to reno: the highlights and pictures
09/26/04 ~ 1:17 p.m.
i'm back! our week in reno was super fun, as was the wedding we attended on the trip home. since so much can happen in a week, i'll just hit the highlights and flavor them with pictures. here we go.....
our first day, in the first casino we entered, we got approached by a timeshare company who wanted to make a sales pitch in exchange for free stuff. we listened to them for an hour and a half, and in return, got 2 free dinner buffet coupons, $25 cash, a 4 day 3 night stay in reno, and 2 tickets to a cirque-style show, which was awesome. we were planning on going to that show anyways, so it really was saving money. i didn't take any pictures during the show, but here are some examples of what we saw from the website:
we spent a lot of time in circus circus, where they had a section of games like at a fair: ring toss, knock over the bottles, shoot hoops, that sort of thing. david and i played a bunch of games, and we each came home with 4 very cute stuffed animals. we only played games in which we wanted to win the prizes, you see. also, at circus circus, they had hourly circus acts you could watch for free. here are two of my favorites:
a whole act where the girl balanced bowls on her head, legs, arms, etc, while doing amazing acrobatics. 
this girl swung from the ceiling by her HAIR!
we did a little gambling, a slot machine here and there, but we didn't spend more than a few bucks each. what we DID do was scout for the cheapest texas hold 'em tournaments at each of the hotels. we found one with a $25 entry fee, and we both played. the first day, david came in twenty-something place, and i came in fourteenth (out of 37). not bad. we decided that it was so much fun, that we'd do it again the following day. this time, out of 27 people, david came in sixth... and i came in FIRST!!!!! it was amazing. i won $280!
me showing off my winnings!i wanted to spend some of my winnings on an expensive dinner, so i tried to take david to benihana's. it happened to be closed, so we asked the woman at the hotel registration right next to the restaurant when it would open. she replied, "tomorrow. would you like free VIP tickets to a magic show instead?" woo hoo! i'm all about the free stuff! so we had a quick dinner before watching eli kerr, a russian magician. the show was ok, but had i paid full price, i would have been dissapointed. but it was entertaining enough, and you can't argue with free!
eli performing one of his tricks, an impalement. (taken from his website)we did go to benihana's the next night, and that was definitely a highlight. the food was amazingly good (as were the drinks!), and the ambiance, what with the japanese chefs tossing around food, knives, salt shakers, was incredible. too bad i don't have the kind of moola to eat there on a regular basis!
we spent a day in virgina city, an old town about 45 minutes from reno. it was fun to look at the stores, but it soon became apparant that although there were probably 40+ shops, they followed a pattern: leather store, rock store, candy store, bar, repeat. heh. the best thing was a visit to a museum called "the way things were" that had tons of pictures and artifacts from the mining period. despite the 10 schools with annoying children that had field trips right in the middle of our walkthrough, it was pretty cool.
david and i in a mine cartbasically, the rest of what we did in reno was eat (there were some yummy buffets), sleep, swim and hot tub, and watch free movies at the hotel. it was really all about the relaxation.
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sarah and jon, the newlyweds
friday night, we went to the wedding of my friend sarah and her longtime (6 years!) boyfriend, jon. i worked with sarah at polycomp many years ago. it was a beautiful wedding, and it was so fun not only to see her (it had been awhile, since i mived away), but also a bunch of coworkers i hadn't seen in even longer. they all exclaimed about my hair (no longer bright blonde!) and how good i looked (aka "you've lost a lot of weight""), which felt really good. but my favorite part of the wedding came right at the end, as i was leaving. somehow i caught sarah without a crowd of people, and we got to chat for about 10 minutes. i've missed her!
now sarah and jon are off to puerto vallarta, mexico, for their honeymoon. hopefully once they get back and are settled in to their new apartment, i can go visit my dear friend because she won't be so busy planning a wedding.
me with the beautiful brideand now that i'm back, life must resume as usual. tomorrow i go back to work, after being home for 7 weeks since the knee surgery. you'd think i'd be bored out of my mind and ready to go back, but that is NOT the case. i have so much more i want to do! but alas, i must earn my living. wah.
at least i have a fun event to go to today - my entire company's summer picnic. this includes the brokers and assistants from all the local offices, a huge area that spans from napa to santa rosa to petaluma and even ukiah. it's a chili cookoff, and a family event, so it should be pretty fun. we leave in about 30 minutes, so i must bid you adieu - i need to get dressed, put the chili in a travelling pot, and get out of here.
hope you enjoyed the photos and my recounting of the trip! catch you all later!
love, holly
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