Reno Intermezzo

Any bottom-feeder should recognize the smell of blood, and attack accordingly.   Wait, that's not quite right.  Bottom feeders scavenge for things that nobody else wants.  That is where we step in.

Both our kids have today off from school, for some reason.  (Easter Monday?  The oft-disrespected third day of Passover?)  Since I can telecommute today, we took a spontaneous trip up to Reno, Nevada.  Actually Sparks, just east of Reno.  We come here a couple times a year with our kids.  It's very easy to get to from Sacramento, 2 hours' drive up Interstate 80.  There isn't a whole lot to see here, but it's fun to get out of town and stay in a hotel, and hotels here are about the cheapest anywhere, especially Sunday through Thurday nights.  We have some friends up here who we will be meeting for lunch later.

I also like staying in casino hotels because I am something of an insomniac, and at a casino I know I can always come downstairs and read, blog about nothing, etc. while the family sleeps.  When I get really desperate I can play nickel video poker.  5 dollars lasts more than long enough for me to want to get back to sleep.

If we have time, we'll stop and play in the snow for a bit on the drive home late this afternoon.

We like staying in John Ascuaga's Nugget here in Sparks, especially during the colder months, for its very nice indoor pool.  It's heated year round.  Since I overcame my issues around age 35, it's nice to get in the pool and play with the kids.  After about 15 minutes, I'm ready to get out, but they aren't.

When we got here, it was easy to see why rooms were marked down so low.  At the registration desk, the place had more employees than guests.

The pool was fairly busy though.  A good place to be on a Sunday afternoon that is a holiday for most other people.

The Finagle

We've stayed here several times before, usually purchased through Priceline, for about $30 or $40.  This time, the hotel offered a direct deal that was better:

The price for one night came to $35.99 + tax = $40.85.  On Hotwire the rate was $32 but would have required us to pay the resort fee and wouldn't have come with breakfast.

We actually declined the "free room upgrade to the Premier East Tower".  I prefer the non-premier country-decorated West tower because the rooms are about 100 square feet larger.

Last night's dinner at the Empire Diner at Baldini's was $25 + tip = $29 for the four of us.  That makes the half-tank of gas the biggest expense of the trip.