Reno 2016

Dave and I just got home from Reno late last night.  We survived the biggest little city in the world for the third time.  This of course is the famous neon sign downtown.

It replaced this much smaller and ever so humble original sign that was moved a few streets over.  Our hotel room window overlooked the Truckee River and the old sign.

I finished knitting a pair of socks while Dave's team practiced.  These are the Socktober socks I started but didn't finish in time in October.

I bought the yarn for these 3 years ago on our first trip to town and thought it was quite fitting to finish knitting them while in town.  I tried taking a picture of my feet with Reno and the mountains in the background.  You can see the old Reno sign between my feet.

We drove up to Virginia City for an afternoon.  For whatever reason, we thought it would be a 45 minute drive out of town.  It never occurred to us that it would be an up the mountain drive.  We are just midwesterners used to flat terrain I guess.  Unlike our drive around Lake Tahoe two years ago, it was a fraction of the distance and this time there was a guard rail and no surprise blizzard.  It was a gorgeous day for a drive and the views were spectacular.

Virginia City is kind of a tourist trap.  It was once a mining town and now is a tourist street with the old Western storefronts and wooden sidewalks.  The businesses are mainly overpriced trinket and Western shops, candy shops and eateries.  We bought a few pieces of candy at one shop and 2 cans of pop at a different shop after we priced stuff on the entire street and really that is all we bought in town.  We did visit St. Mary's in the Mountains Catholic Church while we were there.  It was a gorgeous little church off the main street.  I bought a rosary in the church gift shop, the proceeds of which support the parish.

When I say we had nice weather, I mean it was cool Katie weather.  It was downright chilly.  It even snowed one day.  I could just sit and watch the mountains and weather out the hotel window all day.

We returned to the Reno Bead Shop.  Three years ago we walked down here from the bowling stadium and enjoyed dry 80 degree weather.

This is such a fun shop with treasures around every corner.  We drove to the shop this trip and spent only a few minutes because we were limited for time.

They have a classroom in the back where all the seed beads are hung.

I was there to get turquoise buttons.  Turquoise is such a great souvenir of the west/southwest and buttons could be used in some knitting.  I was hoping to find some a little larger but this was all they had and I chose the 10 bluest buttons in the lot.  They also had buttons made of corral and I couldn't pass them up either.

And of course, the compulsory Jimmy Beans Wool!

This was actually the first stop we made after leaving the airport.  What a guy I have for a husband!

I stayed under my budget and managed to get yarn for a lace cardigan, 3 different worsted cottons for diaper covers, some Koigu for booties, a JBW needle gauge and a baby pattern book on my list. 

Glad to know there is a name for it.

And of course we spent a lot of time here at the National Bowling Stadium. 

I had to laugh because I looked up during competition and saw that Vicky Pollard was one of last year's champions.  I wonder if any other Little Britain fans were in attendance and noticed?