UnExpectations

Reno is not what I was expecting.

Which is kind of a funny statement to make, since, if you'd asked me 24 hours ago what expectations I had for Reno, I'd have said, "None."  But then I got here and realized that apparently I did have expectations, since obviously they were being subverted.

In retrospect it appears that I was expecting a sort of poor-man's Vegas (not that I particularly associate Vegas with richness of any kind but... you know...).  A place with such hustle and bustle and filthy glitter that I'd take one look around and go, "Yep, well, we're done here."

But as it turns out Reno isn't like that.  It's quite pleasant, so far.  And quiet, which I am a fan of. And the people are friendly, too, which shouldn't particularly surprise me because more often than not people are friendly in strange cities.  Besides, surely Bridge would have warned me if it was going to be otherwise.

Ah yes, Bridge.  He's the reason for this little excursion of ours- he's getting married this weekend, up near Lake Tahoe, and since Nathan and I had never been to the area, we jumped at the chance to turn it into a mini-vacation.

The flight in was... interesting, to put it politely.  It was probably nerve-wracking-bordering-on-fun for those who enjoy roller-coasters, but lately I have been particularly prone to motion-sickness and thus it was just nerve-wracking for me.  And Nathan, who was probably worried for his shirt (he shouldn't have been- I clung tenaciously to the air sick bag through even the most stomach-inverting moments of turbulence).

Places to Go, People to See

But we arrived safe and sound and learned that Reno may just be the friendliest airport in the US.

We met up with Bridge at Niko's Greek Kitchen (his excellent recommendation) and afterwards Nathan took off to explore the Riverwalk area while Bridge and I headed over to BaseCamp.  They'd just reopened after about six months of renovations, so we got the thrill of being the very first (non-gym-affiliated) people to climb their 164' wall.  Yep, we multi-pitched at a climbing-gym, outdoors.  It was awesome and perfect and so wonderful to be climbing with Bridge again.  The girl who ran us through our paces was explaining that although the route we chose was rated 10b, it was just for the endurance- the moves were nothing above an 8.  And she was right about that- easy fun jugs the entire way, but it was a long way!  The most amusing part of the whole thing was people on the strip below us offering up commentary.  Thus have I taken my turn as a Tourist Attraction in Reno.

(also unexpected)