Manifest Destiny: 11:00pm January 11, 2015

We are just about to wrap up our time in Reno. Once again, we have been blessed with positively gorgeous weather for the last day and a half.

The 7 hour drive from Las Vegas to Reno was a little more challenging than the previous couple due to our adventures out on the town. But we managed to rally with the help of Gatorade, Ibuprofen, Jack in the Box breakfast, and large amounts of coffee. As has become the norm on the trip, Dan took the wheel and drove the whole way. The drive consisted of winding and scenic roads, as well as some less tasteful sights including strange clown themed motels and even a brothel or two every hundred miles. At this point in the trip, I had mixed feelings about the state of Nevada, to say the least.

We rolled into Reno Saturday evening around 7 pm and drove straight to Louis’ Basque Corner Restaurant where we met up with Dave and Deb (Dan’s dad and stepmom), Dan’s Grandma, and Gene (One of Dan’s friends). Somehow, we managed to forget to eat lunch on our drive that afternoon, so we were all anxiously anticipating dinner. It was a family style meal, so one at a time they brought out salad, beans, soup, chicken and rice, bread, etc… for all of us to share and then everyone also ordered a main entrée. Each item they brought was even better than one before it. Since Dan and his family come from a Basque heritage, they gave Kileigh and I a little history lesson before we ordered our main entrees. We learned that the Basque people were sheep herders and tend to cook just about all parts of the animals they butcher, so there can be some unique things on a the menu at a Basque restaurant. Although Dan seemed disappointed that there was no tongue or pig’s feet on the menu for us to try, there was a sweetbread option. Even after learning that this was actually not bread at all, but sheep glands, both Kileigh and I were convinced to give them a try. To our pleasant surprise, they were delicious, as was all the food we had that night!

After we had satiated our hunger, we went back to Dave and Deb’s place to shower quickly…well, at least Kileigh and I showered… and then meet up with many of Dan’s longtime friends at a local bar named Little Waldorfs that everyone referred to as ‘The Wall.’ It was a fun evening, but we were definitely ready for bed by the end of it.

They were expecting us!

After sleeping in this morning, we woke up and turned on the Packer Cowboy game while we waited for breakfast to be ready. Dave and Deb treated us to a tasty breakfast of Dave’s famous sourdough pancakes, Basque style chorizo, bacon and fruit. Dan, Kileigh and I then headed out to go see Lake Tahoe. Although I was nervous to leave before the Packer game was over, we managed to find it on the radio so we could listen to it while we drove. As I said, the weather was just perfect once again, 65 degrees and sunny. It is still hard to believe just two days ago we were hanging out on the beach by the ocean and now we are surrounded by snow covered mountains.

Snowy Mountains and other tourists

Lake Tahoe was truly breathtaking. First, we stopped at a scenic overlook from which we could see all the way across to the California side of the lake. We also drove around the rim of the lake to get a closer view and stopped once more at a spot where we could actually get close enough to touch the water. As expected, it was quite cold, but also very clear. Needless to say, none of us felt the urge to jump in and go for a swim.

Lake Tahoe

What we typically look like...

... and what we pretend to look like.

Lake Tahoe again.

And one more of Lake Tahoe.

Dan's hand with Lake Tahoe

And a selfie with the lake for good measure.

After Tahoe, we drove into downtown Reno to a place called Sushi Pier 2 and met up with a few of the same people we had hung up with at “The Wall” yesterday night. I would call this my first real sushi experience and it did not disappoint. All three of us were tempted to go with the all-you-can-eat option, but resisted because we knew there would be another delicious meal waiting for us in a few hours at Dan’s mom’s house.

I was very glad to not have filled up on Sushi, because Dan’s mom made us ribs that were to die for along with baked potatoes and asapargus. At dinner, it was the three of us, Dan’s mom, Mark (her boyfriend), and Yvette (a family friend of theirs whose children used to babysit Dan and his brother). Both wine and conversation flowed as the evening went on. We even got some great ideas for places that we should check out as we make it to some of our next destinations from Mark, who seemed to have previously traveled just about everywhere that we will be stopping in the next few weeks. Eventually, they sent us on our way with a care package of left over ribs, some more wine, and some paper towels (something we had definitely been needing for a while).

After our wonderful rib dinner.

We’re back at Dave and Deb’s for the night now. We looked up the weather for our trek to Denver tomorrow and it appears that we should only hit a little bit of light snow on the way. Kileigh and I have somehow managed to fit everything into our suitcases once again, so all that is left is to get a good night’s rest, eat what is likely to be another delicious breakfast and hit the road at 8 am tomorrow.

The time in Reno definitely surpassed any expectations I could have had. I am exceedingly grateful for the amount of beauty, hospitality and friendship we found here in Nevada.