The fun thing about Thanksgiving is that there's no warm up for it. There's not the pre-holiday build up in the aisles of your local grocery store like there is for Halloween or Christmas. There is no Thanksgiving Eve. One day your working and the next your enjoying mountains of food and a day full of football.
Since Ting, Zoe, and I really haven't met many people out here, we decided to splurge on the big feast by going to a local casino buffet. Now I've been out here since late July and I've resisted the temptation of the gambling halls the entire time. Not once have I set foot into a casino since I've moved to Reno (this also includes avoiding the slot machines that are commonplace in grocery stores, gas stations, convenience stores, restaurants, etc. etc.). The thought of an all you can eat buffet which not only included traditional Thanksgiving fare but also Asian and Mexican cuisine had my mouth watering. We took Zoe to the playground that morning and by noon I was already dropping hints about avoiding the long lines and parking issues. It also helped my case that it was raining that morning. By 12:30pm we had started to fill our plates.
The Peppermill Casino has an Island Buffet that is definitely worth the visit. To keep with the tropical theme a "storm" rumbles through the dining room every 15 minutes complete with flashing lights, shaking trees and simulated rain along the walls. Imagine, if you will, the Rainforest Cafe on a budget with slot machines ringing in the background. Four retirees who had made the trip from Quincy, CA sat down next to us as we started to dig into our food. They were immediately taken with Zoe who took several salad bar olives on each finger and pretended they were small, dark talking heads. As the meal went on and the plates stacked up we got to hear Korean/Nam War stories from our new friend Ray and learn the various health issues his wife and friends were currently dealing with. It was an interesting situation trying to grab more food, fain interest in jungle warfare and keep Zoe occupied. All and all we enjoyed it...
Friday
Friday Ting had to work and I got a welcome chance to play. We dropped Zoe off for a 1/2 day at La Petite and then I took Ting to work. Behind Patagonia is a beautiful network of trails that slowly ramble up from the Truckee River to the Sierras. With a good days hike you can actually make it up to the snow line. That was my goal, except that I wanted to do it before noon. Unfortunately the rain from Thanksgiving Day had left the trails a mucky, clay covered mess. With each step I gained in elevation and I added a new layer of clay to my boots. Often I could give a sharp kick and fling off a pound or so of Sierra Nevada mud into the grass. Well I never made it up to the tree line but I did start to explore a Shangri La type canyon far back from the Reno hubbub. Pict below.
There is sure some beautiful country out here...
Saturday
Saturday a blizzard hit Reno. Depending on the part of town the Sierras dumped 8" to 12" of fresh snow. The entire world was clad in a white crust. Zoe naturally went nuts and wanted to go outside the minute she saw the snow. The funny thing with Zoe is that she seems to equate eating snow with eating ice cream. She couldn't stop taking big handfuls of the fluffy stuff and sucking it down. I finally had to put an end to it when we got indoors and Zoe started eating the packed snow off the bottom of her boot... BAD ZOE! NO!
Sunday
After the snow on Saturday it was time to bunker in and deal with winter. We went to church in the morning. Sunday afternoon I picked up some Chinese carry out and surprised Ting with a jigsaw puzzle (Damn! We must be getting old). At the Asian Wok I encountered a truly monolithic snowman. Standing a good six feet high with sliced cucumber ears, a carrot nose, and mushroom teeth the snowman was like none I had ever experienced. He was not of the traditional Three ball construction but looked more like a scaled down version of the Washington Monument. I guess everything is a little different on the west coast.
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