i stayed out at mom and dad's sunday night so we could get on the road early the next morning. everyone had their doubts as to if we would really get on the road before 10am, but we left wellsville at 7am. my vacation had started!
the drive to reno was supposed to take 8 hours. that doesn't seem very long when i compare it to the 12 hour drive to seattle. i had made the drive before and i didn't remember it being so long. it was long, and not a lot to look at. to pass the time mom and i chatted, listened to some cd's i brought (juno sndtk, across the universe sndtk, and beth orton), and i read her a book that nick had bought me for valentines day (married in seattle, very cute).
there were some pretty sights along the way.
we stopped at a taco time for lunch, nothing better than a crispy bean burrito! oh, but there is better:the coconut cream empanadas dipped in whipped cream.
we showed up at the peppermill in reno at 5:08, almost exactly 10 hours from when we left wellsville. argh! the drive was a lot longer than we had thought, but we weren't in a hurry so it was okay. we checked into our room and tried to find the courtyard marriot where mom was having class for the next few days. it took us a long time to find it, then picked up some soup from olive garden and headed back to our room to relax. the peppermill was a great place to stay because we got a super nice room with a huge lcd tv on the wall, granite everything, and soft comfy beds for only $19/night. the down side was it was in a casino, but we didn't have to walk through the casino to get to the car so it wasn't too bad.
i had borrowed a bunch of books from a friend, the shopaholics series, and of course i left them in our car when nick dropped me off at mom's. i was disappointed because my whole goal for the trip was just to lie in bed and read while mom was in classes. this has always been my dream vacation and i didn't know what i was going to read now that i had finished my other book on the way into town. we stopped at a used bookstore and the lady suggested the secret life of bees. my sister in law, jordan paige, had told me how much she liked it so i snatched it up. the book was amazing, the perfect book to read on a trip such as this. i had also grabbed the wedding from mom's house so i had enough reading material. i didn't read the entire time, i spent some time in the fitness center, walking around the hotel trying to find wi-fi, and it took me 2 days to find the new york deli and my corned beef sandwich.
my other favorite part of the trip was the food! i have missed some of the food selections i had while living in the seattle area. some of my favorite food is greek so one of my free afternoons i walked across the street to a mediterranean place and had my first felafel sandwich. it was great! another day i went to a new york style deli in the hotel and bought a HUGE corned beef sandwich, also a first. the lady taking my order said i should probably get it to go, it would be too much to finish. of course i proved her wrong, ate almost the entire thing. but there was no way i was going to be able to eat dinner that night!
one of mom's free nights we went in search of souvenirs, a snow globe for me, a mug for her. neither of us found what we were looking for, but it was fun looking in all the shops and seeing the glitzy side of reno.
my last afternoon there i found a pho place and had another favorite, pho noodle soup. it is seriously one of the best, most simple things you can eat. i only wish i had room for spring rolls, another fave. i have figured out how to make these at home so i thought i should pass and not end up with another "corned beef" incident. mom got out of class that afternoon and we headed for home. i read her half of the secret life of bees until i couldn't read anymore. the drive home took the estimated 8 hours and for that i was grateful. i had a great time, did everything i wanted to do, and was excited to come home to my little family. thanks mom!
