Day 21
Friday August 17, 2012
NOTE: The next few days of this report feature Reno and Lake Tahoe. If you are not interested in reading about these places, please skip to day 25, Tuesday August 21, 2012.

We were up early today and started off with me running down to Java Vegas again for drinks and pastries. These got us going and we got ready for the day and finished packing up our things for today's trip.

We checked out on the TV and showed a zero balance (as we should have) and headed out. After a quick stop at Walgreen's we were off to the airport. We wouldn't be returning this car but instead would be parking it at the airport. I weighed all of the options of returning the car and renting again when we got back, parking at a nearby casino and cabbing, or just parking the rental at the airport. Pound for pound it was going to be cheaper to keep the car and pay the $14 per day to park at the airport.

We found a space not too far from the elevator and we were on our way to check in with Southwest. Things went quickly here and the staff was helpful getting Dee's wheelchair inspected and tagged and we were off to security.

Security was a little slow today but not too bad. We went through the handicap line and I went through the metal detector instead of the nude-o-scanner. It took a while for them to get to Dee and they were also training a new hire on how to screen people so it took a little longer than normal. This was fine though because we had plenty of time.

When we got to the gate we checked the wheelchair and had a few minutes to spare. We played a $5 bill in a penny slot. We had some hits to keep us going but lost, like we deserved for playing slots in the airport.

Our plane arrived and we pre boarded. Things went well here and we took the front row again to make things easier. One thing I do like about sitting in the front row is watching the other people board while they carry their giant sized carry on bags that really shouldn't even be allowed to be carried on. I have to ask if this is really worth the aggravation and why people don't just check the damn things instead of killing themselves lugging these things around. It's not like Southwest charges for luggage.

This is flight 1650 with non-stop service to Reno, continuing to Denver, and then to Jacksonville Florida. The flight is scheduled to leave at 11:50am and arrive in Reno at 1:10pm. I paid $100 per person for this flight. I'm not sure what the going rate for flights to Reno are since I hadn’t been there in 14 years. As I checked the rates over the last few months they held steady at $100 and spiked up to $150 at times. The flight back to Vegas is the same on Tuesday. Normally I probably wouldn't have paid this and driven up here but I had funds from the Christmas trip that we cancelled in our account that were going to expire on August 25th anyway so I figured we might as well use them. We pushed back 10 minutes late but the captain came on and said we'd only be flying or about 55 minutes. The flight was smooth the whole way and before we knew it they were prepping the cabin for our final descent. We arrived at the gate 10 minutes early. We had to wait for Dee's chair to come up to the jet way. Just to let people know, yes, you get priority boarding when you're in a wheelchair but you're typically the last one off the plane so it balances out.

An airport agent met us at the plane and pushed Dee to baggage claim where the suitcase was waiting for us and then over to Alamo where I rented the car for this trip from. I got a rate of $96 for the 4 day rental of a mid sized but, also had a 15% off discount code and a $20 coupon dropping the rate down to $61. I'm a quicksilver member at Alamo (or whatever they call it now) so I can avoid the counter but these tools here in Reno don't have a kiosk so I had to go to the counter. The guy at the counter then offered me an upgrade. I asked how much and he said $11 per day for a full sized. I told him no way as that was about a 60% upcharge based on my rate. He tried to sell me on the fact that the full sized was going for $75 per day and it was really a great deal. I told him it wasn't. He then tried to be slick in trying to sell me insurance by asking if I wanted the full coverage or just basic. I told him I don't want any coverage. He then asks me who my insurance is with and tells me if I’m in an accident they will file a claim with them but if I buy his insurance Allstate wouldn't know. This is all bullshit because no matter what, if you have an accident your insurer will find out whether or not you file a claim. He then tried to use scare tactics about loss of service and how I'd be responsible for every day the car was out of service until it was repaired. Again, this is bullshit as they have to prove they are sold out of that sized car and they actually lost revenue because of the car being out of service. I know he's trying to do his job as they make a ton of profit on the insurance but this pisses me off.

After he gave me my keys and my contract I told him the reason I am quicksilver and have all of this stuff in my account is already pre-selected, so I can bypass the counter and avoid this nonsense and I don't appreciate the hard sell and scare tactics that he tried to use to get me to buy insurance. He said the loss of use was a Nevada rule and he was required to tell me about it, I told him that was fine but in Vegas I go to the kiosk and I'm on my way without the crap. He didn't seem to care and said they didn't have a kiosk because they were smaller. I was pissed at this point because he was a dick and because my confirmation said there was one. I had this happen in Vegas a long time ago when an agent used the same tactics and I contacted Alamo about it. They apologized and sent me coupons for some free days.

We were assigned a Dodge Avenger that was brand new with only 335 miles on it. I guess this is one advantage of renting cars in August; many of them are brand new. I loaded it up, checked it over and we were on our way. We made a quick stop at Walgreen's for a few items and then it was off to Virginia Street. Things were quite different here than they were last time I was here in 1998. The streets are all redone, the sidewalks are new and the train no longer goes across the street but tunnels underneath.

We rolled into Harrah's where we'd be spending the next few nights. Checking in was quick and we were off to room 1239 in the west tower. This is a handicap accessible room and has 2 queen beds, nightstand, sectional sofa, coffee table, dresser, and an old 20 inch tube TV. The bathroom has a small vanity, tub, and toilet with bars to grab. The views from here are of the pool, Eldorado, Silver Legacy, and Circus-Circus. We've also got a great view of the famous "Reno, the biggest little city in the world" sign. The room is decent but quite dated. You can see where they have done some type of upgrades over the years but never a full renovation as the decor of this room ranges from the 70's to the present.

We got settled into the room and took a short break and then headed to the diamond lounge to check it out. This room is very small and it was packed. I'm guessing because they had a good assortment of foods. Think back to the old days in the Las Vegas diamond lounges with the small sandwiches, cheese and crackers, fruit, veggie platter, chips and dips, and chicken wings. We got there shortly after it opened and I'm guessing it's like it used to be in Vegas, when the foods come out, the diamond members act like they've never eaten before. This place was so packed they were probably over the capacity. There were no seats available but Dee already has a seat. I pushed her into a corner behind the podium and I sat on the floor next to her. Since the corner was remote behind the podium, the floor was clean back there and the carpet was still plush. We filled up on snacks here and then I took Dee out to Virginia Street.

While we were out here we snapped some pictures and I took Dee through the Eldorado, Silver Legacy and Circus-Circus before we headed back here to Harrah's. It was time to play and I went in search of some playable games. According to vpFREE there were some games available. I never found the quarter games but the place was pretty busy. I did find the dollar games and we took a shot playing 9/6 jacks on those. Dee scored a few quads right away. One of those was hands she was dealt 3 aces, I told her, just hit a full house but, she didn't listen and pulled a 4th one. I wasn't hitting any quads abut hovered for a while. I finally hit a quad but my machine was killing. We played for a short time, dropped $250 and only got about $3500 in action between us.

We were hungry so went to the Joy Luck Noodle Bar for some food. I got a rice noodle won ton soup with pork slices and Dee got sweet and sour chicken over white rice. Things here are fast food style, you order at the counter and they bring it to you when it's ready. They do cook to order though and it's not like Panda Express where everything is laying under heat lamps. The food here was good and really filling and not too bad in price. Almost everything on the menu here is $10.

We took another walk out to Virginia Street after we ate to take some pictures with everything lit up before we came back to the room to call it a night.

Total win/loss for the day -$250
Total Comps for the day $192