First Trip

A friend came to visit yesterday, and asked what I'd like to do--he was thinking we could go out somewhere, get me out of the house. I only half-jokingly said "Reno", a suggested he pounced on, as he hadn't been there in 20 years! I went to my physical therapy and my chiropractor appointments--I'm feeling so much better now that the first has started and the second has resumed!--and he scheduled a room at the Grand Sierra Resort, a place I'd never before stayed. By mid-afternoon we were off!

After some sightseeing we were headed to the buffet at Circus Circus, one of the two best in Reno, when we came upon a street fair along Virginia Street, the main drag through downtown. "Beer, blues, and barbecue" or something like that. I thought maybe we'd find some good food there, so we parked and walked a couple blocks over to it. Me, walking a couple blocks!--when only a week or so ago a walk through the grocery story was exhausting. Then we walked a couple blocks through the festival, and finding nothing we really wanted to eat, we entered the El Dorado and walked through it and Silver Legacy until we got back to Circus Circus. The buffet there still lives up to its reputation.

Anyway, here's me "walking" down Virginia Street:

I still can't bend my knee much at all, so I can't put on shoes or socks--good that I know someone from whom I can borrow the Crocs! And notice I'm getting a little shaggy, too--need to buzz that head!

After our evening in downtown, we drove a few miles to the Grand Sierra Resort, formerly the Reno Hilton, formerly the MGM Grand Reno. My friend isn't much of a gambler, but I was able to convince him to sign up for the player's club card and play a few slots with me; who knows, maybe we'll get a free room or something out of it. One of my favorite slots is a Star Trek-themed slot, and I sat down to play. No sooner than my friend took off for the restroom than I got a random little bonus feature--and won $228! It's a penny slot, and each play cost me about 35 cents, so definitely not a bad ROI! I definitely did the "pay it forward" thing....

My legs were killing me when I woke up this morning. My calves were both tight because I haven't walked so far in so many months, and my knees were both sore from all the walking. A pain pill made it all bearable!

It's nice that I could take a day trip, and even nicer that I could enjoy it so much. I think the combination of a few things--excitement over starting therapy, joy at getting out of the house, improvement in my condition--made me capable of walking as far as I did. And winning a couple hundred bucks at midnight didn't hurt, either!

Maybe I should do this a little more often, to minimize the isolation I feel.