Lake Tahoe, Reno and Pranking our Friends and Family

During the middle of the night around 3 a.m. I heard the front door open and close.  Travis had probably gotten home from the bar he was at the previous night.  I don't know if I was the only one who heard it or not.  I closed my eyes and went back to bed.

I woke and got up at 7 because I was very uncomfortable on the mattress we were sleeping on.  I was glad we had it but those things deflate over the course of the night.  When I got up, Ben also had to get up because the bed adjusted itself and made it all wonky.  We knew it was going to be a long day if the plan was still a go.  Erika was still laying on the couch but she was awake.  I decided it was time for some food so I checked out her fridge for some breakfast items to make.  I could make some scrambled eggs with cheese and fruit.  For the next half hour I figured out where the pans, the plates and the non stick spray were and from there went about making the food.

Around 8:15, Travis came out, almost Eeyore like, gave us a very unenthusiastic "hi" and went back to the room he came out of.  Erika went into the kitchen and got out some peaches and cottage cheese but never ate any because she wanted to know what made him break up with her.  She spent the next two hours trying to get him to talk about what actually happened.  If he just told her what was going on she would let it go and we could leave.  Ben and I ate our breakfast and watched at least 7 or 8 episodes of Bob's Burgers wondering when we were going to get the U-Haul.

About 10-10:30 Erika came out pretty bummed out because she never found out what she wanted to know.  He was definitely was avoiding telling her by making excuses.  She eventually decided she wanted to stay in Reno due to school, her chiropractor and the VA but she was moving out of the house and away from Travis.  We discussed how we were going to get back home since we weren't driving now.  She said she would pay for our return ticket home.

Around 11, she just wanted to leave the house for a while, we took some sunscreen, the dog and his stuff and piled into Erika's car.  We stopped at Walmart for some snacks and drinks and then she took Ben and I to Lake Tahoe to distract herself from the brewing situation at home.  I didn't realize Lake Tahoe was that close to where she lived.  I guess since I hadn't been to that part of Nevada it was hard to imagine.  We took Hwy 50 (deemed America's loneliest road) up through the Spooner Summit and onto the other side.

Lake Tahoe was enormous.  I was in awe and the weather was beautiful.  I wish I could have stayed there longer.  Since we were here I really wanted to get a few geocaches and Erika was totally on board which surprised me.

Before we left the house I checked to see if there were any earthcaches or virtuals close by and there were a few on the east rim of the lake and there was!  I'm so going to get them and then some.  When we got closer to the first cache, I let Erika know it was going to be a scenic view point and to look for the signs.  We really didn't have a timeline so we really weren't in a hurry to get back.  Logan Shoals Vista Point wasn't too busy but when you walked closer to the lake wow, what a view! 

I spent a few minutes trying to gather information off the signs about the earthcache and virtual, which were both at this spot.  Logan Shoals Vista Point (GC8254) and Tahoe -- Cave Rock Earthcache (GC25JA8) were pretty straight forward.  We probably spent a good half hour here just enjoying the view and climbing on the rocks. 

Erika walked around with her dog.  We used the restroom before we left and headed down towards the state line of Nevada and California.  Erika said she used to drive this road a lot when she worked for one of the clinics.

We drove through towns called Glenbrook, Lincoln Park, Skyland, Zephyr Cove, Tahoe Village all the way to California.  Many of these places were packed with people enjoying the day.  When we got there you could see where Nevada ended and California began.  The state line for Nevada was literally several casinos straddling the street.  I asked Ben if he wanted to get his California cache and he said sure.  I wanted a new county.  We tried one that didn't go in our favor.  It was a traveling cache, similar to the trolley one in Astoria, Oregon, except this one is on a horse pulling a carriage.  Erika dropped us off and we saw the horse on the corner but sadly there were two horses and this one was the wrong one.  Erika found a place to park for a few minutes and we headed across the street to grab another one, GT1408-Filling the Tah-Hole (GC57JW0) and we found a key holder on a green power box next to a restaurant.  There were muggles everywhere.  We tried really hard not to be seen. 

We signed it quickly and put it back because Erika was calling us to ask where we were.  I told her we were on our way.

She picked us up and we drove around trying to find a chapel to prank our friends and family.  We couldn't find it so we turned around and got on one of the side roads because I wanted to pick up one more cache here before we left the area.  Erika parked nearby and we walked the short distance to GT1204-Get Your Edge On (GC3AFN1).  We had a lovely view of a really nice golf course.

We got back onto Hwy 50 and made our way back to Carson City.  Erika needed to do some studying since she lost two days of it with the unplanned chaos in the house.  She took us through downtown so we could see some of the state buildings and some of the places Erika has been since she's lived here.  When we got back to the house Travis was out in the garage getting his car ready to sell and also doing laundry.  Again, he ignored us like he was guilty of something.  Erika went through some of her boxes and set up some stuff inside the guest room Ben and I slept in.  I got onto the laptop and booked the cheapest tickets back home as I could.  Unfortunately, we get to go south before we get to go north which means we will be traveling for the entire day tomorrow.  From Reno to Los Angeles to Seattle...ugh.

We left Erika alone for a bit and borrowed her car to get a few more things at Walmart before she took us to Reno.  We picked up some hygiene stuff because neither of us brought razors due to bringing our luggage on with us, we thought they would take them away, a few more snacks and a jug of water since we didn't bring our Nalgenes either.  I wanted to find a cache in Carson City and for the county of course so we looked to see what one was the closest since the one at Walmart was missing.  CapitHole (GC37W49) was not too far from where we were so we went for it.  We drove the car down a small dirt road right to where the cache was inside of a rock wall.  We found it really fast.  It was getting hotter outside.

We found our way back to her place and we didn't want to be in her way anymore so she took us into Reno and dropped us off at the hotel/casino Ben booked for us.  He chose the El Dorado because it was the cheapest.  Erika told us about her school as we drove past it.  It was still weird that we were in Reno.  She thanked us for coming down and explained that it meant "more than you know" to her.  It was weird hearing that from her considering the past 8 years of our sibling relationship.  It was a bit rocky to say the least.  We grabbed our bags, said goodbye, thanked her and walked around trying to find the entrance to go check in.

We finally found the front desk and he gave us our keys.  We took the elevator up to room 1915 and unloaded our stuff and checked in with some people.  I called mom, Grammie and grandma Karen to let them know what the new plan was.  After about an hour we got cleaned up.  It was nice to finally shave my legs and Ben's face really needed a good shave as well.  We found our somewhat clean clothes and headed downstairs to explore the town and find some more geocaches.  I really wanted to see the Reno arch and get some pictures with it.  I really thought someone would make it a virtual but it wasn't.

Our hotel wasn't far from the arch.  There were a bunch of people also doing the same thing we were.  They even offered to take our picture but we were good.  We still kept an eye out on a chapel for our prank but the one we walked past was closed.  From there we explored the park near the Truckee River.  It was a very well taken care of park too.  I was impressed.  There was a sculpture similar to the California Adventure one with the giant letters except this one spelled out Believe.

 We tried finding several caches along the way on our walk but for some reason most of the ones we tried finding were missing.  It was getting irritating.  Then finally we found one on the app that was actually there!  However, there was a guy waiting for the bus we had to wait for him to leave.  I knew it was going to be at the clinic sign it was just a small waiting game to grab Baby Rockin Around the Block (GC50VX4).  It was under a rock next to the sign.  It was an easy find and we finally found one!

There was another one near the Circus Circus parking lot and we totally went for it.  I wasn't sure if it was going to be one that had to do with elevation and it mattered what floor you were looking on.  We got lucky and it was pretty easy to find.  Circus Parking (GC6X75R) was accessible from the sidewalk and Ben was tall enough to reach for it.  We signed our names, but it back and decided to walk through the Silver Legacy Hotel and Casino for a bit.  

We were getting hungry so we walked back to the El Dorado and tried looking for the brewery we had coupons for.  We finally found it after a few minutes of following the signs.  The Brew Brothers was named the Best Brewpub in America by Nightclub & Bar magazine.  We sat at the bar and ordered our drinks.  I had the Mango Ale and Ben had the Red Head.  They were both pretty good.  Minutes later I ordered a chicken strips and fries basket and Ben ordered burnt tips, beans and cole slaw.  When we got our food one of my chicken strips looked like the state of Florida and I had it backwards when I took the picture.  We giggled.

We had another coupon we could use for another drink so we ordered a Skky Vodka blue raspberry lemonade slushie to go with us and got a few bucks off.  We walked through the hotel/casino looking for something else to do since it was only 8.  Ben went to the cash machine and pulled out $100 just to have the experience of playing black jack in Reno.  He picked a table, sat down and started playing.  There were three other players and Ben was up about $30 within 15 minutes.  He should have walked away then and there but he stayed. One of  the guys sitting next to him told me that Ben was going to buy me some nice earrings with his winnings.  I told him I don't have pierced ears. Then there was a change of the dealers.  It went from a guy in his mid 50's from New Hampshire to a small Chinese woman in her late 20's.  Ben literally lost all of his money in about 10 minutes.  He got a crappy hand after a crappy hand until all of his chips were gone.  He thanked everyone and we walked away.  

I wanted to go see the Reno arch at night all lit up.  We walked back outside and made our way back to the sign.  This time we had someone take our picture for us and it was still pretty hot outside for being 9:45 at night. 

We thanked them and headed back towards the park and the river.  We noticed the chapel we walked past earlier was open.  Ben looked at me and he said let's do it!  I said sure and we walked in.  The young lady behind the counter asked how we were doing this evening and if she could help us.  Ben asked if she was willing, with the time she had left (they closed at 10, which was in 15 minutes), if she would help us prank our friends and family.  Her face lit up and said yes!  She also added that we were going to hell.  She even gave us some props (vail and a bouquet) to use and we didn't even ask.  She took us to the back room and posed us and took a few pictures.  We thanked her for doing that for us, took a business card and told her to have a good night.  I could not believe what we just did.  We got fake married and people are going to freak out when we post it to Facebook.

We walked over to the other side of the Truckee River to see what was over there.  I watched a river otter swim upstream chasing a crawdad.  The otter lost when I startled it from above.  Ben and I took a few pictures of us for the prank. 

He spent a few minutes collaging them together, made a post for Facebook and the caption read, "totally worth it!"  You could take that either way.  Totally worth it that we just got married or totally worth it the prank was legendary.  You decide.  We posted it just before 11 that evening when we got to our room.  As soon as Ben posted it, someone called us immediately.  Between the many phone calls, text messages and Facebook messages people were freaking out.  I asked out loud, why isn't anyone in bed?  It's Sunday night!  I would totally be in bed by now to get enough sleep to make it through the work day.

I took a shower to wash the smoke off of me, relaxed a bit and went to bed all before one-ish. We had to get up by 7 to get to our airport shuttle.  I was exhausted and fell asleep instantly.

Next Adventure:  The Journey Home, Reno-Tahoe, LAX and SeaTac