Wednesday June 19/13

Wednesday June 19/13 update # 487

I had emptied the humidifier in the morning so I had no white noise to sleep with and it was much too quiet.  I had maybe 2 hours sleep when the alarm went off at 3:30am to get ready.  Gord again kindly drove me to the airport and everything went very easily through United’s counters, then customs, so I had loads of time to have a leisurely breakfast.  It was very foggy in Calgary but we got away early, had to skirt some bad weather, and flew over mountains in Montana and Wyoming before arriving early in Denver.   My original seat assignment was the absolute farthest seat in the jet so I had been worried about only having one hour to make my next plane.  I knew that the plane wasn’t full from my pre-board attempt so I asked the stewardess to lease move me up if at all possible.   All the empty seats were the premium economy ones that very few people paid the extra $33 to fill.  The stew moved about 6 of us up from the back rows so we were happy campers.   If you don’t ask, you don’t get….  Because a plane was late departing from our anticipated gate allocation we ended up sitting on the tarmac and lost all our advantage, so it was great that we had gotten moved up.

The gate for the next flight was a very long walk so I was doubly thankful about the prior seat change..

The flight to Reno was uneventful and we landed right on schedule.   I wasn’t too happy when I saw my big suitcase though.   It was obvious that it had been opened and the back of it has a 5-inch gash.  I think baggage handlers get a stipend from luggage manufacturers.

The Grand Sierra Resort hotel is only a 5 minute drive from the airport and they have a free shuttle.   Too bad it only starts at 5am because I will need to be at the airport at 4am on Sunday.  It is funny to see the local cabs with advertising on their roofs for the houses of ill repute, which are legal in Nevada.

The hotel is huge and has all sorts of gambling, theatres, restaurants, pool, etc.   Lots of distractions for anyone who would be interested but I am not.

When I checked in I confirmed that our Benson Box with out Eleggant Hooks had arrived and were being kept in the Business Center.   After I dumped my luggage in the room on the 12^th floor I headed down there.   It only cost $15 to retrieve the box so I took it to the booth.  It didn’t take a rocket scientist to see that our booth was completely empty, no table, no chair…  The show director claimed that we had not ordered anything.   I dug and dug in my emails back in the room until I found the order which I emailed down to her.  I couldn’t reach Bella because she would have been playing bridge.   Bella later let me know that they never did charge us for it, but in the meantime everyone was gracious and helpful to get us a table and chair.

Set-up did not take long but we are located on an odd corner and not very visible.  The folks will visit every booth at least once so I am not overly concerned but, if tomorrow is bad, I am going to ask for a full side wall so I can make our banners more visible from both directions.

Then I went for a very different pizza supper then did a quick wander around the casino/theater/restaurant floor.  The smell of smoke is pervasive and drove me from the premises in short order.

The hotel room is large and always sleep well in hotels.   I can create enough white noise and cool air with the air-conditioners for a good sleep.

That was today’s excitement.  Hugs to all.  

Enjoy the pics at souvenircuenca.blogspot.com