DeLancey's Do Reno - July 14, 2012

In mid July, we decided to get away for the weekend.  Since we'd never been to Nevada, we decided to take the 3.5 hour drive to Reno. We read that Sparks, NV had some awesome Outdoor Outfitter called Scheel's, so that was our first stop.  We realize that was a weird stop for Reno, but we're not really gamblers, and rumor had it that there was lots of fun stuff for the kids there, and it was near lots of places to stop for lunch.  And it WAS fun for the kids (and us).  There was lots of gear to drool over and the children got to try their hand at golf, soccer, and race car driving (well RJ was big enough to sit in the race car simulator while Lance "drove").  And there was an indoor ferris wheel as well as an indoor playground.  So it was more than just me drooling over the climbing gear in an REI or EMS store.

After lunch, we checked into the Circus Circus Hotel, which has a huge arcade/carnival in addition to the casino.  So we played some games with the kiddos.  It was definitely the right place to stay in Reno with kids.  They even have short circus acts every hour or so right in the carnival/arcade area!  I'm not sure why I don't have pictures of that.

After a few games, we decided it was time for a little exploring and looking for somewhere to eat dinner.  So we walked around Downtown Reno, taking in the sights of all the casinos and other goofiness, before sitting on the banks of the Truckee River for a while while the kids had a little impromptu wading.

My favorite: the Liquor-Tattoo-Wedding Chapel building

We ended up at the Thai Corner Cafe, which made RJ happy because, despite it's name, it was a sushi bar as well.  After the yummy food, we wandered around a little more along the Truckee River waterfront and the kids found some other kids to play with in an open plaza area.

RJ and a little girl seemed to orchestrate quite the game, involving lots of running...

...and a lot of simultaneous laying down.

Once the children were veritably delirious with exhaustion, we thought it would be a good idea to head back to the hotel for some shut-eye.

On the way back, we spotted "The Nugget", which reminded us of RJ's in-utero nickname.

And I also spotted one of the world's tallest climbing walls at Comm Row Base Camp, which spanned the height of the building in a two-pitch climb!  Next time, I'm going to HAVE to climb it!!

More pictures here.