Spring Break: part 2

From Lone Pine, we had planned on driving through the Lake Tahoe area on our way to Reno.  However, the roads were closed due to the weather (or at least we didn't want to test out our snow chains).  We headed up a less scenic route to the east.  We had never been to Reno before - don't like the casino atmosphere, but the city does have a pretty setting.  

We spent 2 nights at the Circus Circus Hotel in Reno - picked because it was so cheap.  We got two adjoining rooms for $65 a night.  The rooms were really nice, but I probably wouldn't stay there again.  It was a pain dealing with the parking garage and our over-sized vehicle (with the extra storage on the top).  There was no luggage cart, and we had quite a trek to make it to our room.  We had to walk across the parking garage, up one elevator, walk to another area, go up a small set of stairs, and then up another elevator - all with 5 kids and all our stuff in tow.  Try carrying a toddler in an umbrella stroller up the stairs or hauling a pack 'n play all that way.  Whew! 

The hotel had some other fun things going on - carnival games and shows, but it was pretty disappointing.  The shows were in the middle of the games (of course) - just a 10 minute show, with everyone standing and crowding right there in front of the raised platform.  We watched one short dog show, but the kids could hardly see it - I had Owen standing on my knee so he could catch a glimpse of the show.  The games were $1 each, so we jetted on out after the show without playing any of the games.

Also, there was no pool and no breakfast.

But we enjoyed watching some March madness basketball on TV - Nathan would say that was a highlight of our week.  The weather wasn't very nice for exploring the Reno area, so we found things to do inside.  

We spent most of Thursday at the children's museum in Reno.  (Our local museum pass got us 4 free tickets in - nice.)  They had a great time with all the interactive things to do.  They particularly enjoyed the ones that involved building things.  Weston loved the water area and sitting in the plane.  The climbing structure was a hit too.  Weston even got brave enough to climb all the way up to the top.     

The real reason for heading to Reno was to visit another temple - since we were already half way there anyway.  Alex was able to go on Wednesday evening and I went Thursday morning.  The temple was very similar in design to the Oklahoma City Temple.  It was really windy and cold when I went, but I had to snap a few pictures to document our visit.  I loved the popcorn-looking trees.  (I think this is our 30th temple.)

We were watching the weather and weren't sure if we would be able to make the rest of our spring break plans.  Donner Pass required snow chains on Wednesday.  We thought we wouldn't be able to make through the mountains to get to Monterey.  But by Friday morning, it was "clear" - no chains required.  We still got a bit nervous driving through the pass, especially seeing the temperature drop to 32 degrees.  It really wasn't bad though and we made it to Monterey with no problems.