As some of you know, I spent a few days at the Entomological Society of America annual meeting in Reno, NV. Sometimes I look forward to going to conference cities, but I was not expecting anything great in Reno. And, it basically met my (lack of) expectations.
The hotel that I stayed at was great. The Peppermill screwed up my reservation so, on their own dime, and without any grousing from me, they put me up in a "Florence Suite" for a budget rate. My suite was overlaid with marble and rich, dark wood. There were three HD TVs, including one in the bathroom. Leather furniture and a soaker jacuzzi tub (that I never had time to use) topped it off.
But, you can't spend your entire time in a hotel room. Thankfully I had a talk to give and sessions to attend and moderate at the conference, so I was kept busy. But, if I had chosen Reno as a vacation spot, I'd have been awfully bored.
Case-in-point: I decided that the conference center's rate of $3 per bottle of water was a bit over-the-top. So, figured that I'd saunter to the 7/11 that I could see from my 19th floor hotel room to buy some water at a normal price. Upon walking 1/2 block from the hotel, I removed my conference name tag, as the neighborhood was rapidly deteriorating and those tags turn you into mugging bait. (The fact that I was wearing carefully pressed khakis and a button-up shirt probably didn't help either). At the 7/11, everyone in front and behind me in line was buying their favorite variety of hooch. After getting my water, I beat a hasty retreat to the hotel and really didn't leave it or the conference center afterward.
As for evening activities, here's the list of options: gambling.
That's it. And the picture above pretty much sums up how exciting that is. Basically, it's a bunch of 72-year olds gaining weight, blackening their lungs, cirrhosing their livers, and burning through their already-declining 401(k)s. If that's your idea of fun, then Reno is for you. If not (and unless you have to go there for a conference) head immediately out of that dive, up the Sierra to Tahoe.
