Plink, Plunk, PLANK!

Okay, one more activity we did while in Reno.  I only heard about this fad/craze a few days ago and then Nellie had some photos of her Dad participating in said activity, and so I was able to convince my compadres to join in the fun.  This game is called planking. 

Here’s the deal, you find some outrageous spot to lie flat on your face with your arms at your sides, stiff as a board (plank), and someone takes your picture.  Then you post that picture in a public place so you get as many people as possible to think you’re an idiot!  There is a good explanation of this phenomena here but the author also talks about “Owling” and I have no idea what that is!  I managed to escape involvement in the actual posing by being the official photographer.

It started at breakfast when I told my sis and her husband about this new game.  They were skeptical at first but soon the ideas were just rolling out of their twisted little heads.  I followed along with the camera ready to distract Security as these old fogeys ran rampant through the Grand Sierra Resort, Reno, NV. 

They started mild…


…and quickly escalated into wild…


Yes, Sharon and David…that is YOUR sister stretched out on the bar in the middle of the Grand Sierra Resort.  The bar was not open yet but Laila was never one to be stopped by a velvet rope.  I fully expected security to come around the corner at any moment.  I quickly snapped the photos from a safe angle and beat a hasty retreat, deserting my dear and crazy sis in the process.

Not to be outdone, Brian defeated his own velvet rope and made his way onstage.  After a quick bit of karaoke without the music, he planked the stage at Grand Sierra Resort.



Before we got out of the lobby, the ideas were flowing fast and furious.  Brian decided to try the lobby waterfall…the one surrounded by a ledge about 6 inches wide. 

That looks kinda like flames but it is only water cascading down a glass sheet.

Well, ya’ll know that Russ could not resist forever and he soon found his own planking post in front of the central lobby sculpture.  Note that his plank was completed on a soft and raised surface.



And Laila on another bench.


Outside, it just did not quit.  Another horse sculpture called to Russ and duty demanded that he respond.


And then he tried a vertical plank.


But the idea of the day came from Brian.  “I know,” says the oldest and wisest member of our group.  “We all have handicap parking permits, let’s do a handicap parking plank.”  Didn’t anyone ever tell these crazy people that asphalt in Reno in the summer is HOT???  But did that stop them…NO. 



I snapped the picture quickly before any cars came and then had to help each one of these feeble minded bodied people to their feet.  They all assured me that the tiny rocks and melted asphalt embedded in their knees was not at all painful.  In the interest of full disclosure, I have to admit that we only had one parking permit with us and it was not utilized in the original photo.  A little digital magic and we're in business.

We ended the day by having dinner with my brother David, his wife Linda, and one of their children, Alycia and Alycia’s boy David.  Little David is in first grade and is the cutest, sweetest, most well-behaved child I have ever seen.  We love spending time with him.  My brother on the other hand....


Now I don’t know how the subject came up, I swear I don’t, but somehow the talk at dinner turned to planking.  Some photos were shared and as we left, I managed to convince this sweet little boy that he needed to plank.  He took to it like a champ.



And so ends the planking adventures of the old folks in Reno.  I have a feeling this was a once in a lifetime adventure…at least I hope it was.  The funniest part was, after I had taken all those pictures inside the Grand Sierra, I told Brian and Laila that I had made the whole thing up!  Wish I had a picture of their faces…but I corrected myself and we all had a great time.

Next up…in a few days probably…Hat Creek.

July 21, 1973

Yup!  That’s us, 38 years ago today.  We were married at Chapel of the Bells, in Reno, NV., by Reverend Huckleberry (seriously!).  The good Reverend is long gone but the memories linger on.  Yesterday we re-visited some of those old familiar places.  If you care to know more of our back story, read the link on the left side bar called The Story of Russ and Donna.  Don’t want to bore you with it here!

THEN…

…and NOW

Oh GOOD GRIEF…can those really be the same two people?  Yes, the backdrop may have changed somewhat but that is the same Chapel and those are the same two people who stood there 38 years ago today and pledged their lives one to the other.

We even visited the courthouse where we got our marriage license.

And of course, since we had traveling companions this time, we had to get them in the pictures as well.

 

And, just for good measure, one more of us…




We have been back to Reno many times since that day in 1973.  Each time things have changed, everything is a little older, the casinos change, the storefronts change, the hotels change.

This time I was especially struck by how old Reno looks.  Like a glitzy lady who has shed her gold and diamonds and now has only pot metal and rhinestones to offer.  The hotels are looking worn, the facades in need of paint and updating.  Graffiti adorns many surfaces which were once clean and new.  Carpets are faded and wrinkled and banisters need a good polish.

I guess that’s one reason I was so happy to see that our little Chapel, like us, still stands.  In a world of easy divorce and limited commitment, I am so grateful to my husband and to God that we have stood the test of time.  Like the city in which we were married, we are a little worse for wear, but we are still standing,  We have been through the fire and survived, even though sometimes it would have been easier not to.  To walk away is easy, to stay takes a lot of work.

Thank you, Russ, for thirty eight memorable years.  Here’s hoping we make it to Fifty – and if we do I expect another cruise and another renewal of vows!

Spur of the Moment!

All the kids have gone home.  We were scheduled to go camping this week with our son and his family for a few days.  However, they tent camp and the weather has been nothing but RAIN and more is forecast.  They decided it might be better to bag it and try again in August.


SOOOOO...we already have a house sitter lined up and there is sunshine in Reno.  Need I say more?  My sis and her hubby are going to pile into Therapy with us and we are off to see my brother David and family in Reno.  A road trip with good friends to a sunny, dry, warm destination - what could be better?  This is our first "spur of the moment" trip.  I wonder what I'll forget?!?  Oh well, it's not like we're headed off into the wilds of Africa.  We'll find plenty of stores, I'm sure.

I may be off the grid for a few days as we are just GOING - no reservations, no time table, no schedule.  Have no idea when I will next have internet access.  But I'll be thinking of you and I'll talk (type) to you when we can.

Brian, Laila (my sis), and Russ on Lake Tahoe - Our last Reno trip together