FainaAgain

Hello, all, with Mr Again we made the round-trip to Reno, stayed at Fitzgerald’s, met Holly_Uncasdewar and even won maybe $20-30! It was cold there! And Reno gave me the same depressing feeling as 5 years ago, sorry Crefloors! But I’m speaking of the casino area only, not the whole town. Virginia street is closed to vehicles, maybe some kind of remodeling? Many places are out of business, including some shops and casinos like Old Reno.

The Greyhound was not as bad as expected. The riders were mostly poor, families with small children, seniors, mentally sick and some homeless-looking. They do watch out for passengers! More so in Reno where a police room is right there, in the station. And when a screaming child was running around, they’ve announced on the loud speaker: the child must be with adults all the time, and later came out to talk to the mother.

People lined up by leaving large pieces of luggage by the gate, later were standing for boarding. Walked in according to where the suitcases where, all in order. The bus came back to San Francisco about ˝ hour late due to the traffic jam. About 6 hours each way, 5-6 stops along the way, some 10’ stops for smoking and one 30’ stop for food. But there was no food to speak of, of course!

Would I do it again? Not alone!! They sell as many tickets as there are seats, so there is a great probability to sit next to some nut case. With my husband, well, only if really needed. But we both are not sorry for adding another experience to our list. We did not feel threatened. Oh, and the coupon for $10 turned out to be $5 cash and $5 coupon for table play.

With Holly we met at the Sweetwater café at Silver Legacy. While the food is good, as a meeting place it’s not, as if we wouldn’t describe each other in details in e-mail, we wouldn’t meet. This café has 2 entrances, so it’s easy to miss. And the service was so bad… waited for coffee for ˝ hour, asking several people to find the waitress. But the meeting was great, Holly is a nice, soft-spoken lady, and we had a lot to talk about! For a meeting in Reno I recommend to meet on the bench by the display of the historical bicycles across from the café before going to eat.

Fitzgerald’s is a nice place for budget travelers, but the trio of Eldorado - Silver Legacy - Circus Circus is much better for food and entertainment choices. The mornings and evenings were cold, so we didn’t feel like getting out much. I pre-paid Fitz through Expedia, they’ve only charged $50 incidentals which should be returned in 3 to 5 business days. I can imagine what kind of guests they have! But while we were there, we didn’t encounter any problem situations. The room was spacious, with coffeemaker, hairdryer, iron/board.

We will not be going to Reno any time soon, I hope! South Lake Tahoe GTG in the summer, anyone?

sandy_b

Enjoyed your report . . . thanks for posting!

Sandy (in Denton)

BayouGal

Faina, you are one outgoing gal! I admire you. Thanks for this interesting report.

P_M

Faina, you are entertaining as always. Congrats on winning $20-$30!! What will you do with this windfall??

crefloors

Sorry to miss you guys. I know what you mean about downtown and I'm sure Holly does also. Lots going on down there but a lot of the development and proposed development should have been done a long time ago. Downtown and blocks surrounding it will be a mess for quite some time. Street projects, Condominium projects, either in progress or on the books. The major issue they are starting to talk about but not much else is parking!!! I dread the day I get called for jury duty again.

I think downtown is going to be wonderful when it's done but I'm wondering if I'm going to live that long!!!!! LOL

Fiana, how was your trip back to SF? My trip back to Reno was not much fun. LOL

Nina66

Thorough, as always, trip report. I feel the same way about Greyhound trips. Haven't taken one in years, but from your description the same people were riding with you. Looooove to hear other peoples' screaming kids.

LoveItaly

Hi Faina, welcome home!

Yes, as usual your trip report is great. Don't feel bad, a lot of us do not enjoy downtown Reno. The last time I was there was with my DH. I won't go into the details but we left at 5:00am the next morning.

Regarding Greyhound. We have a Greyhound station in my city. A neighbor/friend talked to me about taking it to SF. I had my doubts. I talked to our local PD. They advised that it was probably not a good idea. The prisoners that get released from our local prison use the Greyhound busses to leave town. So much for my friends idea LOL. Hope you have an easy week at work!!

trippinkpj

Thanks for sharing Faina, including about Greyhound. I've thought about taking it from San Jose to Reno many times. I may do it next year.

FainaAgain

P_M I don't know what to do with our winnings, should I declare them on the tax form? open a savings account?

Hello, Sandy, Bayou, Nina!

Crefloors, we were out of a traffic jam and into another both ways!

L'Italy, I was told Greyhound is safer on weekends and holidays. And yes, we had a stop in your town. Have you checked Amtrak? I never hesitate to take an Amtrak bus alone.

dovima

Dear Faina,

I took Greyhound between SF and LA a lot back in the '80s.

Your description sounds like every ride I've ever taken on the #47 Van Ness bus in San Francisco... except longer and with more hills.

Thanks (I think) for bringing back the vivid memories!

LoveItaly

Good news Faina, I discovered there are commuter busses from my city to the PH BART station in the morning and at the end of the day. Only M through F but still..great clean busses with a good heating system and good drivers.

JJ5

Sounds mild compared to Archer Ave. bus in Chicago. Not only screaming, running kids but also newly crying one once. Yes, childbirth on the bus. The bus driver, her, an older lady, and me (not yet 17)were all that was left before another "her" arrived. And it was cold out. I never did get to school.

Do I have bus stories, mostly bad, so I tend to avoid buses now.

trippinkpj

I've taken Amtrak buses before. Between San Jose and San Luis Obispo, usually the Amtrak bus was cheaper and always faster than Greyhound.

Suzie

Faina, Loved your report! Like you, I would not suggest that a woman go alone on Grayhound. On my last Grayhound trip some 20+ years ago I was saved at the very last moment from what would have been a life altering event!

In laws stay at Fitzgeralds every time they go to Reno (which is frequent) I guess their motivation is that as frequent guests they get comped. We stayed at the El Dorado and seriously I must say that I never had a more depressing hotel stay in my life. What is it about Reno?

LucieV

Downtown Reno isn't my cuppa, either, Faina. I always associate it with a botched surgery I had for a skiing accident when I was a little girl. But I do like the country/landscape/scenery outside of Reno. Your bus trip does sound like an adventure...maybe not glamorous, but definitely interesting!

Dukey

The word is "compassion"

FainaAgain

Dukey, this is what I was saying during all round-trip, dreaming of no return

FainaAgain

That's not all.

Silver Legacy's casino has a website with the e-mail address. I sent an e-mail to them about bad service at the Sweetwater.

GUESS WHAT Yesterday I got an official letter of apology signed by the Director of Food and Beverage of the hotel/casino cc'ing the General Manager with an invitation for me and a friend to have a free meal there!

This was beyond expectations, seriously! And it was not an e-mail, it's a formal letter on a letterhead! I'm impressed.