Bloody Mary

This week and next I'm working for the High School Journalism Institute, held at my school. It's pretty much all-day, every day, but some of the work is more like fun and it's nice getting to know the high school teachers who are here from all over the country. Yesterday, we took them on a day trip to Virginia City and I had a chance to cross an item off my Nevada Resolution list: Have a Bloody Mary at the Bucket of Blood Saloon.

Mixing it up

Yum!

Four down, six to go!

Winnemucca Potato

On the suggestion of my friend Kat, who is from Winnemucca, I added "eat a Winnemucca potato" to my list of Nevada things to do this year. After confirmation that that simply meant to eat a potato grown in Winnemucca (and not that this was some sort of specific dish that the lovely folks of Humboldt County made with their homegrown potatoes) I realized that I already had eaten a Winnemucca potato, because that is what they serve on campus at Spudistro. But, seeing as how I was hungry, and that I wanted to get a picture for the blog, and because they are delicious, I had another this week. I ordered The Sagebrush, topped with broccoli, black olives, sautéed mushrooms and cheddar cheese. It tasted fresh and yummy and was more than enough for lunch (although I ate the whole thing anyway). It's nice to find places to eat that use locally-grown ingredients!

Three down, seven to go!

Craps

While we were in Las Vegas over the weekend, I decided to take the opportunity to cross something off my Nevada 2010 Resolution list and played craps for the first time.

Terri said she wanted to play, so I joined her and she explained the game. We both lost, but I didn't feel too bad since I had won a bet on a horse race earlier in the day.

Two down, eight to go!

Stay tuned for more of our Vegas adventures later this week ...

Gold 'N Silver Inn

My mom came to town today to do some shopping, and wanted to go to lunch somewhere not too far from our place. I thought it sounded like a good opportunity to check something off my resolution list, so we went to the Gold 'N Silver Inn, which was filmed just this week for the Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. The restaurant would have already been on my list even had I not known this little tidbit of information. The RGJ food writer blogged about it a few months ago, and a journalism student and former RGJ intern recently did a multimedia project on the place. But the news that Guy Fieri had only been there three days before made my mom both excited and bummed - possibly the world's biggest Food Network fan, she wished she'd been there the same time as the TV crew. (The show also filmed at Louis Basque Corner, where I've been only for drinks, and Dish Cafe, where I've taken several people when they've come to town - including Andrea and Kelli.)
Anyway, it's an old Reno diner (Reno's oldest casual dining restaurant, apparently) and has been open 24/7 for like 54 years. Crazy! It's a popular spot, it seems, for the late-night, just-left-the-bars crowd, as well as early morning business breakfasts and more. I had the sourdough melt, which was just okay but the fries were terrific, and my mom had eggs benedict that she loved. The service was good and, other than the fact that I sat in something sticky when we first sat at our table, the experience was great.

One down, nine to go!

The Resolution (part two)

Okay, I have compiled my list of Nevada things to do in 2010. You may notice there are 15 items instead of 10, that's because I'm not sure what time and budget will allow for, so I thought it might be helpful to have a few extra things to choose from. I will blog about each item as they are completed ...

From Chad:

1. Go to the Basque Festival in Elko

2. Drink a Bloody Mary from the Bucket of Blood

3. Raft down the Truckee

4. Go to a ghost town (or three)

5. Visit Hoover Dam

6. Play dollar Black Jack at the Bonanza

7. Brothel Museum in Pahrump

8. Tour a working Gold Mine

From Kat:
9. Play craps at a craps table

10. Try a Winnemucca Potato

11. Go to the Genoa Candy Dance

From "You Know You're a Nevadan If ... "

12. Sign the book at the top of Mount Rose

13. Order "A Mess" at the Coney Island

14. Run or walk the Journal Jog

My own:
15. Eat at the Gold 'N Silver Inn

What are your New Year's Resolutions?

What are the must-do things in your state?

The Resolution (part one)

The other day I decided that my New Year's Resolution would be to do 10 things all Nevadans should do by Nevada Day (Oct. 31). I posted this on Facebook, requesting some suggestions. Of the suggestions I received, here are the ones I have already done (or partially done):

• Reno Rodeo
• Reno Air Races
• Drink a Picon Punch (not at the Star, but at Louie's Basque Corner)

• Drive Highway 50 - the loneliest highway in America (as far as Middlegate and Shoe Tree, at least)
  

I went to work and told my co-worker Guy Clifton (author of "You Know You're a Nevadan If ...") that I couldn't believe he hadn't responded. So he handed me a copy of his book. These are some of the things in "You Know You're a Nevadan If ... " that I can check the boxes for:

• You remember the afternoon movie hosted by Betty Stoddard (note: This is no longer around, however, I did interview Betty Stoddard for a video for work and she told me about all the jobs she used to have)
• You know there are no horses or cows at the Mustang Ranch and no rabbits at the Cottontail
• You still call the Reno Hilton "the MGM" (note: while the resort once known as MGM had new owners and a new name when we moved here, it was a hotel that we used to stay with my dad when we were kids. It had this awesome red carpeted staircase and black and white pictures of old movie stars. It later became Bally's, then the Hilton, and now is the Grand Sierra Resort.)
• You've eaten an Awful Awful
• You know what going to the "Wal" means
• You know Moana (as in Lane, Stadium, etc.) is pronounced MO-ANN-A, not MO-ONN-A
• You think of only one lake when someone says THE lake
• You root for Andre Agassi (note: although I understand the connection, this actually has nothing to do with me living in Nevada. Fun fact - my first live sports assignment in college was an Agassi-Chang match.)
• You bought liquor from Ben
• Marilyn Newton has taken your picture for the paper (note: I don't think she has taken my picture, but we've been on many assignments together.)
• You've had Mama's raviolis at Casale's
• You watched the Reno Aces (note: obviously this was a different Aces, before our time here, but the statement is true as written.)

• You've watched a parade in downtown Reno
• You know Nevada's Ty Cobb was a newspaperman, not a baseball player

Next I will compile the suggestions and come up with the 10 things to cross off the list this year ... Stay tuned!