Reno Fun Train - 3/4 to 3/6/05

On 2004-11-11 16:54, Unga Bunga wrote:

On 2004-11-11 16:51, the drunken hat wrote:
the only work i am doing right now is sewing a poodle skirt for colleen so she can impress thejab with her fabulous '50s look.

Thank God it's for Colleen.
How's Bruce's skirt commin along?

My Poodle Skirt has some weird stains that I can't get off!! (I swear the stains are from the Poodle!!!) ewwww! :)

On 2004-11-11 17:20, Humuhumu wrote:
The woman said she'd try to get the whole Martin Cate party together, but that we were getting awfully big. :)

They person I talked to said "Are you with that group? We've gotten about five calls from them in the last 20 minutes!"

On 2004-11-11 16:51, the drunken hat wrote:

On 2004-11-11 16:24, mrsmiley wrote:

On 2004-11-11 16:21, the drunken hat wrote:
and since when did you start talking in third person?? the drunken hat wants to know!

What are you doing on the computer right now? Shouldn't you be driving a ......COCA-COLA truck or something right now? "It's the real thing" !! :)

i don't work for PEPSI in the rain. i might melt.

I heard that COCA-COLA has real trucks!! You know, truck with roofs so you can drive around in the rain. "Coke is IT!" ha-ha!!

On 2004-11-11 17:26, cynfulcynner wrote:

On 2004-11-11 17:20, Humuhumu wrote:
The woman said she'd try to get the whole Martin Cate party together, but that we were getting awfully big. :)

They person I talked to said "Are you with that group? We've gotten about five calls from them in the last 20 minutes!"

We have pull!!! Just ask the folks at Shasta Soda. When is the TikiCentral Lobby going to the State Capitol!?!?! :)

Have a nice Tiki Day!

[ Edited by: mrsmiley on 2004-11-11 17:34 ]

Hey Hanford!
All Aboard!

WOW, the train party sounds great! Though, it wouldn't make much sense for me to drive down the hill from Tahoe to catch the train in Sac...too bad I'll have to miss THAT. It sounds realy fun. But I'll surely meet you all in Reno...Trader Dicks, Great Basin Brewery (gimme an Icky!), Googie diners...I can't wait to see you all again! K

[ Edited by: Kalikiana on 2004-11-12 00:38 ]

I paid for my tickets on Monday the 3rd. (the last day to pay). I hope everyone remembered to do that.

Less than 2 months to go!

the lady told me they bill it automaticly on the 5th of jan. i guess i better call them up!

"MARCH 4 , 10AM EMERYVILLE CONF# AUTO PAYMENT THRU MASTERCARD ON Jan 3."
Yes, they automatically charged me--Smiley

"To place a booking, get a quote or ask any questions,

call us at: 1-800-783-0783 or (925) 945-8938
Mon-Fri 9 AM to 5:30 PM PST.
Fax (925) 256-7597
Visa, Mastercard and Discover accepted. Groups are welcome. "

i called and confirmed my reservation!!!! we'll see you guys in sacratomato. make sure and save some seats and booze for us! i'll bring a gallon of that punch i made for the hooptylau.

should we make a list of who is bringing what?

On 2005-01-05 15:56, the drunken hat wrote:
i called and confirmed my reservation!!!! we'll see you guys in sacratomato. make sure and save some seats and booze for us!

Seats were assigned when you reserved. When you board the attendant shows you to your reserved seat. Since we all mentioned Martiki's reservation when we booked they'll probably be close together.

As far as booze goes, we'll try our darndest not to drink it all before Slackramento! :wink:

I'll bring my Knockout Punch and some snatch... umm, I mean snacks!

The train ride is 7 hours long!! and they only feed you one
"light" meal on Friday and a snack on Sunday!! Ok folk-what food are we bringing?

so are we all bringing punch and snacks? that makes it simpler i guess. is anyone going to have a hospitality suite? if so i'll bring some booze up to help them out. cleen and i also think we should have a john ascuaga hunt....first to find and take a pic with him wins a prize! (and no i won't count the pic below.)

...liquor in the front, poker in the rear...

[ Edited by: the drunken hat on 2005-01-05 18:40 ]

i wanna party with "John" !!!!!

If there is access to a microwave and we can burn Sterno on the train, we can have CHEESY BEER FONDUE!!

On 2005-01-05 20:40, cynfulcynner wrote:

If there is access to a microwave and we can burn Sterno on the train, we can have CHEESY BEER FONDUE!!

I'll bring the sushi for dippin'!

-Weird Unc

I have been avoiding this and hoping I could manage work out for both events, but it's either S.F. bar crawl or the train, and I think you know my answer.
Work sucks. Can't I just be a tiki bum.
Sorry about the cancellation.

I'm willing to bet that you can't burn Sterno on the train! Portable electric burner? Nah, just brink lots of starchy and dry things. More later!

On 2005-01-05 18:35, the drunken hat wrote:
so are we all bringing punch and snacks? that makes it simpler i guess. is anyone going to have a hospitality suite? if so i'll bring some booze up to help them out. cleen and i also think we should have a john ascuaga hunt....first to find and take a pic with him wins a prize! (and no i won't count the pic below.)

---

...liquor in the front, poker in the rear...

[ Edited by: the drunken hat on 2005-01-05 18:40 ]

Hey Hat-

Ask him if he knows Eli Hedley. Then tell him to call me. Bamboo Ben 714-960-1860. My Grandaddy did his place. Would love to talk story.

On 2005-01-12 18:41, martiki wrote:
I'm willing to bet that you can't burn Sterno on the train!

You probably can't even BRING it on the train (thank you, Homeland Security)!

A letter from Key Holidays arrived in my mail yesterday and I said "Oh boy! My tickets are here!" But when I opened the envelope it was just an ad for the Snow/Fun Train. Did anyone else get this?

I did. They just send it out every year to people on their mailing list. I think they said the tickets are sent out a couple weeks before the departure date.

What shall we do in REno? Of course ;
1- Trader Dicks
2- dinner at the Nugget ?
3- visit downtown (when)
3a Awful Awful burger at the Nugget downtown
4- Trip to the Fireside bar at the Peppermill
5- dinner the other night(where?)
??what else??

Have a nice Tiki Day!

[ Edited by: mrsmiley on 2005-02-02 17:24 ]

On 2005-02-02 13:29, mrsmiley wrote:
What shall we do in REno? Of course ;
1- Trader Dicks
2- dinner at the Nugget ?
3- visit downtown (when)
3a Awful Awful burger at the Nugget downtown
4- Trip to the Fireside bar at the Peppermill
5- dinner the other night(where?)
??what else??

Besides the places you mentioned,

6. Fishtank bar at Peppermill
7. John's Oyster Bar in the Nugget
8. The Liberty Belle Saloon - c. 1958 old west, gay 90s theme restaurant filled with old slot machines.
   http://www.libertybellereno.com/restaurantpages/restaurant.html

Since we get in at 5:15 on Friday we might want to have dinner at the Nugget when we arrive. John's Oyster bar is a great choice on Friday, but the steakhouse is also very good if a bit pricey, or we could take our chances eating at Trader Dick's (avoid the Chinese food and it can be pretty good). We could drink at Trader Dick's as long as we want (but don't they close faily early, like 10 or 11?).

We could take a cab downtown for about $10-15 per cab either Friday or Saturday late - everything is open most of the night down there. There's nothing like the late-night scene at the downtown Nugget coffee shop. Awful awful burgers served by tweakers!

On Saturday maybe we could spend some time in the Peppermill during the day and eat at the Liberty Bell Saloon around 5 or 6 (they open at 5), and we could make it back to the Nugget in time to hit Trader Dick's again. The cab ride to the Peppermill and back should be reasonable cost if we pack it with people.

We should probably make reservations if we are going to all have dinner somewhere at the Nugget or the Liberty Belle.

My boss has taken the reno fun train. He is quite a drinker, like us. He said that after a WHOLE day of drinking on the train, by the time you hit Reno you're too sick/tired/woozy to do much of anything.

Knowing my propensity for getting sick at the slightest sign of overindulging in anything especially alcohol, I personally would be VERY hesitant to commit to post-train plans. (I am also worried about getting sick ON the train with no refuge to escape to but I worry a lot!)

That being said, I am intrigued by the Peppermill and it sounds like with their 14 different themed bars you can have an entire weekend of bar crawls without leaving the casino!

I'm really looking forward to this! I've not been to Reno before, and since you all have a better idea how to Do Reno Well, I'm gonna just tag along for the ride, if that's okay. Maybe we can rig up a little wheeled cart so y'all can haul my drunk ass around all weekend.

I'd have to be pretty drunk/woozy/queasy to not feel like hitting the town once I get to Reno at the end of the train ride. One day last March I got up at 1:30am PST, took a 6 hour plane flight home from Orlando, immediately hopped in my car to drive solo 6 hours to San Francisco, and then stayed up til 1am drinking Absinthe at the Foggy Grotto. I have the constitution of a concrete elephant.

On 2005-02-02 16:32, Humuhumu wrote:
Maybe we can rig up a little wheeled cart so y'all can haul my drunk ass around all weekend.

Somebody bring that rickshaw! :lol:

Do we have to buy our drinks on the train, or can we bring our own?

On 2005-02-02 16:49, cynfulcynner wrote:
Do we have to buy our drinks on the train, or can we bring our own?

Oh yes, you can bring anything onboard: coolers, beer, booze, food. They have cups and ice for drinks, and you can buy booze, beer, wine, and food onboard if you wish.

On 2005-02-02 16:32, Humuhumu wrote:
I'd have to be pretty drunk/woozy/queasy to not feel like hitting the town once I get to Reno at the end of the train ride.

Oh, you'll be drunk allright! Woozy, perhaps. Queasy, I hope not!

I have an iron stomach and can hold my own with the best of 'em! The trick is to eat plenty while you drink. In Spain we drank until 5 or 6AM some nights and until 3 or 4 most nights because we were eating snacks all night.

The nice thing about the Nugget is that the rooms are pretty quiet so you can sleep in easily.

Bring your suit because they have a big glass-covered pool on the roof to help sooth any hangover you may have! Oh, the Bloody Mary bar in the lobby is good for the morning after too.

I want to add that we'd love to see anyone who wants to meet us in Reno that weekend--you don't have to take the train with us party animals! We are all staying at John Asquaga's Nugget in Reno/Sparks because that is where Trader Dicks is.

That's a great looking schedule. I'd be very hesitant to try to add anymore to that. (There's not much else anyway) We won't be there all that long anyway, and I don't want to spend the whole time in taxis.

I say Oyster Bar for dinner Friday Night. Steak House is too $$$. Nothing like raw oysters and creamy chowder on yer gut after drinking all day!

There's really only 2 bars worth visiting in the Peppermill- fish and fireside. I was at Dick's over Thanksgiving, and it was open pretty damn late. I don't remember exactly how late because, well, I was trashed.

By the way, the Hundred Play Video Poker machine across from the front of Dick's is mine. All mine. Try to push me off and I'll bite your fucking hands off.

:)

[ Edited by: martiki on 2005-02-02 21:03 ]

i'm with martiki. your not leaving much time for gambling. i need my blackjack fix too! anyone else wanna get gussied up and take over a blackjack table? ya know swingers style... well on second thought almost swingers style.... i plan on winning a few hands!

"who's the big winner tonite?" ...................

On 2005-02-03 13:39, the drunken hat wrote:
i'm with martiki. your not leaving much time for gambling. i need my blackjack fix too!

What else are we going to do while drinking? I'm with martiki too, but I'm a video poker man. Just give me a table with full-pay and load me up with free drinks.

For the lowdown on the Nugget's gambling choices check out this page (scroll down to "The Casino"):

http://www.cheapotravel.com/reno/reno_casino_full.php?hotel_id=1002

And the Peppermill:

http://www.cheapotravel.com/reno/reno_casino_full.php?hotel_id=1024

I'm more of a roulette/slots/accepting free drinks from sleazy people sort of gal.

I only like blackjack late at night when the tables are near empty, because I don't know it well enough to NOT piss off the serious players ("hey! you should have STAYED! that was MY Queen!") bastids...

and sometimes pai gow.

pai gow is fun. maybe that is what we should play! i also like craps but i'm not as good at it. fyi DG#'s if you sit at my table i can help you out a bit with blackjack.

On 2005-02-03 14:13, the drunken hat wrote:
pai gow is fun. maybe that is what we should play! i also like craps but i'm not as good at it. fyi DG#'s if you sit at my table i can help you out a bit with blackjack.

I used to be good at blackjack--but most of my friends are lame when it comes to gambling so I haven't had practice in about 12 years!

you can sit at my table. just as long as you don't sit at 3rd base.

On 2005-02-03 14:57, the drunken hat wrote:
you can sit at my table. just as long as you don't sit at 3rd base.

I am used to going all the way!!!!

We really dig roulette as well. It's so mindless, I can attain a kind of zen state. Zen with free booze, that is.

Unfortunately, Nugget Roulette is a little expensive (for cheap me, at least). I go across the street to the Silver Club- sometimes it's cheaper, sometimes not. The only other place in Sparks with cheap Roulette is Rail City. DO NOT GO TO THIS DANGEROUS SHITHOLE. You know how Reno is packed to the teeth with parolees? Well, they hang out at Rail City. Maybe that's the wrong choice of words since most of Rail City's customers have no teeth at all.

I lke roulette too but I'm not going so I'll shutup. blah, blah, blah.

Well count me in on the next event,
THE DANGEROUS SHITHOLE FUN TRAIN. :)

[ Edited by: Unga Bunga on 2005-02-04 11:18 ]

1. I was thinking that 2 or 3 people ought to be the only ones to go the diner at the downtown nugget and get awful-awfuls for everyone- there's no way in hell that all of us will fit in there. And if you don't see it, you're not missing much. I just don't know if we can get them all back in time before they get cold. Maybe we can eat them somewhere closer?

2. DO NOT BE FOOLED BY IMITATORS. JA's Nugget in Sparks claims to have invented the awful awful, and serves it in their coffee shop, but it is a PALE imitator.

3. I know, I know- no other things on the itinerary, but if there is anyone who enjoys modern art and especially contemporary architecture, Reno's new art museum is really stunning. Believe it or not.

On 2005-02-04 17:32, martiki wrote:
3. I know, I know- no other things on the itinerary, but if there is anyone who enjoys modern art and especially contemporary architecture, Reno's new art museum is really stunning. Believe it or not.

Aren't we going to visit the National Bowling Center?

You know, they don't let the public bowl there. Fascists!!

On 2005-02-04 17:32, martiki wrote:
2. DO NOT BE FOOLED BY IMITATORS. JA's Nugget in Sparks claims to have invented the awful awful, and serves it in their coffee shop, but it is a PALE imitator.

I can't agree. I had them both and couldn't tell the difference - they were both great burgers. And I'm a burger expert if I may be so modest.

Another great museum in Reno is the National Automobile Museum. It's downtown on the river. Right now there's a Big Daddy Roth show with these cars on display:

• 1961 Roth's Beatnik Bandit
• 1994 Roth's Beatnik Bandit ™ II
• 1992 Roth's "Conastoga Star" Wagon
• 1992 Roth's "Fink Mobile" Motorcycle
• 1969 Roth's "High Flyer" Trike
• 1993 Roth's "Yankee Blitz" Wheelbarrow

Here's a few of the cars on exhibit:

Besides the auto museum (which is someplace I've been meaning to visit) I highly recommend the Great Basin Brewery for those who like good beer like their Ichthyosaur Ale(Just say 'Gimme an Icky'). It's just a short walk from the Nugget.

Also a friend of mine keeps telling me about Reno's only RUM! bar called Rum Bullions Island Bar that's inside the Silver Legacy casino downtown. Apparently they serve flaming Kava Kavas, and other rummy rum drinks...well, it IS a RUM bar! I'm not certain about the decor or if they serve in mugs or what...probably not very tiki, but my friend just called it interesting. I hear it gets pretty crowded and rowdy, especially during the duelling pianos shows.
I'm looking forward to seeing everyone in RENO!

On 2005-02-04 18:32, thejab wrote:

On 2005-02-04 17:32, martiki wrote:
2. DO NOT BE FOOLED BY IMITATORS. JA's Nugget in Sparks claims to have invented the awful awful, and serves it in their coffee shop, but it is a PALE imitator.

I can't agree. I had them both and couldn't tell the difference - they were both great burgers. And I'm a burger expert if I may be so modest.

??? The one downtown is a single patty and the one at Sparks is a double patty. Downtown comes on an onion bun, and a plain bun in Sparks. Pretty big differences, Jabbo! Plus they serve seasoned fries downtown and plain in Sparks.

Downtown Awful Awful:

On 2005-02-04 21:04, Kalikiana wrote:
Besides the auto museum (which is someplace I've been meaning to visit) I highly recommend the Great Basin Brewery for those who like good beer like their Ichthyosaur Ale(Just say 'Gimme an Icky'). It's just a short walk from the Nugget.

Also a friend of mine keeps telling me about Reno's only RUM! bar called Rum Bullions Island Bar that's inside the Silver Legacy casino downtown. Apparently they serve flaming Kava Kavas, and other rummy rum drinks...well, it IS a RUM bar! I'm not certain about the decor or if they serve in mugs or what...probably not very tiki, but my friend just called it interesting. I hear it gets pretty crowded and rowdy, especially during the duelling pianos shows.
I'm looking forward to seeing everyone in RENO!

It's not very tiki at all- lots of tin siding and fake palms- more buffet, I'm afraid. They do have a semi-extensive Rum selection and do serve drinks in tiki mugs (nothing unique or with a logo- though it's been a while since I was there) I had some drink there that I conned the bartender into putting Lemon Hart into instead of Ron Rico for the same price! That probably won't work anymore. It's close to the downtown nugget diner, so perhaps we ought to take a peek and get an update.