It feels like summer is transitioning into fall already—at
least in the mornings—when temps are in the low to mid-40s. Thankfully, it
quickly warms to the 80s and more during the day. The morning’s cool temps are
a welcome relief!
Monday was a catch-up day around our home on wheels, but we
did ride our bikes around the park for a while in the morning before the sun
started to heat up the day.
Dick continued his master bath project at Hollee’s on
Tuesday, working on the towel bar and attempting to hang a 90 lb. mirror in the
master bedroom. It was decided that different hardware was required so the
mirror wasn’t hung. We provided lunch for all of us, thanks to our friend Bob
from Washington State. (He had sent us some of his fresh caught, home-canned,
tuna, and we shared our last jar. So sad it’s all gone… Bob, please send
more…and I’ll send you more cookies!) We had tuna salad sandwiches, fruit,
chips, etc. YUM!
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| Anastasia at 21 months |
Wednesday we again spent the day at home relaxing. After
riding our bikes around the park for a while, I did our laundry at the park’s
very clean and nice laundry facility. Hollee and Anastasia came for a visit
that afternoon, so we spent quite a bit of time being entertained by the little
one. She spent a couple of hours playing with the Stereo remote and my Pampered
Chef oven timer. Give her anything with buttons and she’s a happy little girl!
Hot August Nights has hit Reno/Sparks/Virginia City, NV! This
is one of the highlights of our stay in Nevada, and of course, Dick wanted to
take it all in. Here’s Dick’s report on the world’s largest classic car show.
--
It is hard
to imagine a nostalgic car event bigger than Hot August Nights in
Reno/Sparks/Virginia City, Nevada. Each
year in late July and early August (this year’s schedule was July 31st through
August 9th) 5,000 to 6,000 customs, hot rods, muscle and immaculately restored
cars descend on the Reno area for nearly 2-weeks of “cool” activities;
including Show-n-Shines, drag races, controlled cruises, concerts, a swap meet,
sock hop, prom and classic car auction. It is a very cool event with lots of
live music and other activities and contests.
A very fun time!
A section of
downtown Reno and casino locations around the area were closed to regular
traffic and dedicated to car show events and entertainment. I decided to take
it all in on Thursday so Gail dropped me off at the Reno bus station nearest
our RV park and I rode the bus to downtown Reno to the epicenter of the cars on
display for a great day among these wonderful machines. I had a hard time choosing
but chose the following cars as a few of my favorites.
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| '65 Ford Mustang |
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| '70 Dodge Charger 500 |
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| '64 Chevy Malibu SS |
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| '62 Chevy Corvette |
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| '59 Buick Invicta |
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| '58 Chevy Nomad |
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| '57 Ford T-Bird |
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| '56 Ford F100 Pickup |
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| '55 Chevy Bel Air |
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| '54 Chevy Corvette |
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| '53 Chevy Sedan |
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| '48 Ford Anglia |
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| '41 Willy's Coupe |
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| '41 Willy's Coupe |
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| '41 Lincoln |
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| '40 Ford Pickup |
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| '40 Chevy Coupe |
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| '37 Ford Coupe |
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| '37 Dodge Sedan |
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| '34 Hudson Terraplane |
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| '34 Dodge Brothers |
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| '32 Ford |
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| '34 Ford 4-door |
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| '34 Ford Roadster |
Throughout
the day contestants cruise their cars around the downtown area and in
designated areas in large casino parking lots.
Enjoy a video of cars cruisin’ at the Peppermill Casino and some stills
from around the area.
It’s always
fun to see strange vehicles. Here are a
few shots of the strangest vehicles I saw including “Big Foot” a gigantic pickup, a jeep dairy truck, and the 1940 Packard Royal Streamliner.
I met
son-in-law David for car activities and evening entertainment at the Peppermill
Casino. The group Surfs Up provided the entertainment in the midst of beautiful
machines.
The perfect
ending to the perfect day. I took this shot of the sunset as David and I drove
back to the RV park.
This was the
29th anniversary of Hot August Nights in the Reno area. A history of the event follows,
taken from their site: http://hotaugustnights.net/history/
During an
evening night on August 1, 1986, the Reno-Sparks Convention Center was bursting
at the seams with hundreds of revelers who were partying, cheering and pushing
to be let in to a first-time event of a magnitude yet to be realized. Inside,
10,000 spectators were massed together in anticipation of seeing and hearing a
live event of the Righteous Brothers, Wolfman Jack, and Jan & Dean!
It was that night when nostalgia was unleashed among an audience who excitedly
relived their childhood years of the 50’s and 60’s- a time of innocence,
prosperity, cars and the birth of Rock and Roll. The weather was HOT, the month
of AUGUST was right, therefore, HOT AUGUST NIGHTS was born!
The aim of
Hot August Nights was to fill a void in tourism in Reno during the month of
August and to raise money for local charities. The first concert was held in
the Convention Center parking lot where most hadn’t danced to “that” music, to
a live band, under the stars, since high school. The memories flooded back and
so did the desire for more! The first year of Hot August Nights was more
of a nostalgia event than a car event. But it was the car parade that was the
highlight of the Event for the participants and the crowds who thronged
Virginia Street. The car owners were thrilled to show off their cars. They’d
never had so many people “oohing and aahing” over their “works of art.” It was
a proud moment for classic car owners.
The event comes
to a close with 3 nights of Barrett-Jackson Auctions. The World’s Greatest
Collector Car Auctions™, comes to Reno to join the world’s premiere classic car
and nostalgia festival. The Hot August Nights Auction presented by
Barrett-Jackson marks a historic partnership between two of the most recognized
names in the classic and collector car industry. Not only will buyers be able
to bid on and purchase from Barrett-Jackson’s famous selection of collector
cars, but they can take them right from the auction block to the streets of
Reno-Sparks to participate in one of Hot August Nights’ famous cruises or
show-n-shines.
--
While Dick was enjoying himself at the car show, I did some
shopping and visited with friends Libby and Ray. Libby is originally from
Tasmania and Ray is from the States. They spend 3 months here in Nevada and the
remaining months in Australia. Such a cool couple! We plan to have dinner with
them next week.
Friday we packed our bags, closed up the camper and drove
(sans camper) to San Jose, CA for the weekend to visit our son Scot and his
family (Mary and daughter Schuyler). We decided to take the scenic route south
on US 395 to Route 88 in Minden, NV for 100 miles to Stockton, CA. What
beautiful scenery through the mountains, at an altitude of over 8,500 feet at
Carson Pass. We turned south on 99 to I-5 to I-680 to San Jose. (So glad we
don’t have to deal with this traffic on a continuous basis. YUCK!)
That evening, when Mary returned home from work, we had
pizza, then played QUIXX (a dice game) and a few card games of Golf. Mary wins
at QUIXX; Scot and Dick each win a game of Golf.
On Saturday afternoon Schuyler, Mary and I went for “deluxe”
spa pedicures. So relaxing to spend 90 minutes not doing anything but being
pampered! Then, it was off to Left Bank restaurant in San Jose for dinner.
(Schuyler works at their restaurant in Menlo Park, so she was able to get us a
good deal on dinner. Thanks, Schuy!)
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| Schuyler, me, Mary and Scott--and Angus and Josie |
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| The Left Bank restaurant. Had to include a shot of their Onion Soup...amazing! |
We dined on steak tartare (actually only some of us—ha!),
onion soup, heirloom tomato salad, fresh corn and ricotta infused ravioli with
tomatoes and spinach, duck, rib eye steak with Roquefort butter, and beef short
rib bourguignon. YUM-YUM! Then, for dessert: strawberry and lemon sorbet, and
Café Liegéois (vanilla bean ice cream topped with Chantilly crème, toasted
almonds, espresso, and warm dark chocolate. Oh, and I had Drambuie neat. Such a
wonderful evening!
Returning home we decided to play another few games of Golf:
Mary wins!
Scot decided breakfast on Sunday morning should be French
toast (recipe from Grandma Betty Jo Cummings) and sausage. Since I’m the one
with the recipe in my head, I was elected chef for the morning. Apparently it
was a hit, as most of it was eaten.
As I worked with photos for this blog posting Dick, Scot and
Mary took Josie, one of their 2 dogs, to a local park for some fun. The temps
were in the low 80s, so that outing didn’t last very long, but they still
enjoyed it. Their other dog Angus is sporting some sort of injury to his left
front leg, so they attempt to keep him quiet—as quiet as you can keep a 115 lb.
mastiff/lab mix! Jose is a 78 lb. mix of what they think is boxer and hound.
That evening Scot, Mary, Dick and I went to The Regale
Winery and Vineyards in Los Gatos, CA where Scot and Mary are members, for a
“lobster feast” dinner. We joined their friends Erin, Eric, Kat and Jennifer
for snacks and a glass of wine beforehand. Located in Los Gatos, CA, the winery
overlooks their formal gardens, vineyards, and the coastal mountains.
Absolutely beautiful! Intimate garden vignettes feature beautiful fountains, a
spiral herb garden, outdoor fireplaces, a bocce ball court (more about that later),
and a traditional wood-fired oven. Three varieties of olive trees line the
property, from which they hand-pick and press olives for their signature Estate
Olive Oil.
Our wine of choice for the evening was the Regale Red Blend;
smooth and lovely, while the others in our party had Chardonnay. Two long
tables were set up outside surrounded by grape arbors, each seating 32-34
people. As we were seated, we were given lobster bibs while the wait staff
literally poured the meal onto the table: corn on the cob, artichokes, new potatoes,
onions, garlic, Louisiana hot sausages, shrimp, and then came the lobsters. It
was a true New England lobster boil! Wow! All through the meal we enjoyed a
classical guitarist who provided contemporary background music, which just
added to the ambience.
After dinner, while Mary, Erin, Jennifer and I enjoyed
another glass of wine at nearby tables, Dick, Scot, Kat, and Eric played bocce
ball. Dick says Eric (his teammate) was incredible and carried his team to
victory; they won 13-11.
While they played we watched the sun gradually set over the
coastal mountains. Beautiful.
The 21 mile drive home after dinner was crazy! At 8:00 p.m.
the 4-lane road down the mountain was bumper to bumper cars. Guess people were
still going home after a weekend at the beach. The trip was uneventful, and we
were so tired and full from dinner that we hit the pillows before 10:00!
That’s it for this week. We plan to return to Carson City on
Tuesday and home to our camper.
RJ and Gail
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