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Fair is fair. Not everything was perfect.
A road trip doesn’t just consist of fun things. Every now and then you also get something less fun on your way. Things that you have no control over, or that you have not been able to prepare.
Blowout almost blows out windshield
There was that car that passed us at high speed and suddenly got a blowout on the right rear behind.
The rubber splashed against our windshield with a lot of noise and for a moment we thought she was going out.
We narrowly missed running over a dead pronghorn
Thanks to a quick reflex, my husband was able to avoid the dead pronghorn on the road. Due to the heavy traffic just outside Reno, the animal was only visible at the last moment.
However, the pickup behind us drove straight over it without being able to swerve.
Given the size of the animal, that must have been a big blow.
Rifle on the street causes a feeling of unrest
Or the panic moment when I thought I saw a young man walking across the street with a rifle in his hands.
Nobody seemed to pay attention to it, but it did cause me a shock and a feeling of unrest. Read the story.
Narrow bed and thin mattress make for a bad night
Our overnight stay in the Travelodge of Sausalito could have been better.
The bed was on the narrow side and the mattress so thin that it didn’t turn out to be one of our best nights.
Beforehand I had been a bit worried about bed bugs – you read stories about them every now and then – but I didn’t see any trace of them during the trip.
The bedding and towels were clean and fresh throughout, and the rooms made a well-kept impression. Where we stayed.
a below-average meal
And then there was the particularly meager meal at the Rustic Thistle in Page. The business is said to be known for its healthy dishes with an original twist.
Our experience was less convincing. We were served a plate of rice, chicken and a few shreds of paprika — a dish that gave the impression of a hastily heated meal rather than a culinary surprise.
The food cost will have been barely a few dollars; the bill was all the more consistent: $77 for two people.
The speed with which the food appeared was also striking. Barely three minutes after we ordered, it was already on the table. That suggested that it had just warmed up.
Maybe we were just unlucky and hit the kitchen on a bad day. That’s possible.
But it was one of those rare meals that sticks in the memory mainly because it is disappointing. Our overall dining experience on this trip was very good. See our favorite food stops along the way.
Actually, we should have checked if there were pickups at the door. It was mainly full of tourists.
Air mattress lets us down – or not?
On the other hand, we think back with great love to our air mattress that kept deflating during the first night we went camping at the Grand Canyon.
I spent the night in the car, my husband tried to sleep on the hard ground. We both hardly slept a wink because of the cold and the awkward position.
At dawn we had a good laugh about it and I immediately booked motels for all the nights that were originally planned as camping nights.
Long live the internet. And Booking. See our overnight stays.
And honestly?
To be honest? Sometimes I still suspect my husband of sabotaging that air mattress with his own hands in order to sleep in motels.
I have no proof, but the speed with which he agreed to that new plan was suspicious to say the least.
Enjoy reading.
Emma
One last bonus story: Ely, the most underrated city in Nevada. And really, I mean that. Read more about this in our next story.