Greetings from Stateline, Nevada, along the shores of Lake Tahoe, and barely half a mile from the California state line.

It’s been a very long day of traveling to get here – Natalie and I are out here for a conference (we’ve been making bad jokes about “they’re having a geography conference in a place that has geography” — or, more specifically, I’ve been making the bad jokes and Natalie has been rolling her eyes at them).

This evening’s post is what I’m afraid is already starting to be an exercise in futility: namely, adjusting to Pacific Daylight Time by staying awake until a reasonable hour. It’s barely 9 o’clock here and I’m afraid I may fall asleep at the keyboard.

To review:

I packed my suitcase this morning, and it’s always difficult to pack when you’re going somewhere where the weather is going to be significantly different than it is at home. It was 76 degrees when I left the house at 9 am, on its way to the low 90s. Tonight in Lake Tahoe it’s going to be 23. Fortunately, I did remember my winter coat, although I did have to remember which one of the guest bedrooms it was living in, since I haven’t seen it since the last time I went someplace cold, which was a long time ago.

Ray and I went to breakfast at a little Mexican bakery in Round Rock, where I had migas (because, as the sign on the menu clearly indicates, todo el mundo encantan las migas). They make nice spicy homemade salsa, which are great on migas. Then I had to drop by the office to pick up something that I forgot, and I planned to brush my teeth to avoid having my breath classified as a lethal weapon (the Transportation Safety Administration really doesn’t like me – I am usually singled out for one of those ‘random searches’ at security, and whenever I re-enter the country they always seem to see something of great interest on their computer monitors).

This, of course, is when I realized that I’d forgotten to pack toothpaste. Instead, I borrowed an altoid from someone and set off for the Austin airport. Natalie and I met up, and rejoiced in the fact that we are once again allowed to carry bottles of water on board the aircraft by purchasing extremely overpriced bottles of water in the airport gift shop. (This is ironic, since the last time we flew together was back from El Paso on the very morning that this latest ban went into effect).

Off to Los Angeles we went, courtesy of Southwest Airlines, which serves no food on board. Hence, when we landed at LAX I was a little hungry and had my first round of culture shock with the prices at all of the food spots in the airport because a) it’s Los Angeles and b) it’s an airport.

This salad and Diet Coke cost me $13. I took a photo of it in the hopes that my enjoyment would last longer. So far, it hasn’t.

Then we flew on the short flight up here to Reno, where phase 2 of the trip began: waiting in lines. It took 45 minutes to get the rental car. I don’t really know why. There were two people in front of me in line. The agent was wheeling and dealing with everyone, trying to talk them into upgrades and added insurance, and it was awfully nice that we have a contracted rate with the car rental company because it stops that dead in its tracks. I did, however, wind up agreeing to take a Dodge Dakota off of their hands. I thought a Dakota was an SUV. I was wrong. A Dakota is a pick up truck. We rented a pick up truck for a business trip.

That’s Natalie, trying not to laugh about the pick up truck that we had to drive. The worst thing about the stupid vehicle is that there’s a smell – someone’s been smoking a LOT in there.

So, off we set down the badly marked freeway south from Reno, and stopped at an Albertson’s supermarket to pick up some toothpaste (for me) and sinus medication (for her), and by this time it was rush hour. You’d think that a town the size of Reno wouldn’t have a busy rush hour, and you’d be wrong.

It took us an hour and a half to make it to Lake Tahoe. I should have had the truck in 4 wheel drive mode, but it didn’t occur to me until we were going up those big hills (and I’m too ignorant to know if you can switch that while the car is moving – I didn’t want to take the chance).

At the hotel there was another interminable wait to check in — by this time, I desperately needed to go to the bathroom, and Natalie just wanted to be out of moving vehicles. Fortunately, our rooms are close together, because we’re in one of those casino-resorts with 8 different towers where you can easily spend an hour trying to find the right elevator.

The view from my room – not the most exciting ever, but I didn’t pay for the lake view.

Anyway. So, I’m here until Sunday, and looking forward to seeing what’s what around here (if there is a what to see).

Also, at some point I’ll have to weigh in on the Project Runway reunion special – such drama! But I’m too tired, and if I don’t upload this now, I’m going to wake up with a keyboard imprint on my cheeks …