August 29, 2008. On the way to Tahoe this morning, we had a slight incident. Less than 10 miles from Reno (and about an hour from our final destination in Tahoe), one of the studs on the right rear broke.
See the two holes that don’t have lug nuts? Both of those studs broke.
For those of you that don’t know, the stud is a “bolt” about a half an inch in diameter that the lugnut spins onto. It’s rare that this happens – in fact it’s extremely unlikely. The person who installed my wheels a few weeks ago must have cross-threaded the lugnut and weakened the stud. Once one of the studs broke, it was only a matter of time before a second one gave way. Since the wheels only have four studs a piece, losing one is kind of a big deal, and losing two is cause to stop driving. Sara and I heard a thump-thumping once the second stud broke (we had no idea one was already broken) and we pulled off to the side of I-80.
We called a tow truck and after about an hour we were towed to a service facility in downtown Reno, Nevada known as Generator Exchange. The shop manager was named Dodger, and even though it was lunch time when were towed in, he worked hard to get us back on the road. He has our thanks.
Next we headed for the Cal-Neva Resort which straddles the California-Nevada border. The joke is that you can swim from Nevada to California and back in the hotel pool. Back in the day, Sinatra owned this resort, and it doesn’t look like it’s changed much since the 60’s. Mirrored ceilings in all the hallways, a sort of “swinging 60’s” feeling, you can definitely see the Rat Pack strolling through. Learn more about the Cal-Neva Resort’s history (it’s a quick read and definitely interesting).
The Indian Room of the Cal-Neva Resort with the border lines colorfully emphasized.
I gambled tonight and had no luck. All I won at the casino is a free drink for Sara – not very cost effective. Evidently I’ve already done all the winning I’m going to do two weeks ago in Aruba.
Soon we’ll be attending Kim and Kevin’s wedding. Sara is excited to be a bridesmaid, and I know she’s eager to hang out with her friends after spending so much quality time with me this past month.
