This past weekend was my first time to cover a horse show by myself for my job. The show was the Four Sixes/NCHA Western Nationals, held in Reno, Nevada. I didn't get to cross any new states off my bucket list, but I did get to see a new city and work in a short trip to the beautiful Lake Tahoe.
I flew in the evening of May 1st. Upon arriving, I went to pick up my rental car. I usually love renting cars if only because 1) I get to try out a new vehicle for a few days and 2) I don't have to spend the gas money on my truck. However, this time was a little different. The reason? This was my rental:
Yes. Me, my backpack, my purse, and my suitcase got a whole minivan to ourselves. And not just a minivan, but a minivan that looks like a toaster that had ambitions of being a bus when it grew up. What was Ford thinking?
But anyway. I was grateful to have a vehicle to get around in, and after almost getting sideswiped by another minivan (irony), I was grateful to be in a larger vehicle.
The show went very well. While it took me some time to warm up to interviewing, by the final day I was in my element, talking to people, taking pictures, and having fun. I met a lot of people and affectionately became known as "Quarter Horse News Lady," despite my insisting that there were a lot of Quarter Horse News Ladies in my office.
I did not have any finals classes to cover on Monday, so after taking photos and talking to people for a little while, I took the opportunity to go explore Lake Tahoe. What a breath-taking, beautiful place. I knew it was going to be magnificent after seeing photos, but in person it's even more stunning.
I was amazed to see snow in the mountains while I was driving, some that was even right next to the road.
After driving around all day taking in the sights, I decided I wanted to get out and do a little hiking. Since I was by myself and in bear country, I knew I wasn't going to go far. But I was going to be kicking myself if I didn't see a little bit of the beautiful scenery in person, rather than through a car window. I found a place off the side of the road where I could pull over and park by a trail head, and then up the mountainside I started until I couldn't hear the cars below me anymore. I climbed up to a vantage point where I could see Lake Tahoe through the trees. The scenery around me was gorgeous, and I could have continued hiking through it all day.
I flew home Wednesday evening. Upon getting my suitcase and jumping on the shuttle to my parking lot, I found myself in a bit of a conundrum. It turned out there was a "north" and a "south" shuttle--and I was on the wrong one. But the driver, upon me remarking upon my discovery to him, very kindly drove me around the airport to the correct parking lot, even stopping to grab me a bottle of water at the entrance gate. When we got to my truck, though, things got strange. It started when he noticed my vehicle. "You drive a truck?" he said, with his voice full of surprise. I replied, "Yes," to which he said, "A beautiful girl drives a truck?" "Well, I have horses," I said, as if I needed an excuse to drive a truck, and that threw him even more off. While he loaded my suitcase in my truck for me, he asked me about the horses--if I owned them or just worked with them, if they were "boys or girls", etc. Each time I tried to hand him a tip afterwards, he kept deflecting it, until I finally insisted he take it. He responded by nearly breaking into tears, folding his hands into the prayer position, bowing his head, and telling me how beautiful I was. Then he hugged me, made sure I knew how to get out of the parking lot, and climbed into his shuttle. I thought he was going to leave, but he rolled down his window and told me to go ahead and start my truck to make sure there were no problems before he left. It was really odd and a bit uncomfortable for me, but moreso because it made me wonder--was I the first person to treat this guy kindly? If he was that moved by me giving him a tip, which I consider a pretty standard practice for when someone performs a service--in this case, driving me to the other side of the airport when he could have just dropped me back off and told me to catch the correct shuttle, and lugging my suitcase for me--then what kind of crap does he have to put up with on a daily basis?
Awkwardness aside, it was a good trip, although I missed Philip and my menagerie terribly. I'm looking forward to the next one!
I flew in the evening of May 1st. Upon arriving, I went to pick up my rental car. I usually love renting cars if only because 1) I get to try out a new vehicle for a few days and 2) I don't have to spend the gas money on my truck. However, this time was a little different. The reason? This was my rental:
Yes. Me, my backpack, my purse, and my suitcase got a whole minivan to ourselves. And not just a minivan, but a minivan that looks like a toaster that had ambitions of being a bus when it grew up. What was Ford thinking?
But anyway. I was grateful to have a vehicle to get around in, and after almost getting sideswiped by another minivan (irony), I was grateful to be in a larger vehicle.
The show went very well. While it took me some time to warm up to interviewing, by the final day I was in my element, talking to people, taking pictures, and having fun. I met a lot of people and affectionately became known as "Quarter Horse News Lady," despite my insisting that there were a lot of Quarter Horse News Ladies in my office.
I did not have any finals classes to cover on Monday, so after taking photos and talking to people for a little while, I took the opportunity to go explore Lake Tahoe. What a breath-taking, beautiful place. I knew it was going to be magnificent after seeing photos, but in person it's even more stunning.
I was amazed to see snow in the mountains while I was driving, some that was even right next to the road.
After driving around all day taking in the sights, I decided I wanted to get out and do a little hiking. Since I was by myself and in bear country, I knew I wasn't going to go far. But I was going to be kicking myself if I didn't see a little bit of the beautiful scenery in person, rather than through a car window. I found a place off the side of the road where I could pull over and park by a trail head, and then up the mountainside I started until I couldn't hear the cars below me anymore. I climbed up to a vantage point where I could see Lake Tahoe through the trees. The scenery around me was gorgeous, and I could have continued hiking through it all day.
I flew home Wednesday evening. Upon getting my suitcase and jumping on the shuttle to my parking lot, I found myself in a bit of a conundrum. It turned out there was a "north" and a "south" shuttle--and I was on the wrong one. But the driver, upon me remarking upon my discovery to him, very kindly drove me around the airport to the correct parking lot, even stopping to grab me a bottle of water at the entrance gate. When we got to my truck, though, things got strange. It started when he noticed my vehicle. "You drive a truck?" he said, with his voice full of surprise. I replied, "Yes," to which he said, "A beautiful girl drives a truck?" "Well, I have horses," I said, as if I needed an excuse to drive a truck, and that threw him even more off. While he loaded my suitcase in my truck for me, he asked me about the horses--if I owned them or just worked with them, if they were "boys or girls", etc. Each time I tried to hand him a tip afterwards, he kept deflecting it, until I finally insisted he take it. He responded by nearly breaking into tears, folding his hands into the prayer position, bowing his head, and telling me how beautiful I was. Then he hugged me, made sure I knew how to get out of the parking lot, and climbed into his shuttle. I thought he was going to leave, but he rolled down his window and told me to go ahead and start my truck to make sure there were no problems before he left. It was really odd and a bit uncomfortable for me, but moreso because it made me wonder--was I the first person to treat this guy kindly? If he was that moved by me giving him a tip, which I consider a pretty standard practice for when someone performs a service--in this case, driving me to the other side of the airport when he could have just dropped me back off and told me to catch the correct shuttle, and lugging my suitcase for me--then what kind of crap does he have to put up with on a daily basis?
Awkwardness aside, it was a good trip, although I missed Philip and my menagerie terribly. I'm looking forward to the next one!