Things don’t always work out as planned. Last weekend was a three-day holiday for my kids. We had planned for months to spend the holiday at Happy Cabin with good friends, skiing and snowboarding in perfect powder, ice skating the nights away, and just basically reveling in all winter has to offer. Alas, Mother Nature had other plans. What we hoped would be the snowy height of winter turned out to be a dry slump in the season, with nothing but a few flurries. What we hoped would be powder-perfect conditions turned into a wind storm intent on blowing machine-made snow away. What we hoped would be three days of perfect conditions turned into two days of imperfect conditions with one day so windy that most of the lifts were shut down. Uh-oh. Picture six children all dressed up in snow clothes with nowhere to go. We adults huddled together, shipwrecked at Happy Cabin with a gaggle of children, desperate for ideas.

Sled? Too windy, not enough snow. Shop? Not happening with six kids, ranging from ages 5 to 11. (Bulls in a china closet.) Stay home? Are you CRAZY? We won’t make it an hour, let alone a day. This is already devolving into Lord of the Flies. They’ll eat us! What about. . .Reno?

I try to picture Reno. I’d last been there over 20 years ago for a swim meet. It was hot, sweaty and full of angsty teenagers in swim parkas. What in the world will we do with six kids in Reno? “Circus Circus!” I try to remember Circus Circus and come up with vague images of tight-rope walkers, slot machines, and smoky hallways. How far is it? Siri says 40 minutes. Any other ideas? Nope. “We’re doing it! Kids, we’re going to Reno!” We pile the kids into the cars, promising candy and acrobats, and drive north across the state line through desert turned subdivisions, finally stumbling onto the promised skyscrapers of Reno.

Circus Circus was not a bad pick for the kids. It reminded me of our Boardwalk here in Santa Cruz—lots of overpriced games, twinkling lights, and stuffed animals designed to lure your money away. Every half-hour, there was a show on the main stage featuring acrobats and other low-budget circus acts. That kept the kids busy for a few hours.

Hunger drove us out of the casinos to what proved to be the best pick of the day: The Depot Craft Brew Distillery. The adults enjoyed elevated pub food with delicious cocktails made from spirits distilled onsite in an old Railroad Depot. The children did the “kids table” thing with a secret children’s menu with macaroni-and-cheese, chicken strips, Shirley Temples, and the like. When they got bored, they played on the patio, taking selfies and (literally) scaling the walls. Luckily, we did a “kid check” before our talented climbers got too far up the staggered bricks. I couldn’t resist coming home with some award-winning bourbon.

We walked back to our cars through the linked casinos and the second-floor mall that connects them, with blender drink bars every hundred feet or so, fast food stalls, candy machines, and tiki bars—a surreal scene that kept the kids occupied.  My kids saw gambling for the first time!  Not quite as wholesome as a day of snowboarding, but one must make do.  Truth be told, if I don’t make it back to Reno for another 20 years, that’s totally fine. But if the wind blows me that way again, I know I’ll enjoy it. And bring home some delicious Bourbon. 

To visit Happy Cabin during your trip to North Lake Tahoe / Tahoe Vista / Kings Beach, click here.