Lake Tahoe

We're heading to S Tahoe with our son(now 21) and his G/F for a week, looking forward to it. We tried this trip once before but looks like it's really gonna happen this time. It's our 25th anniv. and our son and g/f's one year and they're still going strong, I wouldn't be surprised if she ends up our DIL one day which would suit us great, we really love her, she's a pretty awesome girl.

One thing I'm worried about, I was recently diagnosed with COPD (which I was on the tail end of pneumonia and not sure if if it's full blown or not), but I do have some trouble breathing, especially at altitudes. The place we're staying is at 7500' ,YIKES! ,my doc gave me a scrip for O2 so I could have it in the room while doing dialysis and the bastard O2 providers won't give it to me w/o some BS tests that I'll pass here but wouldn't up there, and I can't get tested up there, DUH! I'm sure I'll be fine, hopefully just a little getting used to it.

I was checking out the casinos again and I'll probably just play some at Harrah's to keep me on the radar. On a side note here, we're gonna stay in Reno one night becasuse flights were 200 bucks cheaper tues, vs mon. and harrahs is comping me the room. I was shocked, haven't played in a coupla years and I was just looking up to see what kind of price I could get, VOILA...$0.

For our anniv. dinner I was looking at steakhouse on top of harrahs Fridays Station steak and seafood grill. Anyone know a place that would be better? The view from up there looks pretty cool, from the web pic anyway, of course. I was also looking at the Brazillion BBQ place at Lakeside Inn(BTW,how is the casino there?)

Any comments, ideas, opinions would be most welcome.

Re: The O2....

IF your Dr has you on O2 at home, than you should be able to get a scrip from him to rent a portable O2 generator. (Inogen comes to mind, there are others) They are airline approved, yada yada.

All of the Reno casino hotels have free airport shuttles, so don't rent a car until you need it to go to Tahoe, unless you find a weekly rate that's cheaper.

Actually, Harrah's Reno dropped their airport shuttle last year--unless they reinstated it. You might check. Or, from the airport you can just jump on the Eldorado or Silver Legacy shuttle and then walk to Harrah's Reno. But getting back to the airport might not work that way. Have a great time in Tahoe, we went for the first time in September 2014 and had a great time. When we did it, we stayed at Harrah's Reno and then rented a car at Silver Legacy and drove up the mountain. Harrah's was running their shuttle then, but dropped it when we went back in April 2015.

Tahoe is great, hope your breathing holds up. I felt the difference. If you are able, try to take the heavenly gondola for some great views. The ride up is nice. The lake cruises are great! We were comped at the Harrah's Reno also; we still think we overpaid. What a dump!

Ah,somewhat of a backup plan. The elev. at the lake is roughly 6200', very doable for me, have to acclimate a bit, but...should be fine. The elev. at our place RAVC at Tahoe is 7500' , that's the one that gave me pause. It even mentions on their website, for "those with respiratory problems, might want to consult your physician".

Anyway, to the back up plan, I thought maybe I'd check some prices at the casinos for a couple of nights and I got comped at Harveys in an exec. king no less. Decent size rooms (525') and just remodeled on the 18th and 19th floors. Should have a pretty good view up there. I don't know what I did for Harrahs lately, but it sure is coming in handy, coupla nights in Tahoe and one night in Reno. I don't think I've ever used any comp offers except maybe one or two. I can only remember one, a stay at the Rio. Anyway, if I need to acclimate for a few days, the room hopefully will help, I mean if I even need it. I might get up to our place and be OK, who knows, but nice to know I have an out.

BTW, no I'm not on O2, I do have a nebulizer I use when my chest feels tight and of course I own a few of those "puffers", but that's about it.

Oh we're definitely taking the gondola up, it actually isn't a whole lot higher than our condo.It's one of the things I'm relly looking forward too, a really over priced lunch with a beautiful view

There is a midlevel exit on the gondola which has very nice views of the lake. You can then take it to the top. I did notice a difference in the breathing when I got off there

Ditto all that.

The Reno staff are very sweet. The rooms are...clean.
The buffet is pure garbage. Don't go there.

They do have a tiny Diamond Lounge that is OK. Friendly bartenders, good lemon drop martinis. Food is mostly chips and dip.

Walk over to Silver Legacy to gamble and eat.

7500' is pretty high. I live at about 8' so it might be tougher on me but I would be prepared just in case. Go easy.

If you're flying to Reno you might need oxygen on the plane as well. Most planes are pressurized to an altitude of about 7,000 feet.