The River Walk (Walking Blog #8)

          Today I went on a walk down to the river walk to observe what I saw there.  I went with my friend Anita, and because it was getting late and we wanted to get back before sun down, we started our journey by taking the Sierra Spirit bus. I have never been on this bus before, and I have always had the idea in my head that this bus is somewhat sketchy and mainly for hobos. Having to actually ride the bus actually changed my opinion on it. Yes, there were the few strangers that I got a little bit scared by, but in all reality, I had nothing to be afraid of. I was just taking advantage of free transportation around downtown, and so was everyone else on the bus.

The Spirit Bus!!

            As we got off the bus, I got really excited to show Anita around the river walk. I grew up in Reno, so I grew up going to concerts at Wingfield for Art Town and just walking around the river area. My absolute favorite part of down town is the river walk, so I got out my camera and started to document the beauty of the fountains and the nature.

The Truckee River

            I was walking by all the fountains when I saw a man that appeared to be homeless, but I wasn’t scared. In the past, I was a little afraid of homeless people, but over the summer I had spent more town around down town, and I even feed the homeless at the shelter on Forth Street behind the Aces stadium a couple of times. Through these experiences, I over came my fear, and realized that the homeless are people too, and that they are some of the nicest people you can find.

Anita's first time at the Truckee River.

            I absolutely love the river walk. I believe that it was money well spent for the city of Reno. I have spent so many summer days playing on the river, going down the man-made rapids, and enjoying some epic concerts. The park downtown has created a sense of unity for the city of Reno, and it gives us a place to convene to experience nature and the fine arts. I have had so many good memories from this park, and today I was able to make more of them.

The sun shimmering of the River about the time of Sunset. 

            

As we walked around, I showed Anita the movie theater, and since it’s the closest theater to my house, I have spent many hours inside of it. I started to recall all of the midnight showings of Harry Potter and of The Hunger Games that I attended. This caused me to dearly miss some of my friends who graduated alongside me, but who went to different colleges around the country. I also pointed out The Hop, which is a cute little ice cream shop that I have been to with my cousins who came to visit last summer all the way from Sweden. 

A sign inside of the bus!

            This blog is the first blog that has caused me to think about all my amazing memories of Reno, and that reminded me of why I love it here. For the longest time, I really wanted to get out of Reno and go to college somewhere “exciting” and “life changing,” and up until now, I hadn’t realized that the University of Nevada, Reno, gives me more than I could ever ask for. I am getting a superb education while meeting some amazing people. I was always afraid that UNR would be exactly like an extension of my high school, Reno High, but I have realized that college is only what you make of it. If you decide to only hang out with your old friends, then it will seem like the same experience. But if you decide to go out of your comfort zone and meet different people from different places and backgrounds of yourself, you begin to grow so much as a person.

            I love it here in Reno, and the River Walk really is not as sketchy as I thought it was when I was a kid.