This weekend, M and I will be visiting Las Vegas, Nevada with her sister's family (sister, husband, toddler, and infant) and her mom.

If this trip were only for us, I'm sure we would have chosen someplace more woodsy and less deserty, but this trip is for M's mom, who specifically requested the city inspired by the television show starring Josh Duhamel. (I've been told his last name doesn't rhyme with "camel", but that hasn't deterred me from pronouncing that way.)

This will be my second time to Vegas. My last (and first) visit was way back in December 2000. I went with my folks and sister. If I had to sum up that trip in a word, it would be "unpleasant". Don't get me wrong, I had fun hanging out with the family and I found the extravagance of the strip amazing -- the architecture, the lights, the shows, the casinos, the buffets. But my amazement was marred by two things:

1. Gambling. More accurately, losing at gambling. While I was there, I lost roughly eighty bucks. Now, if I had lost it all in one shot, perhaps after a lucky winning streak, it wouldn't have been so bad. Unfortunately, I started off losing and continued to lose (in 25 or 50-cent increments) over a period of several days, in the dimly lit confines of several casinos. It left me with a rather unpleasant impression of Vegas.
2. Allergies. An hour after we arrived at our hotel (the Monte Carlo), my allergies started acting up. I blame it on the cigarette smoke that seemed to be everywhere. Ironically, my worst attack had nothing to do with smoking. It happened at the Excalibur, when we went to see the Tournament of Kings, a dinner show featuring knights riding horses and jousting. Apparently, when I'm in an enclosed space with galloping horses, I lose the ability to breathe and gain the ability to wheeze and cough uncontrollably. A few minutes into the show, I had to rush outside and wait for my windpipe to reopen and fresh air¹ to fill my lungs. I eventually recovered, but the ordeal reinforced my unpleasant impression of Vegas.

I'm hoping I'll be able to sum up this trip with a more positive word. That may be a challenge, though, because of two factors:

1. Heat. It's going to be hot in Vegas this weekend. The highs for the next four days will be 96, 100, 102, and 98 degrees, respectively. I'll likely be inside most of the time, and likely wearing a t-shirt and shorts, but I'm not looking forward to stepping outside, which is a key part of my Plan for having a good time (see below).
2. The Excalibur. Out of all of the hotels and resorts on the strip, M unwittingly booked the location that holds my worst Vegas memory. While I could view it as a cruel trick of fate, I intend to view it as chance to replace a bad memory with a good one (or a not-so-bad one, at the very least).

Of course, I won't be going unprepared. This time around, I'm armed with a Plan for making this Vegas trip enjoyable. It includes:

• gambling less. I figure if I minimize my gambling time, I'll minimize my losing time.
• medicating myself. I'm bringing plenty of antihistamines and nasal decongestants, which I can take every four to six hours, as needed.
• avoiding horses. The general idea is to avoid circumstances where horses and I have to be in the same room. This should be easy, but I'll be vigilant for anything that neighs.
• avoiding Vegas. While we're there, we plan to visit Hoover Dam (east of the city) and Mt. Charleston (west of the city). I'm also hoping to see other areas of Lake Mead National Recreation Area while visiting the dam, but that will depend on how well we deal with the aforementioned heat.

As long as I stick to the Plan (and as long as there isn't a horse loose on any of the premises) I should have a pleasant Vegas trip.

¹ Fresh air with a hint of smoke.