Off to a restorative weekend in the desert

My lungs are dying in this humidity-filled swamp. I need to go somewhere nice and arid, where I can breathe in dry air and generally get a respite from DC. It's quite good timing that this weekend I'm scheduled to visit my sister and brother-in-law in their new digs in Vegas.

(I'll wait while you say it. Come on, you know you want to!)

(Damn Swingers.)

So I'm going to see my sister, formerly known as BeachBunny, but now to be called DustBunny. But only because of her environs; I am not making any thinly-veiled statements about her housekeeping skills. She and her husband live three miles away from the Strip, so I envision us visiting the nickel slots at least once. I'm not really much of a gambler, but I do like the repetition involved in playing the slot machines. It's oddly soothing. Only thing is it's not where the high-rollers hang out, so getting one of the cocktail waitresses to come by with the free drinks takes an act of god (can't say I blame them, really).

The first time I did any form of legalized gambling was when I was 20 years old and interning for the summer in, yes, DC. My roommates and I drove up to lovely Atlantic City, NJ, for some fun in the sun. But it turned out to be cloudy and not really beach weather, so we ended up spending most our time playing the slots. I won, too - something like $175. I remember thinking at the time, "Geez, gambling is easy. Why don't people do this more often?" Then, a few years later, I stopped by Vegas while on a cross-country road trip and realized that my beginner's luck on the slots had definitely run out. And while I technically know how to play poker, it's not my strong point. My friends host regular poker nights but we always have to have cheat sheets to keep the various suits straight. I'm sure that has nothing to do with the massive amount of brightly-colored cocktails that we consume during the poker games.

I'm not much of a gambler these days - I certainly don't have the cash flow to back it up - so I think we will spend most of our time lounging pool-side with a cool adult beverage in-hand. The $20 I've allotted for gambling will go fairly quickly, I'm sure. At any rate, it'll be fun. I haven't seen DustBunny since the winter holidays, so it'll be nice to hang out. Plus she and her husband got a cat who they've been training to use a leash. I'll get to take the cat for walks! Do I know how to have a good time or what? I may do some tipsy blogging from Vegas, but that depends on the speed of DustBunny's internet hook-up. Otherwise, see you guys on Wednesday...unless I hit the jackpot and can quit my job. So, yeah, I'll see you Wednesday.