Lesson learned: Never visit Las Vegas during the summer

Saturday, September 3, 2005 11:04 PM

So I got back from my vacation from Las Vegas/The Grand Canyon on Thursday afternoon. Drove rather than flew so it was a long trip. First off, I must say that if you ever plan to visit Las Vegas, do it during the winter. I have never visited a place that was so hot all the time. 40 degress and above the whole time, 100 and above in Fahrenheit to sound more dramatic. It can get fairly warm where I live but it always cools down at night. I guess that's what you get for living in the desert. Temperature aside, it was a good vacation. Well, if you ignore the fact that I got a heat rash, hives on my fingers, and threw up on my second day in Vegas. More on my sickness later.

Driving down to Vegas took about two days. Stopped in a place in Idaho called Poctatello for the night. Ate at an Applebee's. I was thrown off by the fact that they spelt neighbourhood without the "u". I was tempted to add it in. Second day arrived in Vegas though there was a quick stop in a place called Mesquite (sp?) for a bathroom break. The second I stepped out of the car, I was hit with the heat. The difference was so staggering. The air was like molten. In Mesquite I was also hit with the sudden explosion of casinos. Two hours outside of Vegas and they were everywhere in this little town. Of course, gambling is legal so I didn't expect any less. Arriving in Vegas was interesting. As you drive in, you see this city rise out of the desert. There's sand all around, but here's this one place thriving. There was some hit and miss finding the hotel, but I was just glad to be inside somewhere with air conditioning. Ate at a casino called Terrible's and I was introduced to my first Las Vegas casino. Slot machines everywhere along with thick cigarette smoke. I think the smoke was part of my downfall the next day.

Next day was sort of a wander around the city kind of day. Visited the Las Vegas Hilton to take a peek at Star Trek: The Experience, which I visited the next day, then travelled to Vegas' Chinatown. I was travelling with my parents and they wanted to check it out. Walked around until we found a good restaurant. At least, so we thought. Now, I'm allergic to nuts and peanuts to the point that I could die if I eat something contaminated by them. Eating at the Chinatown at home is easy since we know the places where I can eat. I guess it slipped all of ours mind to ask about nuts before we ordered. Let's just say we started eating and left very quickly for the hotel after twenty minutes or so. It was on the way back that my allergies, my other allergies, started to act up. I guess it was dust or smoke or something, but I couldn't stop sneezing and my eyes got all red. I spent the afternoon locked in the bathroom before the Benadryl kicked in. Watched Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends before I felt good enough to leave the hotel. I might have been spurred by the fact that my mom mentioned that the Flamingo had penguins and it was close to feeding time. Spent the rest of the afternoon watching African Penguins waddling around. That made the day worth it. Can't remember what happened the rest of the day.

Next day, Wednesday, was be a geek day. Spent the first half of the day at Star Trek: The Experience. Yeah, I know this is a Firefly board, but my family's big on Trek. But to keep myself happy about geeking out over another sci-fi show, I wore my "Joss Whedon is my Master Now" t-shirt. Sadly, only three people took notice. The first two were a couple who were passing by while I was waiting for the place to open. The guy asked me where I got my shirt and I told him (thinkgeek.com). The third person to comment on my shirt was a Klingon. Now, it's the guy's job to wander around The Experience, talking to people and making comments. When he saw my shirt, he said it was an unusual uniform and asked me why I placed my allegiance with Joss. Now, I have to admit that I was caught off guard so my response was a lame "Because he's so cool." Then the Klingon shot back with "If he's so great, how come Firefly was cancel

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