Society for Aesthetic Deletions

I had a dream last night that woke me up. We were late getting to Lou's parents on Saturday, for the trip. Like, REALLY late. Like our flight leaves at 5:10 or something, and we were supposed to be at their house at 1:00, and it was almost 7:00 at night, and I knew we were late but thought we would still make it. Even though we hadn't hardly packed.

It woke me up. I think I need to start packing now, getting prepared, so I won't be all nervous.

I'm not usually nervous about trips. Lou and I fly at least once a year, to GenCon, and usually take long and short trips throughout the year. I never get nervous like this, never have dreams like this.

Maybe it's because we had absolutely nothing to do with the planning. We're just supposed to show up, and Lou's parents have taken care of everything. Yeah, that's probably it.

But I am going to start making a list today and tonight, of things I want to bring. So I can go through it Saturday morning and make sure I have everything.

Well, I am back from Vegas. Took me a full day to recover, and I'm still not 100% yet.

I was given $300 for gambling money ($200 from Lou's parents, $100 from Lou's aunt and uncle). I was being very careful with my money. I kept $200 aside, and only used $100 to gamble with. And though I'll be posting a more detailed description of what I did each day, I came back with enough (counting a little bit that Lou managed to keep) for us to buy a PS2. So we went out yesterday afternoon, after a late breakfast/lunch, and bought one. Also bought an extra controller, though it looks like the old Dual Shocks we'd bought for our original PS would have worked. And two games - FFX and Twisted Metal Black.

Had to search FOREVER to find memory cards, though. Looked all over North Dartmouth, but had no luck. Then gave up and came home, and while I hooked everything up, Lou began to call around. Finally found two at an Electronics Boutique in North Attleboro, at the Emerald Square Mall. So we packed up and headed out again, bought the cards and headed home.

Lou wants to hit Foxwoods now, at some point. He really liked playing Blackjack, and managed to win at it. I was better at slots, believe it or not, though I enjoyed Blackjack too.

More later, I just needed an entry in here!

Saturday, February 16, 2002

The beginning of the trip went well. No delays in flights, and we arrived in plenty of time to go through all the extra security.

It's been a long time since I have flown at night. Flying into Chicago Midway was one of the most beautiful experiences I've had in a long time. I don't know what it was, but I felt like I was in the middle of Tron or The Matrix. The amber glow of the lights, all in pretty rows. The black of Lake Michigan was stark against the lights of the city.

A kid in the seat in front of me, about 8 or 9, asked his dad if that was water below us. I couldn't tell myself, and told him that. There was a large black area, south of the lake. A light here and there lit up a small part; I couldn't tell if it was something on a lake offshoot or a river, or a forest with a house or building within it.

We turned on approach, and I was struck again by the beauty of the city's lights. Everything all in straight, neat rows. I mentioned it to Lou, and it was then that I remembered we were in the flat midwest, where straight rows of corn could grow for miles. So rows of straight lights are no doubt more common than in the northeast. Also, the cities are usually more planned than New England's are.

The woman in the seat behind me echoed the boy in front, asking her husband if that was water below. This area was different; she thought that was a bridge below us, but I think it was just a highway, driving off through the forest. Or maybe it was fields, it was just so hard to see in the dark.

I wished I'd had higher speed film in my camera; the 200 speed I had in already would not be able to take a good shot, even if the reflection didn't spoil it. Well, maybe it could be a mirror project photo. Since we will be returning here late on the way back, I vow to pick up some high speed film in Vegas. Even though the approach might be different, I may still have a chance for a shot.

I turned away from the window after another minute of being entranced, and the moment was broken.

Landing in Las Vegas, we were right at the end of the strip. I didn't relize McCarran airport was so close to downtown. I also realized specifically what the lights of the city reminded me of -- a circuit board.

In our minds, when we landed, it was 3:00 a.m., though local time it was just before midnight. It took a while to get our rental car and then to the hotel, whereupon I crashed, and did not awake until 7:30 a.m. local time. We saw the strip all lit up, but it didn't make that much of an impression on my tired eyes.

I'll be adding a post a day for my Las Vegas trip. So today you should see Day 2 show up some time. I'll also be adding the links into the sidebar for easy perusing of the whole thing without other entries bothering you when I get a bit further along (probably when the first one scrolls off the front page).

We had network problems at the end of the day yesterday at work, and they continued into this morning, though they had appeared fixed. Turns out it looks like our switch has gone, and we need to get a new one. Boh-mair. Fortunately we have a spare - one we used for testing when we were switching how we were connected to Brown - and that has been put into place and is doing fine for now. But we need a new one; we can't keep this one forever.

At least it wasn't last Monday, when all our techheads (me, my boss Kate, and my big boss Martin) were all on vacation. That would have just been shitty.

Sunday, February 17, 2002

The view from our hotel shows the mountains, which explains the what was blocking the view of the city as we were landing. It was dark enough that I couldn't tell if it was clouds or something else. It didn't move, so I didn't think it was clouds, but one could never tell.

Our room looks out onto the Monte Carlo and other attractions, so I took one picture of that, then a few of the mountains in the distance. I want to head out into the countryside around the city, see the natural setting, not just the strip.

We had brunch at the MGM Grand, with their Grand Buffet. Recall that I've never been to Vegas before -- but, DAMN, you have to go through a lot of slot machines to get to the food! The food was excellent, by the way, I'd recommend the Sunday Champagne Brunch to anyone visiting Vegas. Note to visitors: Go with someone in a wheelchair. You get special treatment in seating, like skipping the big long wait line. Lou's aunt Anne has MS, and uses a wheelchair to get around, so we waited a short while to get to the cash registers, then got to go right in. Then Lou and I stayed to gamble a bit with Anne and John (our rides to the Grand), lost $50 but had fun.

Back to the hotel for a nap for me. Lou talked about a swim, but decided to wait. We're going to see Beauty and the Beast at the IMAX at the Luxor - I headed down with Lou and Bobby to get tickets (nice long walk) and we spent some time at the slots in the Luxor. I won twice, but then gambled it all away (only $10 this time) on slots.

We're eating after the movie - a 7:00 show, so dinner will be very late. I hope my stomach can take this.

The movie was good, even though it was very up-close. I prefer a large IMAX theater, and one where you can choose your seat. We had fast food for dinner, which did not sit well in my stomach, and then went to the King Tut museum, which was pretty neat. I bought a small Egyptian cat statue (made in China) for my sister who is watching and feeding our cats for us, and a little Luxor pyramid keychain, that when you push the bottom of it, the crystal on the top lights up. Then it was back to the hotel and SLEEP!

Monday, February 18, 2002

Another late morning breakfast, this time at Paris. The weather was better; it had rained on us yesterday as we were walking back from getting the Beauty and the Beast tickets. It's still a little windy, but the rest of the week is supposed to keep getting warmer.

Breakfast was excellent, though I only had two pieces of French toast. We had enough other stuff that it didn't matter. Our waiter was very funny...he was refilling coffee and asked John if he was regular. Well, that just sent the table into peals of laughter, while he stood there, smiling but trying to have a brave face.

Then we hit the slots again, before we head out to Red Rock Canyon. I wandered around a bit, watched some blackjack tables, and everyone else wandered off. I found them at some slots when I was just getting ready to call one of their cellphones. Lou was at the video poker; I wandered until I found some quarter slots, this one had the possibility of winning a Cobra sportscar, that was above the slots. I put in $10, and ended up cashing out at $11, so I was pleased. Wandered back to Lou, where he was up, but started losing again. He cashed out, but kept playing. He needs to watch his hands though; he held the wrong cards at one point. But he ended up getting five of a kind, and cashed out $21 up. So we're doing well for the day, if not for the week.

Now, Red Rock Canyon here we come!

Red Rock Canyon was breathtaking. I took tons of pictures, didn't see any wild burros (Kori did), and was, somewhere along that route, the farthest west I've ever been. Up until this trip, the farthest west I'd been was the Kansas side of Kansas City, for my brother's wedding. I still haven't hit the California coast, but I'm sure that will come some day.

The drive out was beautiful; Lou and I went with Anne and John. But it was enough of a distance that there wasn't really enough time to nap between getting back and Blue Man Group, alas.

Blue Man Group was an excellent show. I now see why Sarah warned me not to wear dangly earrings. We're going to meet with Sarah and Chris Wednesday night at the Star Trek Experience for dinner.

As time was short, we did dinner after the BMG show. That was a minor fiasco, but we did the buffet at the Luxor, which was pretty good, even at 9:30-10:00 at night. Then we hit the slots. I wasn't in the mood to play much, being really tired. But after watching Lou play some video poker, I wandered off and found my machine - Take Your Pick. I played this the other day and won, but then lost it all. I had bet about $7 on the 007 slots, trying to win a car again. So all I had left were $20s and higher, but I decided to go for it. I did pretty well, never really got down that low, and got some pretty good multipliers for the bonus "Take Your Pick" option. Was up to almost 200 credits ($50), but then kept losing. I decided to stop when I hit 160 if I didn't get another "Take Your Pick," and I did. So I doubled what I put in, and that makes me up about $15 for the day, which is the first time I'd been up. I now have two cups of quarters in my dresser drawer.

Tuesday, February 19, 2002

Late breakfast again this morning. We're trying to do big breakfasts late so we can skip lunch, and then do dinner later. We're doing the Excalibur tonight, and have to be there early, so not a lot of free time today. I think we're doing Denny's for breakfast this morning, and then maybe going to the Sahara. Anne wants to do blackjack at a $1 table, and Kori wants to give it a try too.

Which reminds me of something I should mention. I watched an Asian guy last night at a blackjack table at the Luxor deal out five $100 bills, take them all in chips, and place them in a bet. He drew a 9 and a 3, and I *knew* that he was going to draw a 10. He did ask for a card, and sure enough, it was a king. I saw him then, after that deal was settled, pull out 9 $100 bills, and take a variety of chips. I think he bet it all again, but at that point we were leaving, so I didn't get to watch. I was like -- damn, if you want to just throw that much money away, give it to ME!

Denny's for breakfast was oh-so-good. It's been a while -- since the Thanksgiving trip -- since we've been able to have our "regular" meals at Denny's, so it was a nice treat. Then Kori, Bob, and Bobby went to the Belz outlet while the rest of us tried our hands at Blackjack at the Sahara.

I watched Lou and Anne start, then Sally sat at the next table. John wandered off somewhere. The dealer at Lou's and Anne's table was great; very friendly, and he explained stuff to Lou as he went along. I finally decided to give it a try, and sat next to Sally at the other table.

I really liked our first dealer, a woman from China named Melody. She had a gentle hand with the cards, and was just really good. She left after a bit, and then we had a woman named Jeanne. She was good, but was harsher with the cards, which bothered me. I got up probably about $15 more than my original $20 stake (this is at the $1 table). Then Jeanne left, and a man named Al from Texas dealt, and I really didn't like how he dealt. I ended up losing my whole stake (mostly because I kept betting with the $5 chips at the end, instead of getting change). I watched Lou again for a bit, then gave up and went back to the table with Al. Another twenty came out, and I never really got a lot more than the $20 I started with. I think the max I was up was $26 (including my original stake). I had started to lose again, down $3 or so, when Sally came up and said that we were getting ready to leave. I played one last hand, and left the table with about $16 or so. If she'd only come two hands earlier, I could have left even with that hand. Lou ended up being even, not making anything other than the original $20 he'd started with.

We went back to the hotel, and rested for a bit before going to the Excalibur for the dinner show, The Tournament of Kings. That was fun, lots of "huzzahs" and "here heres" for toasts. And I hit my beefcake quotient for the evening -- damn, the King of Norway was hot! We were in Norway's section. But he still didn't do very well, alas. And the rest of the guys were VERY cute.

We wandered in the Fantasy Faire, basically a bunch of carnival games, before and after the show. John won Anne a medium-sized jester bear at the water gun game (instead of filling balloons, you raced Viking ships down a track). Kori won, but she got a plastic Viking horned helmet since there weren't enough people playing to get a bear. She really wanted one. While us girls were in the bathroom after the show, Lou won me a tiny jester bear. Now I had to get one for Kori -- she was the one who originally wanted one! So I sat down, didn't win on the first race, but got lucky on the second (wherein just about every seat was filled), and started shooting right at the hole. I kept up the stream, and won the bigger bear (she really wanted a large one with Mardi Gras beads, but I think you must have to trade in other bears to get that) and gave it to her. We took some pictures with all the bears later, and then it was back to the hotel. The others wanted to go to the Bellagio water fountains, but I was too tired.

I crashed early and slept very well. I think I'm finally getting used to the time. Just in time to go back, of course.

Wednesday, February 20, 2002

Lou wanted to go swimming this morning (he did yesterday morning), but he convinced his father to go breakfast at 9:30 instead of 10:00, and we slept in, so swimming will have to wait.

We're doing Circus Circus for breakfast and going to watch the show/clowns, etc., as this is what Bobby wanted to do. Kori's pick, seeing impressionist Danny Gans, is not possible. Alas, he's sold out three months in advance. We're here this morning, then off to the Hoover Dam. I hope that we can head back to the hotel; I was unaware of the plan, and didn't bring my camera! Oh no!

We played a bit of the slots at Circus Circus after the *extremely* sweet breakfast (I had not seen so many doughnuts or pastries or other sweet things (not counting dessert areas) for our breakfast buffets until today). I was dumping the quarters won at the Luxor into a few machines (still no "Take Your Picks" - they really must be exclusive to the Luxor), and finally settled at Wheel of Fortune. Played some, using all three quarters, and finally got a spin at the Wheel, and out came 125 quarters. Or rather, credits, until I cashed out. Decided to stop there, carried my quarters out to find my husband, who was promptly losing money at his addiction, video poker (Deuces Wild). I had given him $20 earlier as he had only $50, and then wandered off to play the slots at which I had won. I dropped five into the machine next to him and didn't win anything, but he didn't either. I cashed out all the quarters, and ended up with $58.25, which meant that I had won today $18.25 (that I kept, I did have more) because I had $40 in the cup before. I was pleased. We then had to start heading to the front to leave - I found another addiction of mine, the "win the car" slots, and dropped $10 into that. I was up at one point, but this was my $10 attempt to win the car, not to win money, so I kept going until it was all gone. I then wandered upstairs and saw a really cool juggler, but I was late and had to come back down to leave. We did go back to the hotel and got the camera (and various other bits) and then headed out to the dam.

Hoover Dam was pretty cool in and of itself. I had learned before we went out that the cement in the dam won't finish curing for 500 years, and that it was built to last 2k years. Pretty cool, even if the hard hat tour, the one down into the guts of the dam that Lou's parents had gone on last year at this time, was off-limits now. And I got to say I've been to Arizona (we walked across the dam bridge until I crossed the state line)! We headed back to the hotel then, with a brief jaunt to Lake Mead. We missed a chance with a wrong turn to go to the Dairy Queen, but with our trip to the Star Trek Experience with Sarah and Chris tonight, I think we'll be okay.

Lou wants to hit the Sahara again tomorrow and their $1 Blackjack tables. We also have The Fremont Street Experience, the Amazing Johnathan, and I need to see the water fountains at the Bellagio (everyone else saw it last night while I crashed), and then it's time for home on Friday.

We had enough time between the time we were back at the hotel and the Kindreds' visit to go swimming. As the weather was warm enough, I decided to go, even though the sun was setting. Lou had told me the pool was heated, and it felt nice. There was a slight breeze, so staying as much under the water as possible was a good idea. If the water started to feel too cold, I just went to the shallow end and stayed above the water for a while, the quickly submerged again, and boy did it feel good! There was a hot tub off the exercise area, and Lou and I headed there for a soak before going to shower and change. The Jockey Club also had a sauna, but we didn't get a chance to use that.

Sarah and Chris picked us up, and we headed out to the Las Vegas Hilton, home of the Star Trek Experience. We had dinner first, at Quark's bar, which was fun but we had not-so-good service. Sarah's appetizer was not what she ordered, and her meal never got entered so she didn't get any dinner, so that was a pain. But the food was good. I had a Pattern Buffer drink which was tasty, and the Joseph Sisko's Bayou Pasta, which was good and spicy. Lou had a Class M Pizza, as did Chris. Sarah was supposed to have gotten the Harry Kim Pad Thai. Lou had the Cardassian Creme Brulee for dessert and Sarah had the Apple Crisp (sorry, I forget the cutesy name with it). Then Sarah and Chris waited while we went through the museum and ride.

The museum itself was a lot of fun, with props from all the series and movies. I love the "Stone Knives and Bearskins" (okay, that's not its real name, but that's Spock's reference to it in the episode!) memory circuit, and the timeline. Then we got in line for the ride, which was just so much FUN! I had no idea what to expect, and that made it all the more fun. Suffice it to say that, without revealing the secret, any Trek fan should go on it if they get to Vegas, and more than once. We only got to go on it once, but it was a highlight of my trip. Best Ride Ever!

We headed back to the hotel then, bid farewell to Sarah and Chris (much TRiH talk was had during our visit, which was fun), and crashed again. It was an early night, but I'm still getting used to this place. Our hosts did recommend seeing the Treasure Island Pirate show, so we may try to hit that tonight, but a lot depends on timing. We've got The Amazing Johnathan at 10:00 p.m. tomorrow, but dinner and the Fremont St. Experience before that. We'll have to play it by ear.

Thursday, February 21, 2002

Well, true to his word at breakfast yesterday, Lou's dad didn't want to go out for breakfast. So Lou and I got up and walked over to Paris and had a good breakfast. Our waiter wasn't as good as our previous waiter was, but the food was still excellent. We wandered around there for a bit, then walked down to Caesar's Palace Forum Shops, as we had been told by the Kindreds that there was an FAO Schwartz in the shops, and Lou wanted to hit it. We stopped by the Bellagio on the way over, as a water show was just starting. It was pretty cool, and the only chance I was going to be able to get to see it, since our night was full. The shops were cool, unfortunately we had little time. We went through the toy store, and I wandered around through the stuffed animals, then headed up to where Lou was. I went to the third floor, and saw him on the second as I was heading up the escalator. I looked a bit more at the LEGO and action figures (they had a full-size Darth Vader with buttons to push to make him talk, and a LEGO full-size Darth Vader), then we had to head out. I spotted the Hello Kitty Statue of Liberty which heralded the Hello Kitty section, and had to stop to get Paula something. A few minutes later, we continued on and headed back as quick as we could. We were a few minutes late, but they were still waiting for us.

We were heading out to the Sahara, but had to do a stop at Walmart to get contacts for Bobby first. Then we changed the plan, and instead headed to The Castaway for bingo. Lou and Bobby didn't want to play, so Sally, Bob, Kori and I played and lost every round (sigh). Ah well. Lou played blackjack at a $3 table, and was up $40. We decided then that we'd just play there instead of heading to the Sahara, so Sally and I sat down and the others went to the slots. I had scored earlier on a slot machine with the quarters left from Paris earlier in the week (won 120 quarters at a Wheel of Fortune slot), so I staked that. Lou gave me back a $25 chip for the $20 I had loaned him yesterday, and then asked for a $5 chip in return when I was up a little bit, which I gave to him. I left the table up a little, but I don't remember how much. Then it was back to the hotel for a nap before the evening festivities, but I wanted to head to Gameworks and the M&M store to get some candy for our friends. It was $8 a pound for the bulk M&Ms, but you could pick the colors. I got just over a pound of of black M&Ms, and then got a small round box with blue ones in it for Kate, and we ate a brief meal at McDonald's and then came back. I passed out for a bit, and then it was time to go to the Golden Nugget.

We parked and ate (sat in the smoking section, and I had problems at the end. At first, no one was smoking in the area, but it took so long to get our order in that by the time we left there was smoke in the air), and the food was again VERY good. I passed on dessert, and then we hit the Fremont Street Experience, which is very cool and highly recommended. Our Experience was all Motown songs. Then we got a shirt for Jack, as I had recalled his allergies too late to get him some white chocolate. We had a little time to kill, so Lou and I played some blackjack at a $5 table right off of Fremont Street. Lou was up $35 and I was down $10 when it was time to go. Then it was inside to see The Amazing Johnathan.

The Amazing was very funny. I'd seen much of his stuff on TV before, but it was great hearing him in person. He was vulgar and hysterical, and a lot of fun.

We left after the show with only a slot or two played on the way out. I found a "Take Your Pick" machine, but it was a dollar a play, and I wasted $3 that I had in $1 bills. There was also a $5 "Take Your Pick" machine, but I was SO not going there.

I also watched a $50 minimum and a $200 minimum blackjack table, in a separate area so it was through the glass. I think I also saw a $1000 minmum, but there was no dealer at it. It would have frightened me if there had been people playing it! Give me the money, don't waste it!

We made a last trip down the Strip on the way back to the hotel, and then it was crash time again. It was Friday by then, and Lou and my anniversary. Five years...whoo-hoo!

Friday, February 22, 2002

Lou gave me two anniversary cards this morning. Of course I had none for him. I'd thought about getting some when I got the Valentine's Day card, but forgot or just decided not to. Lou thought ahead and brought the ones he had bought at Valentine's Day with him, so I got two neat cards.

We packed and got ready to go to breakfast and then the airport. Not as much stuff fit, and I didn't buy all THAT much stuff, but I guess the packing goes better when you're heading out than when you're heading back. I'm writing this as we're just waiting for the dishwasher to finish with the dishes and for Lou's parents to get ready. I may have some time to write more later today, perhaps on one of the planes. It's cold in Chicago and in Boston, so I've got extra clothing since I didn't bring a jacket.

Breakfast was a bit of a fiasco, but we pulled it off with time to spare. I think I've just hit that point where too much togetherness is too much, and I need my space. Fortunately this happened on the last day of the trip, so I won't seem like such a bitch.

We made it to the airport just on time, and then through the check-in and the security with only a few minutes to spare. I headed off to the bathroom, and passed Bobby and Kori playing the slots in the airport. On the way out of the restroom, I took a look at all the slots -- there were 25 cent ones and $1 slots. Lou was playing a quarter slot, as were Bobby and Kori. Having a little bit of cash left, I picked my machine and put in $10 to a $1 machine. I played full credits, so it was $2 a spin. I got down to my last $2 with only winning back my bet once, then I won a few more. At $6 left, I hit a nice-sized jackpot - $120, making it a total of $124. Deciding to spend down to what I won, I spun twice but came up zip, then cashed out. I think that brings me up to actually making a tiny profit on this trip! Whoo-hoo!

I knew this machine was going to score for me, just like I had at the Castaway. Just a feeling that paid off twice for me.

The machine had other ideas and had only spat out about $20 worth of tokens when it made some whining noises and stopped. Fortunately, there was an attendant right near the machines, and she called in for service. Turns out it was not out of tokens, but some tokens were stuck or just not flowing properly. The person who came to help got it running again and it continued with its token dispensing. Lou asked for a dollar token and I gave him one, which unfortunately made my count uneven as he lost with it. But being up $119 was still pretty good. It was time to board then, so to the plane we went.

Flying into Vegas at night was fun, but I much prefer flying during the day. You can actually see more outside the window then. For example, I can now say I've seen the Grand Canyon. It was off to the right-hand side of the plane, which was the one I happened to be on. I also got a good shot of the Luxor from the airport terminal...the best view in town, I think.

But anyway, I've now seen the beautiful sight of the Grand Canyon from a goodly distance up. I had spotted it first before the pilot had told us that is what it was. Very cool, and something to visit someday, whenever we make a return trip out to this area.

We're now passing over the Rocky Mountains, too. LOTS of snow, and just plain cool mountains. I think we are going right over the Continental Divide now, but I don't know a lot of west coast geography. I did spy a frozen lake/river, with snow covering it. It looked just like someone had spilled milk down the mountain, and it had pooled in the crevasses. I pointed it out to Lou, and of course he had to pun - "It's no use flying over spilled milk." Let's all groan at Lou now. It's fortunate for him that it's our anniversary, and I'm a forgiving person.

The mountains are thinning out now, less snow and height, but still there. I did also see a city of some sort at the base of the "milk lake" in the mountains; I wonder what city it was? Probably never know. Maybe if I look at an atlas when I get home.

Time to put this away and read my book again.

Over the midwest now - I can tell because of the patchwork quilt of land beneath me, broken only by a few circles here or there, and now and then some hills.

I can tell Lou is getting annoyed with me, pointing out scenes outside while he tries to watch the TV. But there is so much to see outside, even when it is just fluffy white cotton clouds, all below us, stretched out forever.

I missed the trees.

I am in the rented van, on the way home from the airport. It is dark out, but I can see the outline in the moonlight, streetlight, or car headlight of the trees that line the highways here.

I never really thought of it before, but the streets of LV had only palm trees, with the occasional evergreen-type bush/tree. A few ground covering plants here and there.

Last fall, I had thought of sending Sarah some colorful leaves in the fall, but I had never done it. Now, I think I will not only send her some leaves in the fall, but I will send her some leaves this spring as well. A little bit of home in a place so far removed from it. I know she is home now, with Chris. But she is still a New Englanda, and that never goes away.

In two days, I will be winging my way to Las Vegas again, with the in-laws, to meet up with Lou's aunt and uncle, for a week of fun-filled activities. Expect the blogging to be even more non-existent than it is.

I don't know that I'll keep a travelogue this time, like I did for 2002's trip. I tried to keep one when we went last year, and wrote up Day 1 & 2 in one go and then never did any more. We'll see.

On our agenda is to meet up with now-West Coaster Ian as well as a revisit to Sarah and Chris.

(Note to self: Bring Sarah's book for signage, as well as the one Jack left for us to get signed. Also, give plague back to Jack when returning book, since he so kindly gave it to us with his visit for the Saturday game this past weekend.)