NY/NJ Trip: Atlantic City and the Wedding

Okay, so it's taken me a bit longer to post about New Jersey and the wedding. The pictures are available in our photos section!

Day 3: Atlantic City or bust!

Brian, Joel, and I took a cab to Port Authority on Saturday after a leisurely brunch and took off for Atlantic City via Greyound bus. There were Greyhounds leaving every half hour, so it was pretty easy to get from Manhattan to Atlantic City ($31 roundtrip).

My first impression of Atlantic City wasn't good. There was abject poverty all around, and it was sad how many pawnshops and "Cash for Gold" places we passed in between Bally's and the Tropicana. Unlike Vegas, where the casinos and resorts successfully removed poverty and seediness from around the strip to make people comfortable with losing huge amounts of money, Atlantic City seemed to be a testament of what would happen if you gambled all your money away.

We got to the hotel at exactly the same time as David and checked in to our deluxe room in the Havana Tower of the Tropicana. Now, it's supposed to be their newest greatest hotel room and one of the nicest in Atlantic City, but it was about Luxor Las Vegas quality and about double the price. No matter, the four of us were determined to have fun! Yay us!

We went to Georges Perrier's Mia (619-441-2345, http://www.miaac.com/) at Caesar's Atlantic City, which was awesomely good food. We started with a bunch of appetizers to taste including super yummy oysters in a half shell. Then I had the filet mignon (I believe Joel had the same), which was absolutely heaven. I was very impressed with our entree, although I have to say I was a bit disappointed with the dessert, which was only fair. No where near the mind-blowing dessert we had at Spago in Beverly Hills. Entrees outstanding, desserts worth skipping.

So afterwards we headed back to our own casino. I myself was done for the evening after such a gorgeous dinner. I do have to say that there are NO low-minimum tables in the Tropicana. I heard that we would be hard-pressed to find low-minimum tables, so that kept my gaming to a minimum (but with still relatively high losses). I was actually quite pissed about this on Sunday night, when there was no one in the casino, they had empty gaming tables, and the minimum was still $15 for all table games. Get real! Even at the poshest casinos in Vegas you can find $5 and $10 tables on an off-night.

Anyhow, the guys went barhopping and streetwalker-watching on the Boardwalk, and I went to rest my poor tummy, who was mad at me for moving around so much after such a great meal.

Day 4: Off to the Wedding!

So David and I got up relatively early and went shopping. This is probably the best thing about Atlantic City: the shopping. Sadly, the shopping doesn't compare to a "Mills" location, so there really is no reason for us to go back to Atlantic City ever.

Afterward we got back, Vladi arrived fresh from the Czech Republic and we proceeded to get ready for the wedding. Now Dena had advised us strongly against staying in Atlantic City, and now I have no idea why because it was fine getting there and getting back. But we left with plenty of time to spare and got there early.

Dena and her mother had chosen the Renault Winery's Tuscany House as the location for the wedding. I don't really know what I expected, but it was a bit weird. I guess I thought with all the talk about it being at a winery, it would have more of a winery feel. It felt more like a wedding on somebody's estate.

We had a great time with David, Brian, Vladi, Jason, Beth, Keri, and James! And hello to our new friend Liz! Beth took my camera for some part of the reception, so there are a bunch of pictures of Mr. and Mrs. Cohen cutting a rug! Check out the pics!

Day 5: The Long Road Home

After the wedding, we went back to Atlantic City where I quickly lost a bunch of money on overpriced tables. At about 3 in the morning we sat at the hotel bar and chatted while watching "working girls" earn their money. It was amazing how blatant they were. Only in Atlantic City!

We woke up at 8:45am to get ready to leave back to New York City. Our flight was at 7pm, which meant that we had to get there around 5pm-ish, which meant we had to leave Manhattan around 4pm. Continuing to work backwards, we wanted to have lunch in New York with our good friend Brooke, and so we figure the latest we could leave Atlantic City was 11am in case of traffic. Well, we hopped on the 1040am bus and we got into the city by 1pm. Not too shabby! We met up with Brooke for lunch at Angelo's since I wanted a last taste of New York pizza. Yummy! I love New York pizza! We finished and walked around for a bit. Joel wanted just to leave for the airport, and so we left Manhattan at 3pm using public transportation (cheap, but I don't know if I would recommend it if you have bags) and got to the terminal around 430pm. Our flight was delayed, so we got in to LA an hour late, and we got home around midnight. It was the longest travel day ever involving most forms of transportation.