1-Year Anniversary Trip: Atlantic City

Wednesday 12/29 

The morning after we galavanted around NYC, we got up early again to train-ride it to Atlantic City.  We got there in the afternoon and for lunch decided to go to the Caesar's Casino buffet, since the restaurant at hotel (Trump Plaza) was closed! 

After lunch, we moseyed over to the casino and we saw some fuss going on- we found out that Caesar's was calling 3 names on the hour of people who used their Player's Card at the Casino, and they got the chance to spin a big wheel for a chance to earn big cash prizes!  GET THIS:  We watch this guy go up, and he was being so bland and "I don't care about this blah blah blah", and guess what?  He spins "VAULT", so now he gets to go in the money vault! 

In the clear, enclosed little room, it is decorated like a "bank vault" and there are shelves with several stacks of gold bars.  The objective of this game was to grab and carry out as MANY bars as you can in 10 seconds- each gold bar has a sticker with a dollar value on the bottom, and you WIN all the money on the gold bars that you are able to hold and carry out-if you drop it, it DOESN'T COUNT.

So she asks him "WOW!!! What are you going to do with all the money you are going to win?!?!" In the most apathetic, bored voice he replies "uuuuuh....don't know."

So the timer goes OFF, and everybody is cheering and counting down, "10-9-8..." and this guy just strolls in, picks a few bars up, drops even more, then apathetically walks out of the vault .  He made us SO mad because he was sooo apathetic and bored with this "game" that could potentially win him 10,000+ !!  

So she starts looking at the stickers at the bottom of bars- "$25! $25! $25! $50! $25!"...these stickers were red and green.  Then, she saw turned the last one over, and it was an opaque, shimmery color...she consulted the girl announcing.  They consulted the security guard guy. Then they announce, "HE JUST WON $10,000!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" 

Oh.My.Gosh.   This guy?  Really?

He acted all "whatever' at first.  Then, once he realized this was for real based on everybody's faces and people asking for his identification, etc.  he got this stupid grin on his face and was all-of-the-sudden a really happy and cheery guy.

UUUUUUGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Needless to say, Dan and I planned on going there for lunch, and we ended up staying there, and PLAYING there, until 8PM, hoping they would call our names so we could get a chance to spin the wheel!!  Excellent marketing strategy....until some random dude wins $10,000 in front of our faces.  But we lost a little money (the Sex and City slot Machine game is soooooo FUN though!!! I LIVE for Bonus games!  All That Glitters is another fun slot machine with bonus games woo hoo!!) - spent way too much money on drinks (REALLY strong martinis for me) - had a great dinner at the Rainforest Cafe - checked out the Boardwalk - and slept sooo good after another fun-filled day together!  :)

I didn't take any pictures today- wonder why?

We didn't stay for long though, the next afternoon we had ANOTHER train to catch - to Washington DC!

1-Year Anniversary Trip: NYC

The last month has been busy busy....Christmas Break was only 3 weeks long (TWO for faculty/staff) which was a bummer - I would really like an extra week to catch my breath!

Right after Christmas, Dan and I went on a trip for our first anniversary together :)  We decided to head Northeast (in December?  I still question that decision).  Our first planned destination was NYC...but in case you don't remember, it got SLAMMED with snow.  

SUNDAY 12/26 

While driving up to Chicago, we learn that our flight with American Airlines for Monday afternoon flight to NYC ended up getting cancelled.  Once we got to my parents' house, Dan, my Mom, and I spent 1.5 hrs + online searching for other options to get to NYC.  After being on hold for an hour (can't blame them), a very cheery AA employee helped us reschedule a flight...to Harrisburg Pennsylvania.  Dan found train tickets that would take us NYC, so we were set.  we would be 20 hours behind schedule, but oh well.

That night my Mom was awesome enough to give us an anniversary present of a night in the hotel where we had our wedding reception!  It was the first time I had been in there since we got married, so it was awesome to bring back memories.  Mom, Dan and I, my brother Don, and maid of honor Adrienne and I had a great time drinking and laughing at the hotel bar and in the room.  My mom left a bottle of champagne for us to share once everybody left!  Thanks!

Monday 12/27

We got to enjoy the cozy hotel room and breakfast for the morning, since our flight to PA wasn't until 8PM or so that evening.  We didn't check out of the hotel until 2PM, then we spent time with my family, then headed on our trip!

Here we come!

The flight was uneventful- I bought Dan an IPad for Christmas and we also have a Wifi hotspot so that helped with airport waiting!  We finally got to our hotel really late- midnight? and we had to get up and catch a really early train (7AM).  One awful thing about the whole trip is that I was the sickest that I have been in years...not a "stay in bed all day" sick, but a "my throat hurts so bad but I can't stop coughing!" sick.  I managed to keep it under control for the most part, but I didn't sleep well- however, with lots to see and do it wasn't missed much!.

Tuesday 12/28

Early train ride to NYC ~ 2.5-3 hrs

I usually do NOT play video games...but I got addicted to Sims3 for iphone.  Excellent for long boring travel and waiting :)

It was INTERESTING to see NYC this time of year...SLOSHY SLOSHY!

When we left the train station to get a cab, it was freezing outside (duh), and there was probably a 1-hr wait to get a cab.  Dan suggested that we walk the ~1 mi.  I wasn't thrilled, but it was definitely the best option.  By the time we got back to our hotel, our pants and shoes were soaked!!  I should really  find some cute rubber boots!

We stayed at the Crown Plaza, which was so beautiful and modern! It also has a health club in it with a lap pool- it's short but it would be great if you had swims on the schedule!  I was still in off-season, so I did not take advantage of it :)

We relaxed for a little bit then went out to explore.  First stop, Times Square:

We had a perfect lunch at this cafe with a create your own salad with endless toppings (helloooo sundried tomatoes, roasted red peppers and artichokes!) Then got a move-on to my site of choice: Central Park!

So cool that such a beautiful park is in the middle of a city

Snow snow snow!  The paths weren't paved- they were just packed-down snow.  People everywhere were sledding and building snowmen

 Even though it was cold, it was a beautiful sunny afternoon, and there was so much fun and happiness around us!

We went to the Central Park Zoo- totally worth the trip! Snow Monkeys, Polar Bears, a nice break from the cold in the Amazon Jungle, and of course, Sea Lions!  They were practically going over the ledge to try and see us!

Snow in the subway

After Central Park we had a frustrating time trying to get a cab- GEEZ!! Even within a sea of yellow, We could not get a cab for the life of us.  So we booked it to the subway so we could go see the 9-11 memorial

Now walking around NYC at night, we were able to see the awesome skylines at night.  We saw the Construction site for the new WTC, and visited the Tribute WTC. It had several stunning exhibits, included a large photographic timeline of events that occurred that day.  I feel like a trip to NYC isn't complete without visiting that.  There were also memorials honoring police and fireman on the streets surrounding the WTC- very powerful.

The New WTC looks stunning- there will be 5 new skyscrapers, an 8-acre park surrounding the two foundations of the original towers, and there will be 30-ft waterfalls cascading into the foundations, with the names of the 3000 victims surrounding them.  It scheduled to be completed and open on September 11 THIS YEAR- wow.

This aspect of the trip was great for us, because as many of you know, Dan is deploying to Iraq with his Army National Guard unit.  He has always wanted to go and have his opportunity to serve, but seeing this really opened MY eyes to the awesome and selfless acts my husband, and the rest of the US military will do for us!

Another subway ride back (which btw, EACH PERSON has to have their own pass, you can't share a pass, even if there is enough money on it...grrr) and we enjoyed a few drinks and appetizers at the classy bar in our hotel- very romantic :)

There was a Hawkeye game on TV, so we went to a recommended bar/lounge- it was so fun, but I was sooo sleepy from a not a lot of sleep, being sick, and very fun/eventful day!  When we got back to the hotel, we packed up and cozied up in the big comfortable bed- the next morning we had another early train to catch to Atlantic City!