Anniversary Weekend...

Wow, it's been 5 years already ... 5 years since my wife and I tied the knot ... somehow, the drugs didn't wear off yet (ba-da-bing!). We decided we would take an extra-long weekend "vacation" at the Jersey shore ... yes, it's no longer summer, and yes, we were not planning on spending much of it on the beach.

Our first destination was Cape May - a beautfiul shorespot, certainly much more elegant than places like Wildwood and Atlantic City ... the place is peppered with beautiful Victorian style homes that would make the Munsters jealous. We ended up staying at the Hotel Alcott, a quaint place not far from the Washington Street shopping area of the town ... maybe next time we'll stay at a bed and breakfast - the town is super-saturated with those, and many of my friends rave over them.



Hotel Alcott in its pink glory ...

We ended up staying two nights there, and basically, shopped, ate at restaurants, and "checked out" some of the bars. We especially liked this bread place (not sure what the name was, unfortunately) on Washington Street, at the far end of the shopping area - the atmosphere was slightly elegant, but not stuffy - and the food was fantastic - I had a cup of clam chowder that was probably in the top 5 best clam chowders I've ever had. My wife raved over her meal as well (I can't remember what it was, though).


The Upscale Peter Shields Inn ...

We also loved this place called the Peter Shields Inn - a VERY fancy restaurant, even by Cape May standards ... it's certainly a bit on the pricy side, but I figured the 5-year anniversary was more than a good enough excuse for this. The food was excellent - I highly recommend the Lobster Tail, which is also mixed with lump crab meat ... I'm usually just a steak and hot wings kind of guy, but this was truly worth the price - and yes, it is the signature dish of the restaurant. Schue raved over her seafood medley which included scallops, shrimp, and clam cooked in some sort of bacon rizzoto sauce ... hey, anything with bacon can't be bad, right?

Though the weather was overcast, and drizzly, we had a great time (with the exception of the awful performance by Penn State). We then ventured to Atlantic City, staying at Bally's. Once again, we had a great time - we had some dinner at Pickles Deli (great food at a good price, even for Atlantic City standards).


By the way, can you guess what Pickles serves instead of bread?

Just a few things that really got to me.
* All of the old people who ride around in carts ... most of them are (A) really, really fat, or (b) just too lazy, and don't really need the carts. Still, they clog up the entire casino with them.
* The different "levels" of cards offered by the Harrah's Casino chain - we are on the bottom rung with the "gold" card - which means, they tend to send us free room offers for off days of the week. We still have to pay for parking, and we have to stand in a long line, while the "elite" gamblers with silver and platinum cards, get to come and go as they please. This REALLY bothered me whilst we waited to be seated at any and every place we ate in Atlantic City. I hate these cards ... unless, someday, I receive a silver or platinum card ... then, I think I'd love these cards ... yes, it is all about me.
* People who stand in the middle of a high-traffic walking area and hold a conversation ... guys, seriously, there's plenty of room on the side to talk ... stop being so self-emersed, and think about others for once in your lives. Oh yeah, and all those people who walk out in front of you like they're in a hurry, and then stop walking with no warning ... again - think of the others around you ... sheesh!

Other than that, I had a wonderful time, and look forward to spending many more anniversaries with my cutie!