Happy As Can Be

Travel

I’m back in Boston enjoying my staycation. It was sooooo nice coming home and not having to worry about frantically unpacking, getting to the grocery store, and preparing for the work week. I wish I could have a post-vacation buffer every time I travel.

Our last night in Atlantic City was another perfect night, filled with conversation, cocktails, and cuban cuisine.

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I’m one of those people who loves themed resorts, so the Tropicana was probably my favorite of all the hotels/casinos we visited.

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We took full advantage of being out on a Monday night and hit two happy hour hot spots. The first was Red Square, a Russian restaurant where we ordered ice cold infused vodka. I got the pineapple with a splash of soda and sour.

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Then we went over to Cuba Libra (a favorite from my visit to Philly two summers ago) for $4 mojitos and the most amazing yucca fries and guacamole.

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We took a break after happy hour to people-watch in the casino. Matt played black jack, but sadly, didn’t bring home a profit. I never found craps at our hotel and when I saw that it was a $10 buy-in at the Tropicana, I decided my money was too precious to play (because I also didn’t want to walk away from the table if I lost on the first roll, so I wanted to be able to commit to two rounds = $20).
Since I’m obsessed with Cuba Libre, we actually went back for dinner. I really felt like I was somewhere tropical and I did not want that feeling to go away!. I had a pisco sour with dinner…

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And, we started with a shrimp and a pork empanada. Both were great.

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But, what really stole the show was the entree that Matt and I split – jumbo shrimp with a mango glaze and a giant pepper stuffed with sweet potato, quinoa, and marscapone.

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I loved every bite.

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And because I almost always need dessert on the last night of vacation, a tres leches cake soaked in banana milk with chocolate banana mouse and a caramelized banana.

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Fan-tastic. We really hit it big with food this trip. EVERYTHING was awesome.
I don’t know if it was the fact that just the two of us haven’t been on vacation alone since the fall or if I just really needed time away from my internship, but this short and simple trip was just heaven for me. I’m still smiling.

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  • suki
    April 20, 2011 at 7:39 pm

    Atlantic City reminds me of Vegas. Good food, hotels, casinos, bars, etc. 🙂 I’m heading to Vegas next month – super excited.

  • Mitra @ My Midwest
    April 20, 2011 at 8:16 pm

    It almost seems like a perfect weekend for a proposal?! Do you and Matt have any timeline for that sort of thing?

    • Laura
      April 21, 2011 at 8:40 am

      hehe…Matt’s going back to school so I’ve at least got another two years before there will be any wedding bells….

  • Kath
    April 20, 2011 at 8:35 pm

    I LOVE the look of that sweet patater!

  • Miranda
    April 20, 2011 at 9:51 pm

    Looks like you had an amazing time!! I am off home to New Zealand tonight after work, sort of looking forward to it, but sort of not, because it is 84 degrees in Perth (in Western Australia) today, and 62 in my city in New Zealand. I also said I would go camping which was a bit retarded of me – it’s going to be FREEZING. Although we are going to Hot Water Beach 🙂 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_Water_Beach
    Enjoy your stay-cation!! (I love that idea!)

    • Laura
      April 20, 2011 at 9:54 pm

      Both of those places sound amazing to me, esp. since 62 is still warmer than it is here! Have fun:)

    • Claire
      April 21, 2011 at 8:35 am

      Please check out this site and think about this:
      http://therword.org/

  • Nicole
    April 21, 2011 at 5:16 pm

    I only live about 2 hours from Atlantic City. I went there with my girlfriends a few years ago and had drinks at Red Square and dinner at Cuba Libre. It was like deja vu just now. 😉 Hubs and I have gone back a few times since then and tried some new places, but those two are still my favorite!

  • Kelli H (Made in Sonoma)
    April 22, 2011 at 12:19 am

    Wow! All those drinks look so delicious.