Turning 28

Chris really outdid himself this year in the birthday gift department!  I was allowed to open the gifts early so that I could use them on our trip to PA for Corinne's wedding.

I may have mentioned once or twice some of the items on my 30 before 30 list, and Chris took note.  The kindle will hopefully make it easier to reach my goal in reading more books, and the new lens for my DSLR will give me that extra push to read up on my camera or take a photography class.  

After Corinne's wedding, our plan was to head to Atlantic City Sunday - Tuesday, but due to Hurricane Irene the casinos were closed through Sunday.  We camped out with Corinne's mom one additional night and then headed to the shore on Monday afternoon.  Although we only had 24 hours in AC, we made the most of it!

View from our room at Caesar's

My brother surprised Chris and me with Swedish massages at Caesar's for our birthdays.  I will never turn down a massage, especially a free one!  After the massage we changed and headed across the boardwalk to see if our dinner reservations were still in tack.

Thankfully the restaurant was open, and we enjoyed a fabulous meal at Buddakan.

The setting was very intimate, and with the shore being closed down due to Irene the crowd was pretty light.  We started off with drinks, I had a glass of Gewurtzraminer while Chris went for a flight of Sake.  

My prior experience with Sake was limited to sake bombs in college, so this was a classy step up. We selected Chicken & Ginger Dumplings for our appetizers.

We were tossed between this and Pork Pot Stickers, but the dumplings were delicious! What is the difference between pot stickers and dumplings?  We looked it up but could only find that pot stickers were a form of dumplings.

For dinner we shared a bowl of Crab Fried Rice and split the Wasabi Crusted Filet Mignon and Grilled Lamb Chops.

 Even though all of that food alone made for a wonderful meal, we couldn't resist a little dessert.  It was a special occasion after all!  We made room for a trio of ice cream and Creme Brulee and it was worth feeling so full.

We capped off the night with some time in the casinos, Chris had a little luck with the new Hangover penny slot machines which were based off of the movie.

Do you get the opportunity to try out new restaurants? Ever had to change your vacation plans due to the weather?