This past weekend I traveled to Atlantic City, NJ--a mere two-and-a-half-hour drive from Baltimore. The town is basically a mini Las Vegas on the beach, which mixes the best of both relaxing daytime and energetic nightlife. In the past couple of years, the city has tried to class it up a little bit in order to stray away from its reputation as the haven for slot-addicted retirees. I definitely noticed some changes in the city since I last traveled there, making it a more luxurious destination.

We stayed at the Harrah's, which is off the beaten path from the main casinos on the Boardwalk. Our room was in the fairly new Waterfront Tower (built last year), a commanding 44-story building that is the tallest hotel casino in Atlantic City. What also makes the tower unique is that it's a giant LED screen featuring nearly 30 images (tumbling dice, playing cards, American flag) visible up to 10 miles away from the hotel.

The first night we checked out Dusk, a nightclub co-owned by DJ AM that opened earlier this month. Now I've never been a huge club person, but Dusk was seriously awesome. Right on the Boardwalk, the below-ground club has an underwater ambiance. The club is shaped like a circle with multiple layers: the bars and VIP tables make up the circumference, the DJ booths are just inside that, and a giant dance floor is in the center. The music was unpredictable and entertaining--DJ Mark Stylz was spinning a range from "Walking on Sunshine" to "99 Problems" and everything in between. One of my favorite parts of Dusk, though a little unconventional, was the bathroom. The pristine white and aqua bathroom had circular, individual sinks that were like mini islands throughout the room. Kind of hard to describe, but hands down the coolest bathroom I've ever seen.

The next day we spent lazily walking around the Boardwalk in the seriously muggy weather. Besides losing money in slot machines and enjoying some Rita's, we wandered into the Pier Shops, which is a giant mall on the pier. When you actually realize that you're over top of water while inside the mall, it's kind of a scary feeling. But the shops were a lot of fun to browse. I couldn't afford much, but I wandered into Steve Madden, Betsy Johnson, and played around in the Apple store. It was a diverting (air-conditioned) way to escape the Boardwalk crowds.

That night we checked out the Xhibition Bar back at our hotel. The coolest thing about this place was the Microsoft Surface tables, which were basically like coffee tables with giant touchscreen computers on them. You can order a drink, play a game of bowling, and even mess around with some maps using this really cool technology, which is probably a preview for what our computers will be like someday.

We couldn't stay at Harrah's without going to their famed Pool. During the day, hotel goers relax by the indoor pool, which is covered by a giant domed roof. But at night, The Pool turns into a bar/club space. The celebrity guest that night was Lauren Conrad from MTV's The Hills (though she just ended her final season with the show). Conrad and some of her friends had their own private cabana, but were nonetheless surrounded by hordes of girls with digital camera and cell phones in the air. Kind of sad. The girl couldn't even use the bathroom without being harassed.

But The Pool itself was a mesmerizing space. There was a giant swimming pool in the center, various hot tubs throughout the club, and regular bars and tables scattered around. There was also a deck off of the second floor with another bar and more cabanas, if you wanted to escape the chlorine-infused air. There were many people dancing, swimming, and enjoying their bachelorette parties. This would be a memorable place to party with some of your best friends.

All in all we had a great, exhausting weekend. It's hard to believe that all these amenities and the feeling of luxury (if only for a weekend!) is just a short drive away from Baltimore.

[Image: courtesy of architechweb.com]

Last night I decided to go catch Iron Man, this week's "Film on the Pier" in Fells Point. Every Wednesday throughout the summer, the fine people at Su Casa and The Sound Garden present an outdoor movie on a 300 square-foot jumbo screen at the edge of Broadway Pier. Having lived in the area for a while, I was kind of ashamed that this was the first time I've gone to one of these movie screenings, because they really are a cool idea.

The movies start at 8:45 (have to wait until it's dark enough outside) and I guess mistake number one that we made was not showing up early enough. The flyer advises you to "arrive early for the best seating" and they mean it. We got there about 10 minutes before the movie was scheduled to start and got seats pretty far back. Because you're not in an amphitheater or anything, tons of people will block you if you're not sitting close enough.

Waiting for the show to start, the ambiance was certainly nice: watching the sun go down over the water, seeing the Tide Point and Domino Sugar signs come into full glow, hearing the motor of the Water Taxi occasionally whiz by, watching the cotton candy and popcorn men sell their products, and taking in the truly diverse crowd.

Once the movie started, it was closer to 9:00 and the place had filled up. The picture was definitely decent (they show the Blu-ray version) but it was pretty hard to hear where we were sitting. All of the action scenes were crystal clear, but more intimate scenes (like Tony Stark and Pepper Potts's flirty back-and-forth) was kind of a guessing game. Luckily I had seen Iron Man in the theaters so I was able to follow along.

The "Films on the Pier" are definitely a great idea in theory, just make sure you do it right: Show up early, I'd say at least half-an-hour before the movie starts; bring comfortable, high-seated chairs (camping chairs would be good); and definitely bring some wine and snacks to keep you content.

As far as the next couple of weeks, Quantum of Solace, Talladega Nights, and Slumdog Millionaire look like good highlights. But Twilight? Might want to stay away from that girl-crazy crowd.

[Image: courtesy of cdjoint.com]

Just went to RA Sushi and tried their holiday drink, the Star-Spangled Mojito. The patriotic cocktail, which costs $8 and will be served at the sushi restaurant July 3-5, is a blueberry-flavored concoction that combines fruity, tart, and crisp flavors. While the mojito was definitely refreshing, it also packed a punch and the white rum flavor did not go unnoticed. A special touch was the blueberry and cherry garnish on a prism pick. This particular drink went a little heavy on the mint, though that could just be a preference thing. But I definitely recommend sipping the cocktail at one of RA's outside tables this weekend.

Tamir Dvorin, a manager over at RA, told me that the drink is already high in-demand, though they technically don't start serving it until tomorrow. But for those of you that can't wait (or just don't want to shell out the $8), RA has let us in on the recipe so you can try this one at home:

• squeeze 2 limes
• 4 mint leaves
• 1.5 oz. white rum
• 1 oz. blueberry puree (see below)
• .5 oz. Blue Curacao
• splash soda water
• splash lemon-lime soda
• garnish with two blueberries and one cherry on a prism pick

Blueberry puree: mix equal parts of blueberry preserves with simple syrup.

Squeeze the limes and drop the mint leaves into a muddling tin and muddle. Add rum, puree, and Blue Curacao. Pour into a bomber glass and fill with ice. Add a splash of soda water and a splash of lemon-lime soda. Garnish with blueberries and cherry.

Happy Fourth!

While at RA Sushi today, I noticed a flyer for MAC "Restaurant Day," advertising different food and drink specials around Harbor East, Fells Point, and Federal Hill. Then I noticed the date was June 25, as in, tomorrow. So I had to call up the MAC Harbor East to found exactly what exercising has to do with enjoying all these great food and drink deals around town.

I talked to Jessica Bizik over at the gym and she explained that the MAC just wanted to say "thanks" to both the gym's surrounding businesses and its existing members. "We've had such great grassroots marketing with all these places that we wanted to give them some business," she said. "Plus, so many of our members either work or visit these establishments all the time."

So onto the important part: the deals. Among many great food specials, you can also get buy-one, get-one-free drinks at the trifecta of Kooper's, Slainte, and Woody's. In addition, Talara, Harbor East's new Latin America-influenced restaurant/bar will be offering free mojitos.

Also, anyone enjoying these deals will receive a 15-Day Mac Wellness Pass, which gets you access to the gym and its classes. Special bonus: If you mention that you heard about the promotion from my blog, they'll give you the first month's membership free.

All you have to do is print out this flyer and bring it to any of the listed locations tomorrow and enjoy their specials. Seem pretty simple? Well, it is.

[Image: courtesy of flickr.com/photos/hburruss]