Day 11: Coast to Coast

"Jerseydoesntstink.com"

Like LeBron, we vacate Cleveland efficiently and quickly without thanks. We need to arrive in Philly by 5pm so we can get to AC by 7pm so we can watch Huey by 9pm so we are driving all day today. Our lone stop is in Bedford, PA at a "Bistro" known as "Bad Boyz". I'm not sure I'll be able to describe it any better than their website, so I'm directing you there right now http://badboyzbistro.com/About_Us.html.

The menu section is pure unintentional comedy gold. The decor is nothing short of atrocious. The food, surprisingly good. Honestly if in Bedford or surrounding area, it's worth the trip to get seated at a table with a poster of JT by a flamboyantly gay man at a joint called "Bad Boyz Bistro".

Despite the overabundance of tolls on the PA Turnpike, this is a great drive. We arrive in Philadelphia in short time, allowing us plenty of time to get ready for our Jersey Shore adventure. It should be noted that Colleen Maschal, the better half of Scott Lee, has joined us for the final leg of our trip today, driving three hours from D.C. to drive us another hour to AC for this show. And she's not even a fan. I can't tell you how impressed I am at this fact alone. We have one extra ticket still, as the great Eileen Hansen is unable to make the journey. She is missed, again.

Atlantic City is just like Las Vegas, lite. Or maybe Reno, heavy. In any event, it's hilarious that I am standing in the lobby of Caesar's Palace next to a giant Caesar statute with a giant frying pan and spatula. It appears the Food Network is holding a rather large event here at the end of the month and the casino is doing all sorts of tie-ins in the mean time. Am I a little saddened I am not here for their party? Yes. Yes I am.

We attempt to eat at a cool "global tapas" place within the casino, but the wait is long and we are short on time. The four of us settle for an overpriced sushi restaurant that is nonetheless enjoyable. I then take in the beach, from three stories up and approximately 150 yards away. Only in Atlantic City. I have successfully made it from coast to coast without wanting to kill Scott Lee, and vice versa.

What would a roadtrip be without a concert stop on the agenda? A little backstory on our selection of HLATN is probably in order.

• Scott Lee and Mike Ham are huge Back to the Future fans, so much in fact they did a DeLorean presentation with Troy Ruckman for their New Product Development class in school. They used "Power of Love" extensively in this presentation. They received very high marks.
• Megan Blanck-Weiss might be the biggest fan under the age of 30. She has listened to "Greatest Hits" an estimated 287 times. 
• Mike Ham's first rock concert he remembers was Huey Lewis at Sun Devil Stadium post Phoenix Cardinals (yes, Phoenix) pre-season finale with the Busch family. He remembers the fireworks being better. 

I'm going to leave a full review of this concert to Megan, but I'll note a few things. First, we are easily the youngest paying group here. This might as well be a Neil Diamond show in Vegas, and not in an ironic way. Second, Huey is not moving particularly well, though he does sound good for the most part. Mick Jagger he is not - perhaps he should have done more drugs or something. Third, he is playing new songs from his upcoming album. They sound like they were written in 1995. This is probably where they should have remained. Give me "Doin' It All For My Baby", say good night AC, and hit the tables.  All-in-all, it is a good time and good show, just completely and entirely absurd.

We close the night with some light gambling and free casino drinks. Atlantic City in five hours or less? Check.

Tomorrow's Agenda: 
Route: Philadelphia > New York City
Estimated Distance: 94 miles
Estimated Time: 1 hour, 51 minutes