In August, I took a pseudo vacation to Foxwoods — and I call it a pseudo vacation because it barely lasted more than 12 hours.

My sister was off from her grad school program during August, and for one week, she and my parents hung out in Long Branch. They stayed at the arty, new Bungalow Hotel, relaxed on the beach, ate good seafood. They also happened upon a good rate at the MGM Foxwoods at the end of the week, and decided to tack that on to their time off.

I think the fam felt bad that I, and the boyfriends, had been at work that whole week, so they booked an extra MGM hotel room for us young’uns. I never turn down an excuse to get out of town — no matter how brief — so that’s how the boys and I ended up driving to Foxwoods that Friday night.

Traffic was pretty bad, so we didn’t get there until nearly 8:30, more than three hours after we left the city. The first thing we did, after dropping our stuff in our room (which was very nice with the modern, dark wood aesthetic and big bathroom), was eat.

We had dinner in Shrine, the MGM’s Asian restaurant/club, which is built in the Tao/Buddakan vein. The meal was fantastic. The rare tuna steak I had was one of the best I’ve ever eaten.

Afterwards, we walked around the MGM and the main Foxwoods casino. I have never understood the appeal of casinos. They’re always kind of low-ceilinged and carpeted, and there’s never windows or natural light. I get that the atmosphere makes gamblers stick around longer, but it makes me want to get out of there asap. Plus, I’m way too frugal (ok, cheap) to risk my money on something I’ll never win.

After a very comfy sleep that night, we drove back home the next morning, just about 12 hours after we arrived. Still, it felt like enough of an escape — just getting out of the city for a little bit, during the summer, makes me feel that way.