Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City

 Todays journey came with some company (thank goodness).  In the words of Bruce Springsteen:  You need a good companion for this part of the ride.  I don't feel the need to write as much when I am with Glen, because we are sharing thoughts and conversations as we go along.  But, when I am alone I am actually writing down stuff as I am stopped at a traffic light.
 Serendipity of the day:  We would NEVER take pictures of this, but lately feel the need to remember moments like this.  We had free room......no, we had a free suite and free breakfast.  So, you really HAVE to play to make up for that......right?  Well, we have not come out winners or broken even in a lonnnnnnng time.  So, this trip was like our last cruise.....putting money in and nothing coming out.  Glen at one point voicing out loud his frustration says:  "If we win $300 we are leaving and I am putting that money right back in our account.  A few minutes later this happens and when Glen asks how much did we win......I answer $300.
So, one of the things I wanted to do was take a picture of all the things I have seen in the picture and wished I had taken a picture.
 These are little sheds turned into seasonal craft booths in the Gardener's Basin in Atlantic City.
There is also an Aquarium.  I love this part of Atlantic City and it is near the Lighthouse.
 This is the third tallest Lighthouse in the USA.  It has 228 steps and looking out the windows on the way up offered a beautiful view and a well deserved rest.
 As soon as you walked in the door, there were pictures of antique souvenirs.  It makes me crazy we don't offer beautiful items like this anymore.  Everything is either a magnet, mug or t-shirt.  Part of the reason to get out and about is to see how shore towns are doing and what they are selling compared to Asbury Park.
 The view from the top window showed a boardwalk lost to Sandy and a new park in the works.  There is not too much building going on, especially since two casinos will close at the end of the summer and the future of the newest casino Revel is uncertain.
 The lights on the top are fascinating and interesting to find out were a product out of Paris.  It's always nice to learn a lot of our rich history was made possible with a little help from our friends
 Lastly Lucy is not a Lighthouse but, she is a must see.  She was originally a real estate office and then a part of a hotel.  The hotel was a Turkish Pavilion from a Philadelphia World's fair that was transported to Margate.  As the fate of a lot of hotels in Atlantic City would have it....it sat abandoned for years.   In 1970 it was moved to higher ground and fully restored.
 We had taken the kids here many years ago and disappointed we could not get inside.  So, I was very happy to be able to venture inside the elephant.
 They showed a great history of the building and told us how she celebrated her 133rd birthday that weekend.  The circular windows on either side of the flag are windows that look out to the sea. (They are her eyes on the outside).
 A view from the top. Love the woodwork, but very surprised the floor at the top of the stairs was glass.  That was a little unsettling.
 I relaxed enough to get my picture taken.
 Then it was back to the boardwalk.  I reveled in how a store on the boardwalk could still take this much pageantry in it's facade.  The windows were fun with giant pieces of hanging salt water taffy.  The boxes are still the same from when my dad would go there on conventions and never forget to bring us home a box.
The end of our day was spent at the deck of Breeze's in New Gretna.  It is a bar and grill located on the Viking factory where huge yachts are built.  They were working on a 70 foot yacht in the garage close by.  Ian plays the trombone for the Billy Walton Band and we ended the evening dancing the night away.  It will be almost a year we have been following them around  weekly and everyone is starting to feel like family.

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