Steel Pier at Night, Atlantic City

My sister and I left Harrisburg for Atlantic City bright and early on Sunday morning. While it had poured cats and dogs on Saturday during my drive, we awoke Sunday morning to moon shine and clearing skies. By 10:15, we were in Atlantic City!

Our day was a full one, and it included delightful adventures such as walking barefoot in the ocean, spotting dolphins in the water upon our first five minutes at the beach, and watching two young men try to man one of the Atlantic City rescue boats (quite possibly the very one featured on the right in this photo). I guess things weren't going so well even from the outset. First, the one guy bailed water frantically with a bucket. And then things got even worse! As we watched, a strong wave caught the boat and sent one of the young men flying out over the top into the ocean!

My sister and I visited with the boardwalk cats, and we found them sleek, fat, and happy. Alley Cat Allies volunteers maintain a strong presence in and around the boardwalk, and as my sister and I are both cat lovers, we were very happy to meet the famous boardwalk cats. (For both of us had left cats at home and were already missing them.)

We had a fine lunch of fish and chips at a reasonable price at the Irish Pub, shopped in the very best 99-cent store on the boardwalk, and hauled our purchases back to our luxurious accommodations at the Trump Taj Mahal Casino, on the boardwalk overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

After a few minutes of unpacking and recharging, we did something we have only done one time before: we walked over to the Steel Pier (the amusement pier) and rode the ferris wheel that you see to the left in this picture. The temperature was comfortable - warm enough for shorts and t-shirts - and the skies were an unbelievable shade of blue, with puffy little white clouds. Just PERFECT weather for the beach!

Walking on the boardwalk and wading in the ocean can build up a powerful appetite in a pair of girls. So we had a nice dinner at a brand-new restaurant on the boardwalk, Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville, which I have to say played THE best music of any place we had visited on the boardwalk. And by that, I mean, Jimmy Buffet - of course - and Bruce Springsteen, and Johnny Cash. What's not to like? :-)

The bus trip fare includes slot change at two different casinos. And so the first day's slot fare included $15 at the Taj Mahal, which we lost in record time, then went back to our room. (For we never gamble more money then the slot change they give us as part of the bus trip.)

This absolutely marvelous day featuring two precious commodities - both beach time AND sister time - concluded with an extra-special treat: moonrise (starring the ever-popular harvest moon) over the ocean! And so shortly before 9 pm, we left our room and went out to the balcony overlooking the boardwalk, and watched for the moon. I finally spotted its orange face, rising over the waves, leaving a trail of silvery light so shiny and wide that you could swear you could walk that path all the way to the moon itself!

You know I'm a Springsteen fan, and those of you who saw the title of my blip probably guessed the song before you got this far. :-) So . . . put your make-up on, fix your hair up pretty, and meet me tonight in Atlantic City! The song to accompany this blip is one of my absolute favorites: Bruce Springsteen, with Atlantic City. I'm including two versions. This is the official video, which is pretty cool, as it includes scenes from a bus (not unlike the one we took to the beach and back) as well as some of the older casinos such as the Sands, which I think was the very first casino my sister and I ever stayed at overnight. But it was demolished in 2006. And here is the live version of Atlantic City that was recorded in NYC during the 2000 reunion tour. Enjoy!

Fans of Atlantic City may also enjoy more pictures and stories from Atlantic City. Here are links to the blips that I posted last year when my sister and I were lucky enough to take TWO trips in the same summer: May 20 and May 21; and September 23 and September 24.