Under the Boardwalk

I meant to do this over the weekend.  But I got lazy over the weekend and accomplished nothing but a sunburn and possibly a bit of  sun poisoning. 

Now it’s back to vacation (I plan to finish this in time to leave for the next on Friday).  Last Saturday, 6/13, we were up early again, this time backing up our suite in Jersey City, and heading to Atlantic City.  What should have been a two hour drive lasted three because of construction.  I don’t remember much about this drive, because I thought it best for the sanity of all if I read my book and didn’t pay attention.  I do know that this is the morning my contact lens tore, because I had to pull out my glasses at a gas station and wear them.  My glasses from my freshman year of college.  I think it’s time for some replacements.

We eventually arrived in Atlantic City, eventually found what we were looking for, and parked.  We grabbed a sandwich out of the car, and through a misunderstanding, my mom grabbed mine out of my hand and ate it in one bite, leaving me lunchless and cranky.  So I had french fries at the beach to make up for it..only they were gross too.

Atlantic City, as it turns out, isn’t really a nice place.  We were down by the Trump Taj Mahal (the exact hotel/casino where Nick and Jessica stayed on their first anniversary and took part in the Oktoberfest celebration and saw an old man trying to use his Sears card in the ATM….the only moment that day that I was sad I didn’t bring my camera from the car).  And basically, by the Trump Taj Mahal, there is the old steel pier with carnival rides, a few food stands like at a fair, and a narrow strip of beach.  Then, on the other side, a  Cash for Gold place, and some rundown neighborhoods.  And that was all I saw of Atlantic City.  It was not what we expected, for sure.  Here are a few of Shannon’s pictures from the day:

After spending well under three hours in Atlantic City, we decided to head on.  We started towards Shannon’s apartment in Newark, Delaware.  Partway through the trip, we were approaching a city skyline, and my mama shouted, “Okay girls, say good-bye to New York City.” 

Someone’s geography was a little off.  See, we had started the day by New York City, then had traveled all the way down the New Jersey coast.  Then we had gone maybe an hour or so west…..leaving us nowhere near New York City, and instead, approaching Philadelphia.  Here’s a map to help you out.

A is where we started…B is our second point, and C is where we ended up.  There is no New York City between points B and C.  All right, I’m finished making fun of my mom now :)

That night, we stayed at the Embassy Suites in Newark.  I have a newfound love for the Embassy Suites—they serve you a drink and snacks in the evening and have one of the best free breakfasts I have seen anywhere.  Also, the beds were comfortable.  I booked a night at the Embassy in Miami for this Saturday, because we have a HUGE layover there.

We had our dinner at Shannon and Brian’s that night—Brian made us a turkey, cucumber salad, and the cutest fruit salad (inside of a cored pineapple).  It was WONDERFUL.  Then we toured their apartment, went for gelato, walked around their town, and came back.  After awhile, we headed back to our hotel to go to the hot tub.  First, my mom volunteered me to read a Finnish woman’s speech and proofread it.  So I did.  It was strange.  Not the speech, just proofing a total stranger’s work.  She was speaking to a Finnish American group the next morning, and it was her first international speech.  Then we went to the hot tub and called it a night.  The next morning we were up and at ‘em and on our way to the nation’s capital.