Sonya's Blog - Day 140 - Atlantic City

Sonya’s Blog - Day 140 - November 9th - Atlantic City

We are off to Atlantic City today to walk on the boardwalk and see the sights. We decided to take the more scenic route there so that we could see more of New Jersey. The interstates are really fast, but not very scenic. It was a lovely fall day drive to Atlantic City and we went through some nice little towns. Natasha worked on her Social Justice presentation for Social Studies and Isaac did some math worksheets during the drive.

We made it to the famous Atlantic City Boardwalk and started to walk along it. We took Kizmet with us today and we are lucky it is November. Dogs are allowed on the boardwalk after the September long weekend until the Memorial Day long weekend. There were people out and about, but it wasn’t very busy. There are many Casinos, hotels, shops and restaurants that line the boardwalk on the one side and the beach and Atlantic Ocean are on the other side. The boardwalk was originally built in 1870 and was not nearly as long or wide. The whole purpose of the original boardwalk was to keep sand out of the hotels and off the passenger trains (which were essential for bringing all the tourists in). No businesses were allowed to conduct business near the boardwalk. This changed in 1883, three years after a new boardwalk had been constructed. Businesses were now allowed about 100 stores, stalls and stands now had Boardwalk addresses. In 1884 a new Boardwalk was built, due to a storm. A hurricane in 1889 required that a fourth boardwalk be built. This one was bigger and better and crowds started coming to stroll the boardwalk. Improvements and expansions were made in 1896 to accommodate these larger crowds. In 1916 the design for the current day Boardwalk was put in place with better supports and the present day herringbone pattern. The 1920’s were the heyday of the Atlantic City Boardwalk and it was the place to be seen. There were piers with amusement parks, parades, shows and the original Miss America Pageant. No other decade matched the 20’s for the success of Atlantic City and the boardwalk. In the late 70’s the decision was made to bring casino gaming to Atlantic City. There was a renewed interest once the first casinos opened. Boardwalk in Monopoly is named after this Boardwalk and Atlantic City is where the inspiration for Monopoly came from.

I thought it seemed a little run down and there were a lot of sketchy characters about. I am not sure I would feel safe wandering around after dark on the boardwalk. We walked along and checked out the sites and then found a park and had lunch. Across the street was a park that was set up as outside art. Several artists contributed to the project. The kids loved the “sunken” Pirate Ship.

We had seen a Ripley’s Believe it or Not place and Isaac wanted to go and check it out. Natasha was game, so the two of them went in and looked around for about an hour. When I went to pay for the them my credit card was declined and this happened yesterday as well. I had checked to make sure our payment had gone through and it had. Frustrating! Blake called while the kids were in Ripleys and it was because someone tried to make a $2800 charge on Blake’s card in Nevada. They had the wrong expiry date so it was blocked and our cards were flagged and blocked. We got that all cleared up and they are going to courier Blake a new card.

The kids had fun in Ripleys and had lots of stories to tell while we walked on the beach and gave Kizmet a run. The same rules apply to dogs on the beach as on the boardwalk, so that was nice. There was nobody on the beach so we let Kizmet run. She found an oyster shell and started playing with it like a toy and running around like a maniac. She loves beaches, but the silly dog tries to drink the salt water so we have to keep an eye on her.

We walked a bit more of the boardwalk, snagged some pictures with the Miss America statue and then headed back to the truck.

We took the interstate home because it was getting dark and we just wanted to get back and have supper. We made it back in about an hour and Natasha made hamburgers and salad for supper.

It is supposed to rain tomorrow so we are going to a prison museum and possibly a market. If the rain is not too bad we may do the Rocky run up the steps of the Museum of Art and check out the view.

Sonya