I came back to work yesterday after two weeks of annual leave. I had initially planned a “staycation” in New York but instead, I made a couple of impromptu trips interstate, including to Atlantic City in New Jersey.
Once I had battled the madness of the Port Authority Bus Terminal, my express bus trip to Atlantic City last
Monday only took about 2.5 hours. There
isn’t much to see along the freeways between New York and New Jersey, but I was
too excited to sleep or read, so I just stared out the window and watched the world go by.
Long before Atlantic City’s giant
casinos came into view, we passed billboards advertising all sorts of gaming
venues, fine dining restaurants, and entertainment options. I was on the edge of my seat by this point, but
I had also started to wonder whether two days would really be enough time to
see everything.
I’m not much of a gambler – or at
least not a lucky one – so my motivation for coming to Atlantic City had very
little to do with the casinos per se. I definitely
wanted to see how Atlantic City compared to Las Vegas (which I absolutely love);
but I was also keen to visit the town that inspired the HBO series “Boardwalk Empire”.
Both Atlantic City and Las Vegas have large casino hotels, fine dining options,
and outlet shopping malls. They both
also offer high-quality entertainment events.
Michael Buble, Aerosmith, and even Queen will play at Atlantic City’s historical
Boardwalk Hall this month. Live music shows pop up at the beachside bars, and I loved the “Le Noir” theatre spectacular that I saw at the giant Harrah’s complex (think “Cirque de Soleil”, only sexier).
Atlantic City remains justifiably
proud that the Miss America Pageant started there about 70 years ago, and they’ve
hosted it ever since. Steel Pier has
jutted off the boardwalk for decades and remains a drawcard for daredevils looking
to enjoy sideshow amusements and roller coaster rides. Garden Pier has the Atlantic City Historical Museum and Art Center, and the Abescon Lighthouse and the Atlantic City Aquarium are
within relatively easy reach of the boardwalk.
Atlantic City may not be as bright and brassy as Vegas, but it’s not a
sleepy town by any stretch of the imagination.
Throughout my stay, the Atlantic
City sunshine was consistently fierce, and there is very little shade along the
boardwalk. I suspect this is intentional,
because you’re probably meant to fend off sunstroke by seeking refuge in the air
conditioned casinos. What I didn’t
realise until I got home is that Atlantic City also operates a Jitney mini-bus service
that will take you to various places in the area so you don’t always have to
walk. Had I known about the Jitney during my
holiday, I suspect I would have arrived places looking much less bedraggled. Had I been a little braver, I might also have
taken one of the push-carts/rolling chairs, which are pretty much strollers for grown-ups. They go up and down the boardwalk and I really
wanted to ride in one, but I was too chicken to haggle with the driver and set
a price. Lame, I know.
Atlantic City is advertised to
have amazing dining options but most of the top-shelf restaurants are actually closed
on Mondays (and sometimes Tuesdays too).
Other than a truly amazing sub sandwich at the 60 year old, jam-packed White House Sub Shop (which rendered dinner unnecessary), as well as a predictably delicious
watermelon margarita at Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville, I didn’t get to have any
life-changing meals or cocktails. I just
visited at the wrong time of the week; perhaps I will get back to Atlantic City
one weekend and remedy that. And maybe then
I’ll be brave enough to engage a rolling-chair driver to deposit me back at my hotel
in style.
My new digital camera also got a
bit of a workout in Atlantic City and you see my photo album here:
Post by The ABCs of NYC.
