Where the hell am I? Are we actually here??
That is the conversation that my friend A and I had as we stood knee deep in the ocean in Atlantic city staring back at the beach, while hundreds of people danced along the shore line.
This past weekend I travelled to Atlantic City, NJ with 11 girls (some Au Pairs and some new friends), my friend T and my friend R. We took the Greyhound bus from Manhattan to Atlantic city. This bus service was.... well not what I expected. You buy a ticket for the 10:00am bus, you arrive and then depending on how many people are in the line before you, you get on the bus. Well in our case, the line was enormous.... really really reallllllyyyy long. So as you can guess, we didn't make it on that 10am bus, we had to wait another hour IN THE LINE for the 11am bus. Not happy Jan.
But after a 2 hour bus ride. We finally made it to Atlantic city ($35.00 round trip is not bad!).
Getting off the bus it was hot, really hot (no complaining from me). Our hotel was a little further back from the main strip than I had expected so we had a short 5 minute walk to get there.
We checked in at the Sheraton hotel, dropped our bags in our room, bikinis on and off to the beach. With no less than 14 people!
The beaches here are something else. The music is absolutely pumping, you can hear it so loud and so clear, whether you're standing on the boardwalk or swimming in the ocean. Incredible.
The place above is called Bally's Bikini Bar. It is a closed off area on the beach where the DJs play and live music is sung. There is a big bar serving alcohol, but even more amazing is that waitresses walk all over the beach serving drinks. So you can lay tanning on the sand and order a drink and she will bring it right to you. This surprised me, not only because it was a waitress on the beach but also the fact it's legal to drink alcohol on the beach!
Of course we took full advantage of this and went to the bottle shop, buying an esky, ice, plastic cups, vodka, juice and coronas. Then we sat down, listened to music, played some volleyball, chatted together, laughed together and had an absolute blast.
My $10 American flag beach towel, very good and worthwhile purchase I say.
The weather was hot. The sun was shinning. Sunglasses on. Hat on. Sunscreen on.
How did I end up here? How did I manage to bring this into my life? A big imagination I suppose. But seriously.... wow.
This was the most amazing day in Atlantic city. Within our group of 14 we had a mix of Australian (me of course), English, Scottish, French, German, Brazilian, Mexican, Columbian and American.What an awesome bunch of people. And so much fun.
I got some new shoes in Atlantic city. My ankles are acting old these days so I have to wear shoes that hold my ankle. I thought they were pretty and 2 women who walked into the shop as I tried them on said "Damn guuuuurl those look gud!" so of course I bought them. But I may or may not have walked out of the hotel, down the street and then swapped them for my flats. Whoops.
Saturday night we went for dinner at TunSun and E tried a beer that 'tasted' like cheese, yuuuuuk. There wasn't anyone at our table that liked it and I was too terrified I would vomit if I tried it so I stayed right away.
Sunday morning. BEST BREAKFAST EVERRRR..... I mean seriously. It was one of those little hidden gems that you would normally walk straight past but gosh I'm glad we went in. Maria's Lunchonette. Waffles, yuuuuummmm.
After breakfast it was time for more exploring. Back to the boardwalk and inside the famous Rainforest Cafe. I once saw this cafe on some fish tank restoration show on television but now I'm here :)
Then onto the beach to see the World Championship Sand Sculptures (no Australians). So incredible, they look like sandstone rock sculptures but in fact just plain old sand from the beach. Impressive.
Then back along the boardwalk for more exploring.
My best friend messaged me to ask if I had tasted saltwater taffy! Well at first I didn't even know what she was talking about, but I soon found out and got some! Tastes like wizz fizz, pretty nice.
The boardwalk theme park. Still standing after super storm sandy.
Sitting up high with Atlantic city beach below. Waves rolling in and a $3 Jimmy Buffet beer in my hand.
And then just when I thought I'd seen everything Atlantic city had to offer.... I saw an Iguana in a shop window with the note "he is not for sale, he is ours and we love him".
Thanks for an amazing weekend Atlantic city. You really rocked my socks.
xxx
