Atlantic City

Atlantic City is a pit. The town is a disaster area only a block back from the boardwalk. After visiting Atlantic City I understand how third world countries with lots of oil wealth can remain wretched sewers. The level of corruption must be astronomical for all of the money that is pumped in to Atlantic City by the day tripping bus riders to flow out without creating any civic amenities. Any city thinking of legalizing gambling should make its mayor walk ten blocks inland from the boardwalk, at night, before deciding.

I've been to Atlantic City a few times. The first time was during a road-trip vacation from Rochester Minnesota. I drove to Milwaukee, Hershey Pennsylvania and then through Atlantic City to Poughkeepsie. I lost a bunch playing roulette. It was spooky driving on the Jersey Turnpike in the middle of the night. The road was 8 lanes wide and I was the only car on it. I ate at a Roy Rodgers resterant for the the first time at one of the rest stops.

Another time I drove up along the coast through all of the litttle beach communites of the Jersey shore, the ones with all the small summer cottages.

I took the train from Washingto DC to Philadelphia and Atlantic City too. The train goes through the pine barrens and stops in some quaint old towns. Free busses met the train.

I don't know why I keep going back to Atlantic City. I keep expecting the place to get its act together and  get spiffed up. I collected some of the silver slot machine tokens from there but they have a tendency to share designs. I got the only 777 jackpot I ever got on a Silver Strike machine there though. I suppose I'll go back again someday.