Strolling along a timeless boardwalk – Atlantic City, NJ
Our short visit to NYC was just that – too short – but we had to keep moving on our southward migration. We continued southeast of New Jersey into the Atlantic City area. Our plan was to see the historic Boardwalk in Atlantic City, and to take a breather after that hectic stop in NYC. The weather had been cooperating, but the forecast for our arrival in AC was rain and wind for the next few days. So, we wasted no time hopping in the car to visit the famed Atlantic City Boardwalk.
Atlantic City Boardwalk looking south
The original boardwalk was built in 1870 and opened on June 26th of that year. At that time, it was one mile long and built as a solution to keep sand away from the railroad tracks and hotels. The city used $5000 in bonds to build the Boardwalk, which consisted of individual 12 foot long wooden sections, 10 feet wide. No commerce of any kind was allowed within thirty feet of the walk, and for many years it was actually disassembled at the end of each summer season and put in storage for the winter months.
Atlantic City Boardwalk looking north
Fast-forward 140 years – the Boardwalk has survived business debacles, heavy use, hurricanes and fires. Today, the Atlantic City Boardwalk has expanded and runs along 4.5 miles of the beach. It’s the backbone of this seaside resort city, providing access to hotels, resorts, casinos and many other businesses. And, it continues to help keep sand out of those hotels and casinos!
Casinos along the Boardwalk
I discovered that in the board game “Monopoly”, the value of the Boardwalk has even been updated to keep up with the current real estate values. Bet you didn’t know that! Oh, you probably couldn’t care less…
Seaside Casinos, Atlantic City. That interesting one to the left is part of Trump’s Taj Mahal.
If you get tired of walking, you can hop into a “Rolling Chair” and enjoy the boardwalk while being pushed in a wicker stroller. Introduced in the 1800’s, Rolling Chairs have been a boardwalk fixture to this day. The wicker, canopied chairs-on-wheels are manually pushed the length of the boardwalk by attendants. Steve thought it looked like folks were being pushed around in big baby strollers, and he refused to get into one. How infantile of him!
Would you like to ride in one of these Rolling Chairs ?
Stemming from the Atlantic City Boardwalk are several piers featuring a number of attractions. Steel Pier, originally known for showcasing the world’s top entertainers, is now a place for thrilling amusement rides and games of chance. However, we were not amused to discover it was closed on the day we visited. Steve may not like baby strollers, but he loves roller coasters!
Steel Pier
Steel Pier Amusement Park
With summer over, the beach was pretty empty. I was all alone and a bunch of sea gulls trying to catch a few rays. I can imagine how packed this place would be during the summer months, though.
Atlantic City Beach
Another way to enjoy Atlantic City (besides gambling or playing Monopoly) is to have dinner and drinks at Borgata, one of the newest casino hotels. My lovely niece Maristelle and her friend Christian showed us one way the city can be enjoyed – over big Margaritas, of course! Cheers to that!
Back at our home base (Chestnut Lake RV Campground), I snapped a few pictures of the area – before the big Nor’easter arrived (Steve’s first). The park was quiet (read Steve’s review here), except for the sounds of the migrating geese flying overhead. I think these guys are trying to tell us something!
Our lake view from Betsy
Geese hanging out at Chestnut Lake
We were inundated with wind and rain during the next few days. It seemed to follow us as we moved on to New Castle, Delaware, where we mostly just stayed home and did trip planning while waiting for it to pass.
Next up: Frantic sightseeing at the nation’s capital!
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The houses look like the pne in Copenhagen. Plus, a Taj Mahal, how cool!
I would not want to ride the stroller as well. High Five, Steve! 🙂 😛
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Check Tracy weather….Sunny, low to mid 80’s. No roller coasters, though.
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Hey Mike and Jeanie, great to hear from you – even if it is to brag about your great weather. We are just completing 10 days in DC and will be picking up the pace toward Florida in a couple of days. Keep in touch! ~Steve
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Roller coaster would have been really neat, love ’em. Getting colder by the day, head south for sure.
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Love your new header photo. Didn’t know any of those boardwalk facts. And yes I do care! Looks gray, wet and cold where your are. We had weather like that when we traveled down the east coast. See you in Florida!
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Thanks, I did not know about its history either, until I got there. Oh, so we might be bumping into each other in FL? I sure hope so. Let me know where you will be, we have our entire winter already booked.
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Hoping to be on the gulf coast around Christmas time visiting my brother north of Tampa.
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I’m with Steve…..forgo the baby stroller and hop on the roller coaster. As for those geese; they are trying to tell you “head south” before the tires freeze to the ground or Betsy gets swept out to sea during a Nor’easter 🙂
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Im with you on the baby stroller, nope I wont even try. yeah yes yes we are slowly inching our way to the south.
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What an interesting post on the boardwalk. It’s really quite pretty with the old and new all mixed together! Glad you had a jump on the rain to see it! That’s funny about the geese…I agree they are saying “head south!”!
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The geese are following us in MD, prodding us to move, move south.
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Great post as I knew virtually nothing about the boardwalk. I would happily take a ride on the rolling chairs for the experience. 🙂 Like Steve, I love roller coasters, although I would recommend not hopping on one shortly after dinner and drinks as I once did. 😉 Safe travels you two.
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Yeah, I m not big into roller coasters so I was happy it was closed, otherwise I will be dragged along 🙂
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Thanks for all the information about the boardwalk! I grew up outside Philadelphia but knew nothing about the boardwalks history. We weren’t a beach family but spent our time in the mountains.
Glad you had some rain free weather to visit the boardwalk. I’m with Steve on the “baby carriages!”
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Yeah, we got out of there just in time but the storm was still in DE.
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