I chose Atlantic City
for its close proximity to many big cities in the east cost, such as Philadelphia
to the west, and New York City to
the north. Our main purpose is to enjoy
the natural beauty of the Atlantic Ocean pounding
against the long strip of sandy beach, or just to sit back and watch the
rolling surf for the whole week. However;
when you see the well-known casino towers, started with Trump Plaza, Caesars,
Bally, Taj Mahal, Showboat, Golden Nugget, Harrah, Borgata, Revel and other
lesser-known casino hotels, connected
one after the other along the boardwalk, we probably want to question ourselves
“do we really belong here?” We are here
to have our reunion trip, and we might as well make the most perfect vacation
of our lives.
We took resort’s free shuttle to indulge ourselves with
all-you-can-eat meal at the Borgata Casino.
We all had our share of margarita, not bad! But, Shinyee informed us that the major
ingredients of this cocktail drink are actually sweetened lime juice mixed with
a little bit of Tequila.
The coarse salts crusting around the rim of a margarita glass makes it
rather tasty. We were all quite sober at least! I felt dizzy when I was enveloped in a fog of
red, blue and gold lights with all the slot machines clanging and blinking on
the floor and “Cash Redemption” signs everywhere. I couldn’t bear to watch the gamblers for too
long. The majority of them are seniors,
or old folks still sit on their wheel-chairs, with cigarettes in their hands
and drinks on the machine, mindlessly hitting the flashing buttons. I rushed myself in and out looking for ladies
room.
Shinyee and I spent some time shopping
at Tanger outlets, while other folks relaxed in the room from overeating at
lunchtime. Yes, we found good bargains
at Skechers for pairs of shoes and other sales from DKNY and Jockeys. I do believe the occasional shopping spree
help us relax, unwind and enjoy life a little.
We met up with the folks in time to
catch the spectacular water, light and sound show at The Pier Shops. It was claimed as the world’s largest indoor
fountain matrix. It was one of the
extravaganzas to entertain visitors at Caesars.
But, in comparing with Longwood
Gardens’ water show, I found them
both equally fantastic for great special visual effects, but Atlantic
City definitely did not have the beauty of formal
gardens and natural landscape. As the
night fell, the temperatures dropped down to 40+F. We bundled ourselves to watch the incredible
state-of –the-art3D light and sound show in front of Atlantic City’s Boardwalk
Hall. It demonstrated the Hollywood
style of light and sound come together in perfect harmony.
Enough shows for the
day. Our eyes were tired. It’s time to catch our shuttle back to the
resort. But, here’s the challenge- the
pick-up stop was about half a mile away, we must make it within 10 minutes for
the last shuttle. The problem was we
were not familiar with the location.
With Shinyee, Jia-Her and Ben leading the way in the front, asking the
direction at each casino, Shyhwui and I held LiChun’s arms to make sure she
could catch up with our fast- paced walk.
It was hard and exhausting facing the headwinds on the night
boardwalk. I kept humming “The Little
Engine That Could” out of my head from my kid’s book. “I think I can – I think I can- I think I can.” We puffed, we chugged and we breathed
heavily. Finally, we made it at the
shuttle depot in time.
The lesson learned:
with sheer determination and will power, you will make it no matter what.
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