The Atlantic

We are official New Jersians. We got our licenses and plates changed over and I do not like our new plate letter-number combo. It's the end of the alphabet and it's just plain ugly.

So our day started off at the DMV, but we ended up at the Jersey shore to celebrate Matt's birthday. It was a high of 90 degrees, but with a constant breeze from the ocean, the weather was perfect. Beach Haven was our destination and the little town was getting ready for its 'grand opening' this memorial day weekend. A big shell in my bag and a little sun later, Matt had the brilliant idea to go to Atlantic City. Afterall, we weren't very far and we wanted to see what all the hype was about. Sure, there was the chic part of town, the faux and tacky decor on all casinos inside and out, the outlet malls as far as the eye could see, and then there was the boardwalk. The tourist info lady told us this was a must see, but here's what we saw:
--a lot of homeless people
--many drunkards
--dancing and shouting people, expecting money from passerbys
--a guy on the beach peeing behind a bush, with his back to the boardwalk
--annoying flirtation
--a very wide range of people, socio-economically
Matt said, "Gee! It's like the DMV line followed us here!"

Matt saw an arcade and wanted to play. We played the same game as on our honeymoon, the one where you throw/roll balls onto a ramp and hope they land in the highest point holes. Anyway, we won 27 tickets (for $1) and spent them on starbursts: two each.

We went into a Casino and witnessed a little old lady win big. She was sitting at the 25 cent slot machines, watching her wins increase and increase and increase. She was waiting patiently and we stood behind her, watching with her to see how much she'd actually win. We congratulated her and shared a good laugh with this woman, who was equally surprised as she was thrilled about her luck. When she punched her receipt printout, she had won $425!

That evening, we had dinner at the Silver Coin Diner, a building made out of tin and aluminum with neon lights. It was very American.