Atlantic City, New Jersey

I've heard Atlantic City described as "The Vegas of the East".  Quite an ambitious claim really considering sin city's reputation.  I've been once when I was young, but I think my vices at the time included a mild addiction to Mario Kart on the SNES and the occasional Wham bar, so I'm pretty sure I didn't venture into any casinos or experience the nightlife.

It seemed like a good place to spend my birthday on the 4th so we continued our path up the east coast and wisely booked in at a campsite just outside the city to avoid having to drive through the city centre.

We started getting ready to show Atlantic City how it's done.  I was outside shaving my head like the true pikey I have become, when I heard Sharon shouting from inside.  I ran in just as the shrieks reached a pitch that only dogs could hear, and saw that Sharon had unwittingly picked up a hitch-hiker:

A tick, happily munching away on her lower leg.

I immediately did my best to put her at ease with helpful comments such as "Jesus Christ, look at the size of it!".  I also remembered that you have to be careful with ticks as they carry Lyme disease, and simply yanking them out can mean that their head gets left in your skin and increases the chance of infection.  I know of two methods of removing them; one is to suffocate them by covering them with olive oil so they come out for air; the other is to hold a flame near them so the heat is too much and they give up and drop off.

I chose method two and held a lighter next to the critter.  It squirmed a bit, but then I think it just went into shock, clamped down even harder and simply died.  This thing loves its food even more than me!

My rescue attempt wasn't going too well, and pointing out how "ticked off" she looked didn't seem to help.  With hindsight I also probably could have waited until it was out before commenting that it was another travel experience to "tick" off the list.

Anyway, I ended up having to just pull it out with some tweezers after all.  Crisis averted, blood-sucking parasite removed from girlfriend's leg, happy birthday to me!  And despite the trauma, Sharon still managed to look amazing as we left the RV for the night.  On to the city!

People settled in the Atlantic City area as early as 1785 and around 1850 it was officially named.  Over the years its tourism industry grew, hotels sprang up everywhere, and it became a thriving seaport.  In 1870, its now famous boardwalk was constructed as a way of keeping the sand out of the hotel lobbies and train cars.

The boardwalk became one of the main attractions in the city's hey day in the 30s.  It's still really the main focal point of the city today, standing 6 miles long and 60ft wide.  We couldn't see any evidence of the recent destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy; they would have repaired this immediately, being one of the main tourist draws:

There are relatively few casinos in the city, the dominant force undoubtedly being Caesar's.  This place spans about 120,000 feet and at least 6 blocks of the city.  It basically incorporates bars, restaurants, shops and obviously the casino itself, so you're not short on ways to dispose of your hard-earned cash.

We devoured some excellent steaks at the Atlantic Grill restaurant at the top of Caesar's, at the best table in the house, blagged by Sharon as she told them it was my birthday:

When the food coma subsided, we went downstairs to find the bar.  Drinks were surprisingly cheap so we stuck around for a while.  Everyone always tells me we should sit on the video poker or fruit machines and get free drinks, which we tried to do for a while, but there was literally 1 barmaid serving the whole of that floor of the casino and there's only so long I can bear to sit at a Sex And The City fruit machine.

I'm not great at casinos really, as I don't like to lose and don't see the point in random games of chance like roulette and the "one-arm bandit" type machines.  I like games with more skill like poker but, not being particularly well-practised at it, I didn't fancy blowing our savings on the poker table.  I also like Blackjack, but you have to be in it for the long haul really to make decent money from the small advantage that card counting gives you.  Also, most casinos consider it cheating, because they lose their advantage.  I think I'll save any gambling antics till Vegas later in the trip.

So that's really it on Atlantic City.  I'd describe it more as a little cousin of Vegas really and to sum up, attractions include:

1.  Food

2. Drink

3. Casinos

4.  The boardwalk / seaside

The order of those priorities might change depending on how much of a degenerate gambler you are!