GLORY DAYS ON THE GREAT LOOP: CAPE MAY TO ATLANTIC CITY

DAY 331: WED,, JUNE 13, 2012

DEP CAPE MAY 11:15 ARR. ATLANTIC CITY 7:00PM

D 55.7SM / 5512.4

WHAT A DAY! We missed an opportunity to leave on Mon. morning with Passport because the forecast looked OK for Wed. As it turned out the weather wasn’t too bad in the morning, but later in the afternoon the wind was blowing at 20 – 25K. We thought it wouldn’t be too bad because we were going the inside route, the NJ ICW. Something Special, Boreas, and Glory Days left Cape May at 11:00 AM for Atlantic City. As we made our way north the route was tortuous. There were many narrow and shallow channels thru shallow bays and rivers. The real fun however started when we got near Atlantic City. There were 3 bridges we had to pass and they all had restrictions. The first was the Dorset Av Bridge which opens on the ¼ hr. and ¾ hr. Next is the Albany Av Bridge which may open between 4 & 6 PM, but opens on the ½ hr other times, and last the RR Bridge, which is always open except when a train is coming. We got to the Dorset Av Br. At in time for the 4:45 opening, but Boreas called the Albany Av Br. and asked for an opening for 3 boats at 5:00. They flat out refused and said they wouldn’t open until 6:00. So, rather than go thru the Dorset Av. Br. and cruise around in circles in the short narrow channel between the bridges we decided to anchor out in the pond just south of the Dorset Br. At 5:45 we went thru the Dorset Br. and requested an opening at Albany Av. The bridge tender responded with a rude reply saying they would open at 6:00 and not a minute before. Now, this may not seem like a big deal, but with the wind blowing at 25K, and the current, it is difficult to keep a boat in place, especially after cruising for 8 hours in narrow channels. When the bridge finally opened at about 6:15 we went thru and approached the RR Br. CLOSED! No problem, we’ll just call and request an opening. The reply is, “I will open for you shortly.” Unfortunately, “shortly” means something different when you are sitting inside at the bridge controls than it does when you are tired and doing circles in the wind and current. After 10 mins we called again and were told they would open as soon as the train goes by. What seemed like an eternity later the train came by and we lined up to go thru, but the damn bridge still didn’t open. We waited another 10 mins. then we called to find out what the problem was when we saw the train returning back over the bridge. Finally, it opened and we all went thru. Now, only 5 more miles to go to the Farley Marina. The rest of the trip was uneventful, and in spite of the high winds we made it into our slips without any embarrassments. Looking forward to a good night’s rest, we were welcomed by the live music from the waterfront bar at the Golden Nugget Casino, which was so loud, it made the boat vibrate.

LEAVING CAPE MAY
MILES OF MARSHLAND

THE JERSEY SHORE FROM THE BAYSIDE

NO MORE MARSHLAND

MILES OF DEVELOPMENT

THE TROUBLESOME ALBANY AV BRIDGE

THE GOLDEN NUGGET CASINO & MARINA

Day 332: Thursday, June 14, 2012

Today we shared a cab with Sid and Evelyn to take us to the famous Atlantic City Board Walk. We hadn’t been there in 40 years and has it ever changed. The casinos are huge and dominate the board walk now. None of us are gamblers so we just walked the boards and took in the sights. We all had lunch at this neat deli called “Pickles”. The sandwiches were huge and reminiscent of the old Jewish delis in Brooklyn. The sandwiches were $14.95 which seemed very expensive, but we estimated that each one had about 3 lbs. of meat in it. They also served a bowl of pickles with it, and we split one sandwich. After a couple of hours walking Evelyn and I discovered a huge outlet mall just two blocks away. This was a lot more exciting than any casino. We had fun reacquainting ourselves with some great main line stores. We were able to get in touch with Julaine and Fred, and met them for dinner at Longhorns. The 6 of us had a great time after which we found the bus stop, (no easy task) for the trip back to the Golden Nugget. We were a tired but happy group.

Day 333: Friday, June 15, 2012

Today we hung out on the boat doing chores. Evelyn and Sid invited us and Fred and Julaine over for dinner on their boat. Dinner was spectacular, a delicious ham and bean hearty soup with crusty bread and salad followed with homemade brownies. Some of the best times are had just hanging around on each other’s boats, and this was one of them. Tomorrow the 6 of us are going to rent a car and drive to New York City.

Day 334: Saturday, June 16, 2012

At 07:00 we all left the marina in the rental car for Liberty Landing and cheap all day parking. We took the ferry to the Statue of Liberty where we met Jackie, Josh & Dave, and spent the day touring the Statue and then Ellis Island. Jackie and family had to leave at 2:00 so we took the ferry over to Manhattan where we met up with Evelyn & Sid, and Julaine & Fred, and toured the World Trade Center Ground Zero. It was a very busy day with so much to see that to describe it would require pages, so we will let the pics speak for themselves.