Three of my sisters still live in South Jersey where we all enjoy a special life away from large cities and busy highways. We are quite thankful that we can visit the shore whenever we want. Occasionally we might have to deal with threatening hurricanes but it never has been too worrisome. South Jersey still has rural areas and farms although I am not sure how much longer we will hold onto this peaceable life-style.
One sister managed to make a new life for herself in Charlotte, North Carolina. That city is several hours from the ocean so most people in Charlotte do not consider a hurricane as a threat until this year with Hurricane Florence. I had been considering a train trip to the South to visit my youngest sister but things changed. Suddenly my sister was on a flight and filled with a good number of escapees from the bad weather. She described a somewhat turbulent flight. One escapee was on her first flight ever and my sister offered to hold her hand. She wound up holding the woman's hand for the whole trip as they headed to Philadelphia. We heard of an offer for those who were escaping the hurricane from Ocean Resorts Hotel and Casino. They offered free rooms but they quickly filled up but after three days they continued the offer and my sister was able to book a room for us for three days. So my sister stayed with me, until she got her ocean view room at the resort. We had family pizza parties, new grand-nephew meet-up, movie night, a shopping day, yard sale day and viewed a fantastic local theater production. Eagle Theater presented Noir in Hammonton, New Jersey, our hometown.
Finally we arrived at the Ocean Resort Hotel and Casino. It was obvious not all of the guests were on "vacation". Pets were welcomed and we were delighted to see so many families with their dogs. We did not see one bad pet behavior display. Originally this resort was named the Revel and I was so impressed with the building that I had taken some beautiful photos of the building on the opening day in 2012. I was so sad to see it struggle and then it finally closed. So I am sending my best wishes for a long successful run with the new management and ownership. A good number of shops have yet to open but there were plenty of food venues including a food truck inside the building. The greeting staff could not have been more welcoming to all. The vastness of the complex did take some time to see all that was offered. We explored the facility, met many interesting people and enjoyed some of the last summery days at the shore.
My son had not planned on meeting up with us but he knew we were at the hotel and I saw a fellow at a slot machine who looked a lot like my son. He was sporting a blazer as my son often does. So I was making furtive glances checking out the guy and all of a sudden he shouts out, "Mom!".......no, it was not my son because by now I had looked full on to him. I never figured it out...maybe I was using "mom" body language or maybe I really did look like his mother. I started to apologize and told him that he looked so much like my son....He responded with, "I bet your son is good-looking and I said , "yes", he is! ".... I quickly exited with my embarrassment.
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This is a north side view from the Ocean Resort. The Absecon Lighthouse seems rather short from our 17th floor window but it really is not. It is a coastal lighthouse located in the north end of Atlantic City, New Jersey, overlooking Absecon Inlet. At 171 feet it is the tallest lighthouse in the state of New Jersey and is the third-tallest masonry lighthouse in the United States. Construction began in 1854, with the light first lit on January 15, 1857. The lighthouse was deactivated in 1933.
We enjoyed the sailboats, the fishing trawlers and the far view of anglers fishing on the other side of the inlet at the Brigantine Beach. The last time I visited the beach at the inlet we watched church members participating in baptism in the ocean waters.
This is just one of the cute dogs at the Ocean Resort Casino and Hotel:
It is a nothing as many remember it, but the
Steel Pier is in the background of the photo:
https://steelpier.com/
For eight dollars we were able to purchase an all-day pass on the tram that takes you from the Ocean Resort to the most southern casino, the Tropicana. On Wednesday we planned a visit to Boardwalk Hall to attend a free tour called "Behind the Scenes" featuring the historic pipe organ that is being restored. The tour is offered every Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. This in-depth 2 hour tour leads guests through several sections of the organ which are normally closed to the public and gives an extremely detailed look at the mechanism of the instrument, its history and the current restoration project. This tour does involve an extensive amount of walking and stair climbing. An alternate tour path is available for persons with limited mobility. The tour is followed by a 1/2 hour concert. All tours are free and open to the public and no reservations are necessary. Entrance to the building is through the front lobby off the boardwalk. Although the tour featured the organ restoration and a visit to the restoration shop. You also learned so much about the Boardwalk Hall itself.
https://www.boardwalkorgans.org/
http://www.boardwalkhall.com/
Restoration shop:
The murals below are above the stage on Boardwalk Hall. They depict sea-themes but even though we were told the name of the artist, I have forgotten his name. I have not had good luck in researching this. The artwork was probably completed in 1929. .....the Hungarian artist was William Pogany.
Rudy Lucente was the organist who played for us on the tour. I remember being invited to sit at the Wanamaker's organ a few years back when Rudy was playing there. He belongs to an organists quartet and performs in the Philadelphia Area.
This is part of the tallest pipe of the organ.....64 feet as it says----a very deep low sound:
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