Our trip to Atlantic City started on a Saturday. We got an early start and drove to Tuckerton, New Jersey, where we saw the Tuckerton Seaport. Here we took a self–guided tour that allows you to enjoy a detailed experience of the seaport.
We saw the recreated maritime village ending with the Tucker’s Island Lighthouse. Each building depicted the different trades of the baymen, those industrious people who made their living in and around the Tuckerton area. We stepped back in time to a place where men and women lived and worked, on and by the water, their lives being dependent on the sea.
(Courtesy of Marty Rubenstein)
From here, we went to the Atlantic City Aquarium. This is a historic basin waterfront park. There were 17 aquarium tanks and nearly 50,000 gallons of water in and around the basin. Also, there was a 25,000-gallon tank featuring fish of the New Jersey Coast, including sharks.
The aquarium consisted of three floors with artifacts and computers filled with information. There were also diving helmets and equipment from notable collectors.
From there, we were off to the Marine Mammal Stranding Center. Here we learned how they rescue, rehabilitate and release marine life.
Inside the stranding center, they showed us pictures of three different seals that were brought in for one reason or another. There was a baby gray seal that suffered from an extreme act of malicious intent, while another was brought in because of shark bites, and still another with an eye infection. When they first arrive, they are treated by a vet, then placed in an individual pen and, finally, into the pool where the animals are reacquainted to life in the sea, before their release. After we finished our visit, we went back to our place for the night.
Sunday was a lovely day. We decided to go to Wildwood, New Jersey, as we heard so much about it.
Before I go and tell you about how beautiful Wildwood was, we must tell you about the Silver Bullet. This was a speedboat and an actual thrill from start to finish. If you know how it feels to be a racecar driver, then you will just begin to experience the Silver Bullet.
We also got to see dolphins, as the captain expertly spotted them. Everyone on the boat watched the dolphins play, glide and cavort alongside the Silver Bullet. The captain supposedly gave us a special treat, and being that it was a speedboat, we should have expected it, but, we didn’t — the captain zigzagged the boat and, of course, that created a huge wave of water that covered everyone in the boat and not only the people in the back. Everyone! Water was splashing everywhere, and I do mean everywhere! We were sitting almost halfway, and we got drenched. It was a pure delight, and I loved it. The trip lasted about 1.5 hours, but it will be an experience not easily forgotten.
Once the boat got back and docked, we took a nice long walk on the boardwalk in Wildwood. Wildwood is like what Atlantic City was 35 or 40 years ago. There was much action going on the boardwalk and different stores to browse in. There are many games on the boardwalk and something for everyone.
Since it was growing late, it was back to the motel in Atlantic City.
Monday we were on the road to Cape May. This was more than an hour ride on the ferry that brought us to Delaware. Once here, we had the option of taking any one of two tours. Each tour is by bus, but one tour is to the historic district, while the other goes to the streets with many outlets. We took the historic tour where the bus takes you to the historic district and you can then wander the streets at your leisure. You can return at anytime with the understanding that the bus goes at specific times and the ferry departs on others.
We had a fun-filled day, and once we boarded the ferry for our return ride to Cape May, we were so exhausted, we just slept for the return trip. When we returned to our car, we traveled the entire length of the streets that bordered the water. At the very end, there was a small boardwalk, so we parked our car and walked it. We did some more browsing and then rode back to our motel.
Tuesday came by so quickly. It seemed that we barely got any sleep. Since the weather was so hot and steamy, we both decided that this would be our last full day in Atlantic City, so we were prepared to get out and do some “gaming,” and then go to the Gardens Basin (where the aquarium was located) and take a dolphin watch cruise.
In the morning hours, we went to the far end of the boardwalk where there were casinos bunched together. I think we visited them all and had such a good time that we thought we would miss our dolphin watch on the boat called Cruisin 1. Glad we didn’t, as this ride proved fruitful. We saw more dolphins then you can count on your fingers. There were more on this trip then we saw on the Silver Bullet. Once again, we saw them frolicking around and playing. They followed our boat for quite some time, and we loved seeing them ride the waves. True, we had our cameras, but we were content to watch them through our eyes. This was supposed to be a 1.5-hour ride, but ended up a little longer as the captain kept on finding more of them. Well, like all good things, it came to an end, but this dolphin watch trip and the Silver Bullet are two trips that will remain in our minds for a long time to come.
We still had several hours left before night and when we would turn in, so it was back to the boardwalk, and this time we tried our luck at the casino at the other end. Still no luck, so we just browsed around and then went back to our motel to get ready to leave the following morning.
By Helene Rubenstein
Published June 3, 2015
