Saturday 11 June 2011

Life's a Beach

For the past few days we've been relaxing in the all-American suburbia of Egg Harbor Township, and visiting various beaches and towns nearby. On Tuesday we met up with some of Maryann's friends and drove to Ocean City beach, 10 minutes away from EHT. As it's still early in the season there weren't too many guidos (much to Dex's disappointment) but we still managed to engage in guido-esque activites: namely sunbathing, eating cheese fries and walking along the shoreline showing off our amazing pecs.

Speaking of cheese fries, Dex was also shown around the OC boardwalk: a long stretch of ice cream shops, pizzerias, and arcades that attract tourists (known as 'shoobies' in NJ) and locals alike. There Dex also got to experience ridiculous American size proportions of funnel cake and pizza. OC is a traditional seaside town, reminiscent in places to Bournemouth in the UK.

The Boardwalk in Ocean City

Touristy photo of OC Boardwalk

Later on in the week, Maryann showed Dex Atlantic City's beach, close to OC yet very different. Whereas OC seems very family-oriented (alcohol is banned within the city limits, for example (!!!)), Atlantic City caters firmly towards the Casino crowds. The vista is dominated by high-rise casino-hotels, such as Trump Marina, Tropicana and the Hilton. These casinos aren't the seedy affairs like they are in Britain, they are practically small cities in their own right, with shops, restaurants, spas, clubs and of course gaming floors. It is interesting how two cities can be so close yet so radically different.

Atlantic City beach, with the towering casinos on the horizon.

Tonight we'll be heading to a Deep Purple concert at one of the AC casinos, so more news to come!




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