I know I said yesterday that it looked like it was going to be a nice beach day, and it did...until I got home and the skies opened. Hopefully you didn't have too bad a commute home last night.
I had a wonderful weekend in Atlantic City and Avalon. My tip to you if you're staying at a casino this summer: go early, check in and have them hold your bags. This way, you can beat all that Saturday summer traffic and still avail yourself of the casino's amenities. I did just that and got to work out at Caesar's fab gym (I was the only one there, which meant I could sing while running -- and no one would hear, I hope). I also laid by the pool and sipped on something that might or might not have been spiked with my lunch (I love drinks that have umbrellas in it). This was following by a quick shopping trip and pedicure, all before I even checked into the room -- which was fabulous. They just renovated the rooms in the Centurion tower. I was a little worried about getting stuck in a 'classic' cheeseball casino room, but these were elegant, tasteful, and my bathroom mirror had a TV in it -- can you say state of the art? It was also smack in the middle of the Boardwalk, which I appreciated. I think I will be going back to this one.
After a nice hot shower and some relaxation time (which may or may not have involved a cheesteak), I headed down to Avalon for my book signing. I hoped that I'd do well -- after all, the money was going to charity -- but I didn't expect to sell out. Yes, you read right -- I SOLD OUT. That's the first time something like that happened, and it couldn't have been for a better reason: money raised went to Brendan's Fund, which helps families who have a child undergoing cancer treatments.
It was wonderful talking to the people buying the book, many who were locals or had read about the book in paper. I gave one free copy out, to a young man who helped me carry the books to the signing, and when I saw him on the way back, he raved about the book -- he's all of I'd say 15 years old, so I'd say that it's a hit.
Special thanks to the Marple (sp?) family for stopping by. They live in Massachusetts and travel to the Jersey Shore for two weeks every year. They're also avid readers of this blog, and asked if they could take their picture with me (and hey Marples! Remember to email me that picture!) I've met 'fans' before, but that was really something special.
Then it was back to Atlantic City, battling Saturday night AC traffic (can you tell I'm itching for fall at the shore?) to get back to Caesar's and head down to the Chelsea to meet up with friends. I was disappointed when I was told that I couldn't sit at their pool bar because I wasn't a guest, but Chelsea Prime, now open, looked busy. So me and a friend headed down to the Trop for drinks at Firewaters (which has 50 beers on tap) where we witnessed an impromptu push up competition; then up to Adam Good Sports Bar where I guess I saw about 17 bachelorette parties and people drinking 40s -- yes, 40s, paper bags included.
Even with the doom and gloom predictions about Atlantic City, and shop owners in other shore towns telling me business has been slow most of the summer, the casinos were packed. I could barely get through the Caesar's gaming floor.
I was back in my room by midnight. It had been a long day, and I'm not much of a party girl anyway. When I threw open the curtains the next morning and looked onto the beach, I wished I could have stayed all day, but had to go home to get my dog. Good thing, too -- the weather turned rainy fast, and I was tucked in on my couch by the time the worst of the rain hit. It makes me long even more for fall -- I know a lot of people think of spring as the season of renewal, but for me, that's fall. Think about it: most of those hot, sticky days are over. Everyone's sort of back to a regular schedule, you're not rushing to and from the beach on weekends. And the weather is gorgeous. I know winter's not far behind, but on those hot sticky days, I'd rather have winter than summer. I guess that's why I'm a cold weather runner. As much as I loved lying on that pool deck and soaking up the sun, such a lovely non-humid summer day is rare. I'm looking forward to those gems coming in September.
On a sad note, a young man died on Saturday at the Pier at Caesars. I newspaper report says that he sat on the railing of the escalator and fell backwards, then down 40 feet. I've spent the last hour trying to figure out if I was there when it happened. I don't think I was, or else I would have seen something. Very sad. Please be careful on escalators.
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