More Atlantic City, New Jersey

Upon leaving The Absecon Lighthouse, we headed toward one of those $5 casino parking lots and along the way found this house proudly displaying the Monopoly card for Oriental Avenue.

We parked at Caesar's and took a picture of him.

Then we headed out to The Boardwalk.

Marlon greeted the world from Atlantic City.

We watched the rolling chairs rolling down The Boardwalk, mostly empty.

We found that the fancy hotel casinos were often surrounded by not-so-fancy dwellings.

When it appeared to be turning stormy, the chair rollers got the rolling chairs ready for the weather.

We never saw any of the Atlantic City Boardwalk Cats, which is just as well as we may have ended up taking one home.

The sky quickly went from looking pretty clear...

to somewhat scary.

Next we headed to the Steel Pier just in time for the weather to hit.

Most of the rides were still going as we entered the pier.

But quickly came to a halt as the rain whipped up and the wind grew rather strong.

The view of The Boardwalk during the rainstorm was pretty neat.

Doug got a little wet prior to losing all of $5 in a slot machine.

The Resorts Hotel and Casino was the first legal casino in the eastern part of the United States when it opened on May 26, 1978.

It features the Entrance to the Stars. Atlantic City's version of Hollywood's Walk of Fame showcases handprints of many well-known celebrities...here is one...

and here is another.

On our way back to Holly Acres RV Park, we needed to watch out for tractors.

Before we left for New York, we took a swim.

For more pictures, go to http://public.fotki.com/Marlonfleenor/1/2008/june/atlantic-city-nj/ pictures 181-239.

To be continued...

Atlantic City Historical Museum, The Boardwalk & Absecon Lighthouse

Next we headed back into Atlantic City to see the Atlantic City Historical Museum and its exhibit "Atlantic City, Playground of the Nation". The Museum is located on The Garden Pier.

A statue of Mr. Peanut greets guests as a reminder of the Mr. Peanut who strolled The Boardwalk entertaining visitors in years past.

Long before 1978, when the casino industry was born in Atlantic City, the resort city's 500 Club was known for its entertainment. Frequent performer Dean Martin first paired up there with Jerry Lewis.

Monopoly, the game which features the streets of Atlantic City, began being mass-produced in 1934 but its history actually dates back to the turn of the century. Charles Darrow has historically been credited with creating the game, but modern historians consider Darrow one of the game's final "developers".

One of Atlantic City's even earlier claims to fame started with the 1921 Miss America Pageant. The pageant was an annual occurrence until it moved to Las Vegas nearly 85 years later in 2006.

The ever-popular rolling chairs of Atlantic City, human-powered taxis, have an even earlier origin than the Miss America Pageant. The rolling chairs began rolling down The Boardwalk in the 1800's.

Next it was time to take a brief gander down The Boardwalk.

The Steel Pier is basically an amusement park built on a pier and dates back to 1898! Unfortunately, like many such attractions around the country, The Steel Pier has been continually in danger of closing in favor of other development projects in recent years. We'll get a closer look a little later.

The Steel Pier sits in front of the Trump Taj Mahal.

The Boardwalk of Atlantic City is about 3 miles long and connects to the Ventnor/Margate boardwalk creating the world's longest boardwalk at 5.75 miles.

Next, we climbed these stairs to the top of the Absecon Lighthouse, just a few blocks from The Boardwalk.

The view from the top of the Absecon Light (as it is also known) takes in most of Atlantic City's skyline.

The Atlantic Ocean is just a stone's throw away.

The lighthouse first lit in 1857 and then deactivated in 1933, a few years prior to Marlon's birth.

Although the light DOES still shine every night, it is no longer an active navigational aid.

Here's a view looking up into the light.

The Absecon holds the claim as the most-visited lighthouse in America.

Doug waves to everyone who wondered if he would be able to climb the 228 steps of New Jersey's tallest lighthouse.

In 1878, a life boat station was located at the base of the Absecon Lighthouse.

See a view from the top in the second half of this video.

For more pictures, go to http://public.fotki.com/Marlonfleenor/1/2008/june/atlantic-city-nj/ pictures 104-180.

To be continued...

Peterson's Garage, Milk Jug Flag & Lucy the Elephant, New Jersey

This morning we headed to a few offbeat places.

First, we visited Peterson's Garage in Egg Harbor City, New Jersey.

Here we browsed through Owner Tom Peterson's collection of sculptures fabricated from scrap metal and auto parts.

We found The Statue of Liberty in all her glory in anticipation of seeing the real deal soon.

The sculptures are fun to examine to figure out what exactly they are made out of.

There's even abundant wildlife here, such as dinosaurs and alligators.

A family of tin men stands guard at the front door of the business.

Photo albums inside the garage highlight many of Tom's sculptures, which he sells to collectors from near and far.

Here's a dog sculpture which doubles as a barbecue grill.

In the garage's waiting room, the chairs are made from old automobile seats.

As you drive around Egg Harbor City, you may some of Tom's creations in his neighbors' yards. We spotted an indian...

Captain Jack from Pirates of the Caribbean... and this couple waved as we drove by.

Next we headed out US 40 to Mays Landing and found this house which displays a flag made of over 1,000 milk jugs.

Then we headed to Margate where we found Lucy the Elephant, who has to be the world's oldest elephant.

Oldest and largest currently standing building shaped like an elephant, that is...

You enter Lucy the Elephant's legs to climb the stairs into what has served as a restaurant, a business office, a cottage and a tavern during various periods since Lucy's completion in 1882.

The interior of Lucy features high ceilings and ornate woodwork.

A group of concerned citizens saved Lucy from a scheduled demolition in 1970 and Lucy was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976.

See Lucy's interior in the first half of this video.

Margate Beach can now be seen from one of Lucy's eyes.

Visitors can learn all about Lucy's history by viewing photographs and newspaper articles on her main level. A video of her history is also played for everyone's viewing.

Visitors can then climb to the top of Lucy and look down on the surrounding community of Margate.

Lucy's garden even grows in the form of her name.

The stairs leading back down to the main level...

Lucy recently went to the beauty parlor and got her toes painted.

For more pictures, go to http://public.fotki.com/Marlonfleenor/1/2008/june/atlantic-city-nj/ pictures 1-103.

To be continued...