Ocean City, NJ, Part 8

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Today was our last full day here and it was very full. When we awoke at 8 a.m., it was pouring hard. We immediately went into rainy-day-at-the-beach mindset, but by 8:45 when we finished breakfast, the rain had stopped and the puddles were beginning to disappear from the brisk breeze that was blowing through town. At 9:15 a.m., I decided to take my chances biking and Jessica said she and the girls would join me once they dressed. Then, Alex and Jessica presented Sami, Izzy, Saul and me with gifts they had specially prepared for us yesterday, red embroidered tee shirt coverups that said Camp Bubbie and Saba Camper and Camp Bubbie and Saba Staff. We posed in them for photos on the porch and we can’t wait to wear them to Beachcombers when we return home. At 10 a.m., as we were preparing to leave, we heard distant thunder and Jess told the girls to change into bathing suits to go to the indoor pool at the gym. Saul and I decided we would take a drive into Atlantic City and check out the Borgata Casino, which we had not yet seen. We changed into nicer clothes and Saul sat down to wind up the computer work he had begun, thinking we were going biking, and finished up I.M.ing with Ari. By then, it was past 10:30 a.m. and, lo and behold, the weather had changed yet again into a bright, cool, windy, sunny day. I couldn’t bear the thought of wasting our last nice beach day sitting in a dark casino and I was annoyed that every plan had been thwarted by everyone’s indecision about what to do until almost the whole morning had disappeared. I changed out of my nice clothes into a bathing suit and cover up and headed to the beach by myself. I figured whoever wanted to join me would get their act together, and eventually, everyone did find their way down. Jessica couldn’t believe that it turned out to be one of the best beach days of all. The breeze was so strong that both kites went up without the slightest effort. We also sculpted sand around the girls and photographed them as mermaids.

Alex went back a little early and prepared a delicious tofu and veggie curry over couscous for lunch which we followed with our leftover ice cream sandwiches. After this late lunch, Saul and I decided to spend a couple of hours at the Borgata anyway. The drive was very enjoyable on such a beautiful day. We parked in their $5 garage, circumnavigated and checked out all the restaurants that surround the casino floor and viewed all the Chihuly glass that adorns the place. Then we lost about $15 in the nickel slot machines. The slot machines kept rejecting our dollar bills until we figured out that they only took denominations above $5. We missed the sound of actual coins falling into the metal trays. The hi-tech electronic machines are wickedly complicated and take all the excitement out of winning as far as we were concerned. But, casinos would all go out of business if they depended on people like us to stay in business.

At 6 p.m. we left the casino and at 6:30 we pulled into the parking lot of The Crab Trap thinking we would put our names in for a table and wait for the kids to join us. When we saw the crowds waiting outside for a table, we immediately headed over the 9th Street Bridge (which was open this time) to make other plans for dinner. Jess and Alex had promised the girls that they would take them up on the boardwalk this last evening to let them select non-living (no hermit crabs) souvenirs of their vacation here this summer. We eventually had dinner at Ma France Creperie again, which proved to be satisfyingly consistent. The owner greeted us warmly and seated us at the satin-pillow-lined banquette in the window again. During dinner, Larry Shipper called and invited us to his home for Shabbat dinner tomorrow evening. This eliminates the worry of how to get everything packed up and unpacked tomorrow and still get dinner on the table. We are also excited about the rare prospect of spending the evening with Larry’s sister Susan and her husband Ted. They vacationed with us in Hawaii last summer and the girls still remember Ted’s pocket kite and magic tricks at Sunday brunch at the Princeville Hotel on Kauai.

After dinner, Jess and Alex walked with the girls up to the boardwalk, while Saul and I drove home. I can’t wait to see what they chose as their souvenirs of this summer’s vacation.