Not the best first trip...

Well we returned last night from our first trip to AC, a 4-day weekend. We stayed at the Residence Inn, Marriott, in Egg Harbor at the suggestion of a few members here. I appreciate that, it was a nice place, clean, new, reasonable, and close enough to all the attractions. Had it been a different time of year, we would have stayed ocean front (as we always do in Myrtle Beach), but with the weather, the beach just wasn%26#39;t the attraction. We were actually there for a cheer/dance competition at the Convention Center. I tried not to let the gloomy weather stain my opinion, but I just couldn%26#39;t shake it. It seemed...dingy, and I don%26#39;t know if we just happened to have one bad experience after another, but many of the people we came across were really quite rude. We%26#39;re from upstate NY, so we have our share of that ;) but we all left our long weekend with no intentions of returning to AC. Maybe some day we%26#39;ll have a reason to go back. I really expected to love it from what we%26#39;ve heard over the years, but for a mix of reasons, it just wasn%26#39;t %26#39;it%26#39; this first time.

Not the best first trip...

Sorry to hear things didn%26#39;t go well for you. If you%26#39;re not in the casinos you do need to know where in the city to go as there are still many old and blighted areas. There%26#39;s no excuse for rudeness if it was by employees in a tourist area. If it was from others that you bumped into unfortunately there%26#39;s not much to be done with that, some people are just that way and besides the residents, AC attracts thousands of people from different areas every day. At least the Residence Inn turned out being a good place for you to stay.

Not the best first trip...

I%26#39;m sorry, too, that your experience was not a good one.

I have a question for you that I%26#39;m not sure you can answer. I assume when you say a cheerleading competition you mean high school students? Do you have any idea who decided to hold such a competition in AC?

To jerrysnj, the rudeness seemed to be from people who worked in the area, not visitors. Everyone we ran into in Egg Harbor seemed very nice (restaurants, Joe Canal%26#39;s, etc.).

To FineMine, our group that was there to compete was teens to adults, but I would say 99% of the participants were children and teens. The group recently won in Myrtle Beach and could choose the site they went on to, and AC was closest to us, so I guess the organization chose AC.

I hate to have a sour taste in my mouth and as I said, maybe some day we%26#39;ll have a reason/opportunity to return and have a different feeling about it, but on a good note, someone mentioned seeing the light and water show at the Caesar Pier Shops, and we did enjoy that very much, enough to watch it twice ;)

We also had a horrible time finding parking, and not being familiar with the area, that became very frustrating very quickly and then all of a sudden we were on a road headed out of town! It%26#39;s funny now, but we were chuckling at the time ;) We ended up stopping at the visitor%26#39;s center on the AC Expressway (I think?) and the woman in there was very nice and had tons of info, she%26#39;s the one who told us to park in the Caesar%26#39;s garage and get a player%26#39;s card, even if we weren%26#39;t going to use it, and then we could park for $5 (not $20) and we actually ended up with several free parking tickets when we signed up for the player%26#39;s card. We should have stopped at the visitor%26#39;s center first!

Sorry you didn%26#39;t enjoy AC... but glad your hotel was nice and the lady at the information center was helpful.

Regarding holding high school competitions in AC, it%26#39;s common. NJ holds their annual Choral Concerts there every November for all NJ HS students who audition and are accepted. Is it right to have high school aged students, and their families, there? Ummmm I guess that%26#39;s up for debate, but I%26#39;m sure the hotels/casinos are all for it!

Sorry you didn%26#39;t enjoy AC, but I have been saying for years that unless you want to gamble AC is a terrible tourist destination. Most of the participants on this board are AC Advocates so I usually keep my thoughts to myself.

This was a lousy week to go, and I%26#39;m sorry you didn%26#39;t enjoy it.

If you have the opportunity to take a shorter trip, right in the middle of summer (on a beautiful day), I think you%26#39;ll have a different perspective.

I%26#39;ve been going since I was 10 years old (pre-gambling in AC) so I have a whole different, and probably highly romanticized view of the place. I do love to gamble, but I also find lots of peace looking out at the water and walking on that old boardwalk.

Anyway, I do hope your follow-up trip is better.

%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;I do love to gamble, but I also find lots of peace looking out at the water and walking on that old boardwalk.%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;

Me Too, especially after I lose my budget for the day. LOL

Bill