Energizer Bunny (Part II)
At 2:00 AM, we were asked to leave the pool area and it was closing. Much of the group headed back to The Borgata for the next thumping club session. This is when I could hear the cushy bed in my room calling my name. I bid farewell to the revelers and with dreams of snugly crawling my party-beaten body under a heavy comforter. After moving the large leather (yes, leather) throw pillows out of the way, I was off to dreamland.
Some time later, in came Jennifer and Bindu with what they thought was good news. I’d have the whole bed to myself since Holly was crashing with our friend Meghann next door. Not to be too much of a ‘guy’ here, but having a bed all to myself was not high on my priority list. A little while later, in comes Holly. Bounding once again like the energizer bunny that she is. She was locked out of Meghann’s room.
Try as we might, no one could wake Meghann, but that was OK as Holly kept us entertained. There were tales of some Greek guy whose hat she had stolen and fries she had eaten. Every so often, she would leap out of the bed, head into the bathroom only to emerge with a toothbrush asking, “Is this my toothbrush?” To which one of us would answer, “No Holly, that’s mine. Yours is next door.”
There was more bouncing (mostly Holly on top of Jennifer) and laughing. There were concerns for the large quantities of chocolate now stranded next door. At one point, I laughed and heard Bindu from the other side of the room, “Oh poor Stephen was sleeping and now he’s awake.” But really, I didn’t mind. This was like watching a sitcom unravel right before my eyes. Besides, I had gotten in a good two-hour power nap, so I was fine.
A couple more choruses of ‘is this my toothbrush’ and ‘oh that Greek guy with the fires’ and it was back off to dreamland.
Early(ish) to Rise
I woke up to find dawn had passed many hours before. It was 10:30 and I jumped in the shower while my roomies slept. Then it was down to the pool to see who else was awake. There among the other brave early(ish) risers was Stephanie looking all Garbo on her lounge.
By now it was after 11:00 and I decided to rustle up some morning grub the best way I knew how. By tracking down the nearest Starbucks. Luckily, The Borgata being a venerable clusterfuck of food stimuli, the chances of finding a Starbucks were pretty damned good. My phone rang. It was Courtney. The night before, we talked about hitting the boardwalk because what is a visit to Atlantic City without it?
On the Boardwalk
After our breakfast–mine consisted of a Chai Latte and an oatmeal cookie–we were off to find the bus to the boardwalk. Our hotel was on the still desolate side of town save the cool, eco-friendly windmills and typically gawdy Trump Marina. So transportation to the ‘real’ A.C. was needed.
I’m not one for the fit-inducing lights and noises of the casino. My nerves get all unhinged from the clatter of money-sucking machines mixed frantically with the desperation of pushy, drunk, smoking gamblers. However, I can deal with the bustling of this boardwalk. Games of chance, rides, peddlers of all sorts, salty beach wind and today the bonus of a Puerto Rican pride parade.
Loud music, boisterous dancers (some with bells on their pant legs) and bright colors paraded down the center of the boardwalk. Police sirens escorts alerted the tourist hoards to grab their cameras (including me). Sure, this display paled in comparison to NYC’s annual party, but pride is pride. I am fascinated by the celebrations of heritage. No matter if I relate to the culture or not, it is a vivid reminder of the American melting pot.
The sun was in and out as was the rain drops and lunch consisted of a couple of corndogs. We could not resist the need for some bad, fried food. Courtney also had a candy apple and I munched on some butter-rific popcorn. Standing on the famous Steel Pier where horses used to be forced to jump from high into a shallow pool of water, we contemplated taking a helicopter ride. But time was tight and we had to get back to check out of the hotel with our group.
