There She Is

Monday, May 10, 2010 Road Junkies 0 Comments

EAST COAST ROAD TRIP, Chapter 10:
IN WHICH WE TAKE A SMALL CHANCE
  
Day 10: Atlantic City, NJ.  The decorator of the Sheraton Hotel in Atlantic City embraced a Miss America theme and pushed it to its limits. Why not? The address of the hotel is 2 Miss America Way.  In fact, the hotel boasts the world's largest collection of Miss America memorabilia.

On display in the lobby are the dresses and crowns (or replicas) from some past winners. Margaret Gorman was just 16 when she was named the first Miss America in 1922. Of course, she was wore a flapper dress. She won again the following year, the only contestant to win the title twice. When she almost won again in 1924, the rules were changed to prevent a winner from competing again.

Jean Bartel's long sleeved and form-fitting gown in 1943 was a reflection of war era fashion. Ms. Bartel is credited with introducing the scholarship program and establishing Miss America's wholesome, modern image.   space    space    space    space  
  
In addition to the gowns, many portraits of winners are scattered around the hotel, both in public areas and in guest rooms.

To give everyone the opportunity to have that special Miss America feeling, a statue of the venerable Bert Parks stands in the hotel gardens, waiting to crown any lady who happens by. Near his feet are some outdoor speakers. We thought it would be really cool if a switch on the sidewalk started playing Bert's "There She Is, Miss America" when someone stepped into place for a photo.

We couldn't leave Atlantic City without spending a little time in the casinos, mostly as observers. Watching people gamble and lose amounts of money they didn't look like they could afford to lose, especially at the table games, was a little depressing. We lost $4.00 on the slots, got bored, and quit.
  
Bird's eye view of people losing money
As part of our 37th anniversary celebration, we went to a performance of Le Grand Cirque, playing at the Tropicana. (Of course, no photography is allowed during the show, so we borrowed an image from the internet.)  It was entertaining enough, not in the league with Cirque du Soliel, but then the ticket prices were considerably lower than those for the famous Montreal group also.
  
Le Grande Cirque
Since it was our anniversary today, we decided to plant a couple of letterboxes to commemorate our visit to Atlantic City. One is going near the statue of Bert and is called, of course, "There She Is." The other will make its home in a park somewhere in the city and is called "Taking a Chance on Love."

Tomorrow we'll hit the road again, headed ever northward. We've enjoyed some cooler weather the last couple of days, as has the South. Long Island is likely to be our next stop-- unless we change our minds along the way.
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MONDAY, 10 MAY 2010