Marge and I just got back from my birthday trip to the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City. We ate at the Boardwalk Buffet which featured the best prime rib I’ve ever tasted. The crab legs, clams, mussels, roasted red peppers, mushrooms and desserts were also excellent. Our room was on the 31^st floor and looked out over the ocean. It was beautiful! We watched the sun set and then went to the casino. We lost thirty dollars on a 25 cent slot machine in less than 30 minutes. We were tempted to continue betting the machine but changed our minds.

We decided to walk around. We visited the ballrooms and the theatre. The ballrooms were large and luxurious. We tried to imagine what it would be like to hold an event in one of them. We agreed it would be fabulous. We also walked through the Rainforest Café which was pretty amazing. It’s described as the world’s largest indoor rain forest. We promised to return with the grand kids. We made the mistake of walking through the casino’s smoking section. Turns out the indoor smoking ban in NJ, as it applies to AC casinos, was turned over due to the struggling economy. It reminded me of being in the smoker’s car of the Long Island Rail Road years ago. Pretty brutal. See related story here.

Although we agreed it was a nice way to celebrate my 50^th birthday, we also agreed that there’s a sadness and despair that permeates many of the places in Atlantic City that we explored. Also, we were both very tired the next day – it seemed almost as if we’d flown to and returned from Vegas or Florida. Maybe that’s just the cost of getting older. Overall we had a good time and we plan on doing it again as soon as we can. Next time we’ll catch a show and maybe take a stroll (and some pictures) along the boardwalk. You can review reviews from real people by clicking here.