Our New Jersey Road Trip begins
Not all family road trips turn out the way you hope they will. Sometimes it turns out way better than you could have ever imagined, and sometimes it could be a total nightmare. In the case of our New Jersey road trip to Atlantic City, it was a total disappointment. #survivingadventures
Summer is almost over so David and I wanted to plan something that we could do as a family. My mother and brothers will be coming up for Labor Day weekend, so David put in some leave to hang out with them as well as have some time off for just us. We decided we would go down to New Jersey and enjoy the beach, local sites, as well as charter a boat to go fishing on the bay. It is still almost 3 weeks away and the weather looks promising showing that Sunday won’t be raining. We chose Sunday, September 9, 2018, because this was the time that was available for the charter boat that we found close to our hotel.
Today is the day that we start our road trip. Instead of going down towards Philadelphia, we took an alternate route heading towards New York City. We drove around and explored on the way to the hotel enjoying the sites and comparing the architecture. When we got to the hotel I have to say that I was very disappointed.
Despite being almost 3 weeks out, hotel rooms were already pricey, especially by the beach. Needless to say, I chose one right on the bay that seemed to have a nice laid-out room that looked clean and welcoming. I did not see what our original room would look like because I requested one facing the bay which they said they would normally charge extra but would give to us this time with no extra charge. Wow. The pictures online were a far cry from the room that we got. Yes the beds were newly made, yes there were two beds, and everything else promised but…..it was incredibly rundown.
Despite this, we decided to go outside and enjoy what sunshine there was because it turns out that despite the weather forecast when we planned this road trip, mother nature had other plans for the rest of the weekend. Before we booked our guided fishing trip on Sunday, we were warned that we would be out on the water rain or shine. The only thing that would stop this would be if there were strong winds and/or the weather was extremely bad.
We had fun!
Lillian was ecstatic to be able to frolic in the bay and find new treasures. David was having a blast flying his new drone, while I was finding it peaceful just helping Lily find hermit crabs, and Gabe just played in the water. Around this time, we found a family with a net just catching little fish for bait for their fishing trip the next day. This was really fun for the kids because they enjoyed helping them collect what fish they caught and placing it in their bucket. Despite the long day and how hungry we were, we did not want to leave the beach. We wanted to stay and play, but it was already almost 7 p.m. and we did not eat lunch during the long drive. It was time for dinner.
Dinner
We decided to go to the boardwalk for dinner which was about 4 miles down the road from our hotel. We were able to find parking close by for $8 for a few hours right by Caesars’ Palace, and the Rain Café. We were kind of alarmed though because, during the last mile drive to the parking lot, we saw at least half a dozen police squad cars driving around. Then when we were parking, one was patrolling by us!
Souza sushi bar
The first place that we stopped at was Souza sushi bar because the kids are California roll fanatics. This place is in a shopping center right by the beach on the 3rd floor. I wasn’t really feeling like having rolls for dinner, so we compromised. The kids and David would have a snack there, then we would walk down the boardwalk and look for something else. We changed our mind more than halfway down, because at 8 p.m. on a Friday night, most of the stores and restaurants seemed to be closed! We decided to head over to The Rain Café because we passed by it on the way to the shopping center and it was still open.
The Rain Café. MEH
Parents with small children, BEWARE! Once you enter this place the first thing that will greet you is their souvenir/toy store. I must also warn those of you who do not like animatronics, and loud noises that this might not be the place for you. Once you walk in there is a tree with a face on it whose eyes will move. I am giving you a warning because this startled my kids and me since we were so not expecting it. There are fake trees throughout the restaurant, animatronic butterflies, elephants, birds, and monkeys. I am sure there was more but that is all I really paid attention to.
The entire time we were there, the background music was way too loud that we couldn’t talk to each other without yelling. The sound effects get really annoying after a little bit, and the service was slow.
We ordered:
David- nachos
Gabe- pizza and mac n cheese from the kids menu
Lily- chicken nuggets
Me- an almost jambalaya
This place was less than half full, yet it took 50 minutes for our order to get to us! When it did get to us and Lily was asking for ketchup, David tried asking one of the waiters that walked by our table who proceeded to completely ignore us! We couldn’t ask our waiter because we didn’t see him. Needless to say, this is one of those places that we can say been there, done that, and never going back.
Saturday, September 8th, looking outside it does not look very promising. The skies are dark, and the winds are blowing. The weather channel said it would be raining for the rest of the weekend and into the next week. BOO!!!! Do you know what my youngest said? “Mom, come on let’s go outside and play in the sand!”
New Jersey
We wound up getting breakfast and spending maybe 30 minutes on the beach before deciding to see what else was around the area. I happened to look in their local events magazine and saw that they were having a seafood festival this weekend. It looked promising, so we decided to go. The tickets were $10 each plus fees for ordering them on Everbrite. Lol, got the tickets there because it said we could save time, thinking that there would be A LOT of people there.
Before we went to the festival we had decided to make a quick stop at Bass Pro shop and get some Froggtoggs to wear since it was already sprinkling and getting cold. Good thing we did! Parking at the festival was $10 and we were a distance down from the entrance. What was amusing to me was that people that bought advance tickets had a longer and slower line than those that we’re buying the tickets right there. They also didn’t have to pay the additional processing fee per ticket!
The festival was ok for the most part. It would probably have been awesome if the weather was cooperating. Right by the entrance was the chainsaw carver competitors. These were very nice considering it is difficult to draw a lifelike picture of a bear, let alone carve one with a chainsaw! I was a bad photographer because I didn’t take any pictures here. To be honest by this time I was just hungry and wanted to find something yummy to eat.
I think that if we had gone left rather than right, we might have found better food. Yes, there was some interesting and yummy food like the seared tuna, and the lobster bisque, but the biggest issue is that most of the vendors we approached only took cash! The kids did not want to eat anything, yet when we got to the seared shrimp kabobs they changed their minds. Those kabobs were pretty good too!
We wound up stopping at a vendor that sold Fish Tacos and Chicken Tacos. Right, when I ordered them, the skies opened up and it started raining. Luckily, we were able to find a table in a tent close by. That was the only good thing because when we finally got our food and started eating it, we realized that this was some of the worst fish/chicken tacos we had ever had the displeasure of trying! They had some sort of sweet sauce that they poured over everything and you don’t notice it until you are eating it. I tilted my taco and was amazed at how much was the sweet red sauce was pouring out! Bleh!
We left not long after that, having pretty much walked the whole venue. Despite it only being about 2 p.m., we were so done for the day. Lol, of course, Lily still wanted to go play in the water and dig up stuff. So while the boys stayed in the room, Lily and I explored the beach curious to see what treasures we could find with the tide being low.
Fishing Day Yay!
We woke up early the next morning to make sure that we had plenty of time to do what we needed before meeting Robert, the ship’s captain for our trip. The first thing we noticed is that the skies were even darker today than yesterday, it was raining, and very windy outside. Not long after that, we received a phone call from Robert letting us know that he doesn’t think that we will have fun out on the water or that we would catch anything. Robert gave us the option to decide whether we wanted to take the chance or call it quits for now.
Despite how much David really wanted to get out there, he agreed with Robert. So no fishing today. Ugh. So this is when we decided to make an impromptu road trip to New York. Mind you, this would be about 1hr and 45-minute drive, but it was someplace different so I said ok let’s go. Before we left this city though, we stopped at the local Asian Market because I need some essentials. Like snacks for our road trip and ingredients for future meals!
5 minutes in New York
Despite the snacks we had on hand, David did not want any of them. He wanted some New York Pizza! We were trying to go to B&H right in the city and there was a pizzeria close by. Since this was our first time here, we did not realize that we would be going through the Lincoln Tunnel, or that it would cost $15! Good thing I had cash on me.
So it was when we came out of the tunnel that we discovered that this store was closed because I took my phone and called their office. They were closed for the holiday despite their website saying they are open on Sundays. To say this news was upsetting is an understatement. Then to pour salt in an open wound, as we tried to find a spot to park to find PIZZA at least, we took a wrong turn right back into the Lincoln Tunnel!
Tired, hungry, and very upset, we tried to find a new pizza place close by in New Jersey. Well, we found it pretty fast, the problem was trying to find a place to park.
Oh my Lord! We wound up finding a parking garage by the docks looking at the New York skyline. Far away from that pizzeria. Parking for Saturday and Sundays is a flat fee of $30!!!! We decided to just park there and find pizza close by as well as take a potty break.
It is raining, cold, and Gabe needs to use the bathroom. The pizzeria we find only has outside seating in the cold, with a little bit of shelter from the rain, and no bathroom. Soooo we turn around and look for one finally just going into an apartment complex and asking the receptionist there. This person very reluctantly shows him where he can go because she was in trouble the last time she helped someone. Ugh.
The Turning Point
You know it wasn’t until I was writing this post that I realized how appropriate the name of this restaurant is. This place really was the turning point for us. We were definitely at our lowest point, suffering one disaster after another on this epically failed weekend when we came here. You know what though? The atmosphere here was very warm, calming, and friendly.
The menu options were mouthwatering, and very hard to choose from. Well at least on the adult’s part. Gabe chose the volcano french toast as soon as he found it, and Lily her grilled cheese sandwich. I didn’t know what I wanted but I decided to just try the Wilbur Skittle while David had some type of Eggs Benedict. Of course, when we saw the Bacon Lollipop we had to try that!
Bacon Lollipop
This appetizer WAS AMAZING! I would have never thought to make this combination but it works amazingly well! This was made of pieces of dehydrated apple wrapped with smoked bacon, sprinkled with cinnamon. These sticks were all stuck in an apple for presentation on a plate of cinnamon and caramel. YUM!
In fact, all of the food was amazing! The service all around was fantastic! Our waitress was very friendly, fast and efficient. Our order from the time they took it, to the time it was delivered felt like it was done in under 20 minutes. Everything we ordered which included our meals, appetizer, drinks all came to about $50! We were so happy with this place for not only the amazing food and service but for giving a much-needed bright side to our day.
Mistakes made and what we learned.
- Booking hotel because of proximity to the bay, and price. The hotel I booked was right on the water, and about $150 a night compared to others that were $300 and up. I don’t know what made me look at Atlantic City to visit, but if I were to do it again I would stay away from this place. It feels very rundown and dangerous considering how many police and sheriffs vehicles we saw during our brief stay there.
- Going to the Rain Cafe for dinner. We should have turned around after first realizing how loud, and crazy it was in here. Know your comfort zones. When we first came in and the noise got irritating, we should have left.
- Knowing what we do now about the SeaFood festival, I would have purchased the tickets at the door, but since we have never been here, we could not have known how big this event would have been. Not to mention it was wet outside. Also, we learned that it is imperative to keep cash on hand at all times. I had some, but just to pay for tolls because I assumed that the vendors would take cards. Never assume! Be prepared!!!!
- If you plan on going someplace, even spur of the moment, verify this with your spouse/partner. This way you could make sure that the place you are going to is open, and you can plan accordingly.
- Never go to New York without having a complete idea of how to get in or out. Like with the Lincoln Tunnel, this costs $15 to go in and took us less than 5 minutes to find our way stuck on the way out because we took a wrong turn.
Conclusion
Road trips are the adventure in themselves. The destination is just the icing on the cake. Sometimes planning only goes so far, you have got to be flexible and wing it sometimes. You never know what is right around that corner.
