Atlantic City! -- Part 1

Raechel driving!

AC skyline as we drive in on the expressway

Our hotel, the Atlantic City Hilton

So two weekends ago, Raechel, Lindsay and I went to Atlantic City to celebrate Lindsay's 24th birthday, from Saturday morning to Sunday afternoon.  Raechel drove us, and we left at the crack of dawn on Saturday (well...9 am, but still).  It was a pretty fun ride, with a stop at Wawa to grab some of their grapes, cheese and crackers snacks.  We got to our hotel, the Hilton, right around lunchtime.  It was a really nice hotel, the typical ultra-fancy and ultra-luxurious lobby that all the casinos have.  Our room was pretty spacious, especially the bathroom, which is a big plus when you have 3 girls getting ready at the same time : )  So right away we hit the beach -- it wasn't too hot that weekend, only like 78 or so, so it wasn't the perfect beach day, but it was still relaxing and everything.  I managed not to get sunburned, woohoo! I always use the spray sunscreen, and I finally learned that I actually have to rub it in and around so that it reaches all the spots, or else I get random sunburned patches on my stomach, like what happened in Punta Cana.  We had lunch at one of the beachside bars at our hotel.  The frozen drinks were awesome, but the food was underwhelming -- we ordered hamburgers and sandwiches and stuff, but they came as boxed lunches, so they weren't fresh : (   After we got our fill of the beach, we packed up and walked along the boardwalk for awhile to check it out.  Since our hotel was all the way at the southern tip, we didn't get too far before having to turn back to get ready for dinner, but we explored the Tropicana a bit, and got some rock candy, ice cream, and chocolates.  Mmmm.

The beachside bar where we ate lunch on Saturday

The Atlantic City beach outside the Hilton!

Walking along the boardwalk

The restaurant we ate at Saturday night

The delicious birthday dessert

So we got back to the hotel around 5, thinking we had enough time to get ready before our dinner reservations at 6:30.  But with 3 girls getting ready with only 1 shower, 1 hairdryer (circa 1985), and 2 mirrors, there was no way that was happening. We all had brought like 3 different dresses, 3 different pairs of shoes, and tons of makeup and stuff so it was a dilemma trying to pick out the perfect outfit.  So we get all dressed up, because we went to the bars and clubs right after dinner.  However, we didn't realize the restaurant was sooo far down the boardwalk, like on the far northern tip, so I walked like 1.5 miles (each way!) in 3 inch heels on the boardwalk. By the end of the night I thought my feet were going to be permanently stuck in that position.  So we had dinner at this place called Megan's Good Grub & Pub, which was actually somewhat fancy, except Raechel and I didn't really like any of the entrees, so we both got burgers.  We were eating at the tables outside, and at one point this homeless man came up to our table and was being very aggressive and confrontational. So we called over one of the waiters, and he handled the homeless guy for us : )  It was also pretty chilly that night, so we were all kind of freezing during dinner.  This place had the tiniest french fries I have ever seen, they were so small it was hard to pick them up with your fingers.  At the end of dinner, Raechel "surprised" Lindsay with a birthday dessert -- a warm brownie with vanilla icecream.  Sooo good.