OWL-DRAGON

Weekend Running

This weekend we were house guests in Ventnor NJ. Ventnor is a seaside community that shares the same island as Atlantic City. The other towns on the island are Margate and Longport.

It had been more than 40 years since I had been in Atlantic City. My parents took us to Atlantic City for vacation many times in the late 50's, early 60's. My memories were those fuzzy kid memories of salt air, sunburns, Steel Pier, and Ripley's.

On Saturday I went for an early morning run on the boardwalk that extends from Ventnor to the end of Atlantic City. Frankly I was surprised by how ugly Atlantic City is. I'm not talking about kitsch - I expect that on the boardwalk and that can have a charm and energy but the Atlantic City boardwalk has a rather a run-down, beat up, lack of vitality feel. I don't know how the casinos are inside but the outsides add nothing to the boardwalk. In fact the lack of retail seems to rob the area of something. Ironically the Sunday Philadelphia Inquirer had a column about how casino money is renovating the town. It wasn’t visible to me on Saturday.

Once past the Showboat casino you look out on real devastation. If there is money for development what happened to this area. You finally reach a point where the boardwalk exists but is closed even to pedestrian traffic. Along the boardwalk, I noticed the remains of some tile work that show where some old building once existed. It was kind of sad to imagine what must have been there at one time.

For years I've heard that the casinos shine but go a block off the boardwalk you find ruin - I found ruin right up against the boardwalk and the exteriors of the casinos neither appealing nor interesting.

I can't imagine why the city can't look better - isn't it a win-win for everyone if that area is improved and filled with interesting, pristine attractions.

I'm glad that some good things are happening but it seems much too slow, to too little effect after so much time and wealth has been expended.

The run was great for people watching and the contrast between downtrodden AC and solidly middle class Ventnor. Ventnor feels more like a real place where people live rather than visit.

Sunday I went out the other direction. The boardwalk ends in Ventnor so I headed out on the beach. The tide was just past full so I had hard sand to run on. There were very few people out; I had the beach mostly to my self and the sand pipers. Very cute birds that follow the waves in and out in an exact mimic of the wave shape. Margate is the home of Lucy the Elephant and you get a great view from the beach.

The homes in Margate are impressive but it’s in Longport that the architecture gets really spectacular. The homes toward the end the Island really jump out at you but there’s not much beach here and I would think that a big coastal storm and these properties are gone. On my way back I tried running a couple of miles shoeless. Felt quite different – I think I prefer the support shoes give – but it was nice to splash thru the water. And it was great to finish but soaking in the chilly, salt water.