This past week was spent in Atlantic City, New Jersey at the Tri-State ACA convention... The American Camp Association's largest convention - and it's best. Lee, mself and Chris (health coordinator apent 3 days being filled to the brim with knowledge about camp merketing, camp programming, camp risk management, and adaptive camping. Many conferences that I attend are OK...this one was great! It's location, while appealing to many, is NOT appealing to me. Atlantic City is renowned for it's casinoes and boardwalk...both of which MUST be traversed to get anywhere. There are also ton's of restaurants, few of which are actually delightful. Here's the rundown...
On Monday we followed our GPS, right into the Maryland / Delaware backcountry. While I am certain we picked the "fastest route" option, I believe we could have selected the "scenic route" option. Unfortunately, Chris was behind the wheel when we appeared at the Cape May Ferry (not in our plans, despite my warnings). This was actually a blessing in disguise. We bypassed tons of rush hour traffic from Philadelphia and New Jersey. The ferry was tremendous...much bigger than any boat I had ever been on...Lee decided that when we disembarked from the ferry, he would take over the driving responsibilities.
We finally arrived in Atlantic City...I enjoyed seeing the wind turbines built in the city, but there is no way that those 10 turbines fuel the city's obsession with bright LED lights and ringing slot machine bells. The city itself is less than glamourous. The hotel/casinoes are also cheesy...the room rates are cheap (to encourage attendance), but the room appointments are slim (they do not want you in the room, they want you in the casino). I told myself that I will gamble only $10, more or less for the cultural experience. I lost all but six cents (I have the voucher to prove it). I hate gambling...there are too many people gambling away money they should reappoint to other locations of their life. I also matched my gambling expense with a philianthropic effort of $10 to Ducks Unlimited (my favorite organization), to offset my wrongdoings. After seeing thousands of depleted wetland on the Jersey Coast, I know that my DU contribution is only a drop in the barrell, but hopefully, it will be used. We all decided that gambling was boring, as we have the attention span of the average 4 year old.
Restaurants are usually a key attraction for me...I am a legitimate foodie...accomplished palate, and all. While I enjoyed a nice steak, I also ordered one of my personal favorites - truffle fries. They are potatoes drizzled in truffel oil with parmesan cheese. Contrary to populat belief...a truffel is not a chocolate mushroom. Chocloate truffles are made from chocolate chips and cream. Truffels (the spelling different, too!) are small fungus/mushrooms rooted out by pigs in France...they can be as much as $500 per pound. Truffel Oil offers all of the flavor, but at 1/100 of the price. We also ate at the House of Blues. The restaurant was named this, in part to how patrons felt after their meal...after eating, I was so sad that I nearly cried. TERRIBLE. On the menu, there was a "Southern Pulled Barbecue with MOJO spice." Being from Alabama, and recently, North Carolina, I am well versed in all smoked pig products...I have never heard of MOJO spice, but I hope it goes extinct. The meat was not pulled either...I think it may have bee ru n through a garbage disposal, though. Our last meal was eaten at Red Square, a Russian-themed restaurant. While it did not convert me into a Communist, I am not a follower of the Russian food movement...Russia, finally, is starting to prosper, and so is it's food. A country as large as Russia (much like America), has a bounty of natural and agricultural resources that transfer well to the plate. I enjoyed my duck. Chris and Lee also enjoyed my duck, and their meals, too.
We did manage to walk around on the Boardwalk...we saw the "famous" cats (which probably needed vaccinating), ladies looking for "dates", and rickshaw pushers...all new experiences for me.
Best of all, though, was the amount of new information I gained on respite and therapeutic camping. These workshops "get the wheels turning", and gave us great ideas on new games, activities, and considerations. I hope I am able to return to the conference next year, but I'll wait and see. We walked a lot, and took the stairs...so I am recovering physically. This weekend (today, Sat., & Sun.) I, along with Jonathan Casper (Program Staff) will be promoting camps in Wilimington at the Cape Fear Wildlife Expo...I can't wait to get a break! Today, the Trinity Center will be experienceing our High Team Challenge Course...they, too, are an environmental education center located near Morehead City. It will be fun to meet some people that are in a setting akin to our own. Lee will also help out...Lee is fun to have on the tower...he is comforting to nervous participants, but can also provide comic relief (not related to his clothing).
Enjoy your weekend....
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