Day 5: Atlantic coast conference (6/3)
VIRGINIA BEACH -- Having reached our northern limit, we turned back south, driving through light drizzle to Atlantic City. To get Chad's required Hard Rock visit, we had to enter the land of The Donald and go to the Taj Mahal. (Playfully enough, we apparently parked in the Taj Garaj.)
Rare is the Hard Rock that serves breakfast, as they usually open at 11am. But if you're going to have a 24-hour audience in the casino, might as well fry up some eggs and have live music from an acoustic guitar. And while we didn't have time to cruise the Boardwalk like we did in Ocean City, we still got to travel down or past some familiar Monopoly thoroughfares such as Pacific, Baltic, New York, and Indiana on our way back to the Garden State Parkway.
The fun part of the day was our 12:00 appointment with the Cape May-Lewes Ferry. Sure, we could've driven back through Philadelphia, but what was to prevent getting stuck in another incident like yesterday's when we had a 7:00 game in Norfolk? So with online registration in hand, we were directed to the front of Lane 6, where Chad got out and entered the ferry terminal to access the ship. As expected these days, the ship had wi-fi and electrical outlets among its amenities, and while it was a bit breezy on Delaware Bay, it was 80 minutes of smooth sailing.
Once we escaped the ferry-induced traffic jam in Lewes, we continued south, reaching our hotel in Virginia Beach about 4:30. Despite my e-mailed confirmation, the front desk told me I had no reservation. The clerk then noted that my confirmation was dated for last week -- the day I had made the reservation -- so, with that come and gone, I had to make another reservation on the spot. It pays (and costs) to pay attention.
While we had hoped to catch up with our cousin and her boyfriend, who live in the Hampton Roads area, we couldn't get our schedules to work. So after dinner at a nearby Chinese restaurant, it was just me and Chad making our way to catch the light rail directly to Harbor Park, home of the Norfolk Tides. Much easier than dealing with fighting traffic for $5 parking at the ballpark, eh?
Despite early troubles getting radio reception in the stadium -- thanks, @NorfolkTides and @ESPN941 for helpfully responding to my inquiring tweet -- I enjoyed Friday night on the harbor, and the Tides agreed, defeating Pawtucket 3-2.
Rare is the Hard Rock that serves breakfast, as they usually open at 11am. But if you're going to have a 24-hour audience in the casino, might as well fry up some eggs and have live music from an acoustic guitar. And while we didn't have time to cruise the Boardwalk like we did in Ocean City, we still got to travel down or past some familiar Monopoly thoroughfares such as Pacific, Baltic, New York, and Indiana on our way back to the Garden State Parkway.
The fun part of the day was our 12:00 appointment with the Cape May-Lewes Ferry. Sure, we could've driven back through Philadelphia, but what was to prevent getting stuck in another incident like yesterday's when we had a 7:00 game in Norfolk? So with online registration in hand, we were directed to the front of Lane 6, where Chad got out and entered the ferry terminal to access the ship. As expected these days, the ship had wi-fi and electrical outlets among its amenities, and while it was a bit breezy on Delaware Bay, it was 80 minutes of smooth sailing.
Once we escaped the ferry-induced traffic jam in Lewes, we continued south, reaching our hotel in Virginia Beach about 4:30. Despite my e-mailed confirmation, the front desk told me I had no reservation. The clerk then noted that my confirmation was dated for last week -- the day I had made the reservation -- so, with that come and gone, I had to make another reservation on the spot. It pays (and costs) to pay attention.
While we had hoped to catch up with our cousin and her boyfriend, who live in the Hampton Roads area, we couldn't get our schedules to work. So after dinner at a nearby Chinese restaurant, it was just me and Chad making our way to catch the light rail directly to Harbor Park, home of the Norfolk Tides. Much easier than dealing with fighting traffic for $5 parking at the ballpark, eh?
Despite early troubles getting radio reception in the stadium -- thanks, @NorfolkTides and @ESPN941 for helpfully responding to my inquiring tweet -- I enjoyed Friday night on the harbor, and the Tides agreed, defeating Pawtucket 3-2.