Been a Long Time

On Saturday, I watched the Spirit Awards, which honors Independent films. I requested a bunch of DVDs from the library.

So far I've watched "Year of the Dog" and "Rocket Science"; I just started "2 Days in Paris." To be picked up today are: "The Lookout", "History of Violence" and "The Darjeeling Limited."


I finished reading "The Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follett. It was 973 pages long; the longest book I had ever read. I couldn't put it down. It was so good! I have requested the sequel "World Without End" from the library. I'm now reading "Love In the Time of Cholera" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.


I went to Atlantic City last week for 2 nights. Didn't win anything but I don't go there to gamble big time. Sure it's fun, but not as fun as it used to be. I just played nickel and quarter slot machines; mostly nickel. There are no coins anymore. You insert a bill, lowest five dollars, and you play. No more clinking of the coins you win; no more carrying around a plastic cup with your winnings. Oh well, times do change. I spent $40 on the slots for the 3 days I was there.

My parents went to Atlantic City for their honeymoon in 1960. They stayed in the Ambassador Hotel. I've tried to figure out if it's still there in some form or if it was torn down. Well, duh... there's little thing called the internet! It was torn down in 1981 for the Hilton Casino & Hotel. Here's a postcard I found online from about 1930:


In 1966, my family stayed at the "Hotel Dennis" which is now part of Bally's. I will scan some photos from our vacation sometime. Here's a pic from online:


Here are some photos I took last week: