For those not lucky enough to have a generous niece and nephew who provide a loan of their beachfront condo, there are many nice hotels on the boardwalk with rates starting below $100. The key, of course, is not to gamble and you can have a very reasonably priced vacation as Atlantic City is friendly to seniors.

First item–the beach. It is gorgeous and easily accessible and the hotels are right there. Even on very hot days, it was not at all crowded.Second item, the famed Atlantic City Boardwalk. Situated on comfortable wooden planks above the carefully protected sand dunes, you can walk for hours along the water or ride a rented bike cheap. Everybody does it. (monopolycity.com)

Want to go from Ventnor (yes, all the familiar Monopoly names are there) to Atlantic City? no need to call for a taxi. You can go via any of three bus lines which cost from .70 to $2.25 per person with seniors getting a half price break.

Want to rent a DVD? take that walk along the boardwalk to the Ventnor Public Library and get a couple of the latest movies for free. On our one rainy day, we even spent the afternoon in the Tropicana, browsing the stores and experiencing the new “Mission Impossible” movie in their IMAX theater.

We took the bus to Gardner’s Basin and boarded the Atlantic City Cruises Dolphin Watch boat to see our watery cousins disporting themselves right around us. It was glorious–don’t miss this trip: they depart at 1 pm daily and they fill up, so reserve. $30 for seniors. (tripadvisor.com)

And then there are the restaurants. With the best will in the world we couldn’t control ourselves and ate out every night and why not? great restaurants abound and they are all less than you’d pay in New York for a comparable meal.

We revisited our favorite seafood restaurant, Dock’s Oyster House in Atlantic City, of course. Try the fried oysters–they are to die for–but all manner of seafood is good and they serve a great classic Banana Cream Pie.

The same people own Knife and Fork, a 100-year old local favorite with a beautiful upstairs.

This fine restaurant maintains a Sustainable Menu –always a lure for me–that includes Day Boat sea scallops

and pasture-raised Pork Porterhouse from Lancaster Farm,

pronounced by Rory to be the best pork he had ever eaten.

The Banana Chocolate Burrito was pretty good, too. We finished off with a great meal at Kelsey and Kim’s Southern Cafe, where I enjoyed my once-in-ten-years plate of fried chicken with mac-n-cheese and collard greens. Wow, was it worth it.

Have it with a side of corn bread–was it melted butter they dripped all over it?

The Atlantic City salt water taffy is still available although we had to go to the Tropicana Hotel to get it, but the real dessert of choice is house made chocolate from Jagielky’s, where I saw it dripping from the machine onto waiting candies.Our last breakfast was at Melalani’s in Ventnor, a cheeful little place that opened early and served–wait for it–almond covered French Toast–blessed by Zeus, said Rory.You need a lot of walking to work these meals off and fortunately, you can do it right there. We now use hats that can be soaked in water and stay cool forever on your head (see Blubandoo). So if you’re looking for an inexpensive place to spend a few days and you know you won’t gamble away your savings, think about Atlantic City. It’s not as chic as Easthampton but it won’t break the bank either.

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