With buddy boats in tandem, the JAKL III, Camelot, and the Honey Queen pulled out of the Cape May Canal into the Atlantic Ocean. We turned NE with fair skies, 73 degrees, and favorable winds out of the West. The day, as forecasted, resulted in flat seas and a pleasant day on the flybridge. We arrived in Atlantic City at 12:45 pm, logging another 4.75 hours of experience to this rookie captain.
We had planned to anchor out this night. Our waterway guide showed a promising spot, so we navigated to the location, dropped the hook, and shut down the engine. I noticed a couple horseflies buzzing around (and biting) while I was setting the anchor. By the time I was finished, I was being attacked by hundreds of what are locally known as greenheads. When we are underway, we have the doors and windows open to keep the boat cool, since A/C is not a wise option. We didn’t realize we had been scooping them as we were traveling. We killed no less than 60 of these flying piranhas inside. Had to quickly close the doors and windows to keep from being carried away. We felt like Pharoah facing one of the 10 plagues. Not a great first impression of the area.
The skyline from the marina 
I wonder how these places can afford such nice buildings? 
Many empty lots where casinos were planned, but no more. 
My memory of Atlantic City. 
World famous….locally. 
We anchored temporarily…till the greenheads attacked. 
At least the sunrise was pretty, as we were leaving the next morning.
After learning that “greenheads” don’t typically go beyond the bridge, I called a marina where our friends were staying. We checked in to Gardner’s Basin Marina and embarked on our exploration of Atlantic City. An hour and a half of walking the “world famous” boardwalk, mostly made of concrete, gave us all we needed. We did ride an escalator up to the 6th floor of a building and walked into a casino. We were provided immediate opportunities to give away money but declined. These places wreak with evil. We quickly departed, caught a Lyft back to the marina and called it a day. By far, Atlantic City was the least interesting and least appealing place of all our stops. Our future travels promise to skip this city.