ACES – The Atlantic City Express Service is a luxury train that whisks travelers direct from New York City to Atlantic City, NJ casinos with only a single stop in between.  While more upscale than a traditional train, the line is in serious danger of shutting down for good.  I recently took a ride to find out what could possibly be spelling the end for what should be a good idea. As I discussed in a previous blogumn, Atlantic City has long been a destination for vacationers to get out of the cities and head to the shore.  Its casinos and beaches are an ideal year round retreat and offer a variety of activities. Atlantic City has rolled in tourists by rail since the first train line opened in the 1800’s.  Most train service went direct to Philadelphia or New York. But starting in 1929, a new upscale line known as The Blue Comet took to the tracks to bring in the NYC city goers. The Blue Comet would take passengers from the now abandoned Communipaw Terminal in Jersey City (just a short ferry ride across the Hudson River from Manhattan) to Atlantic City in three hours.  These special trains were created to compete with rides being offered by the Pennsylvania Railroad that would take riders on a less direct route.  Blue Comet riders would enjoy assigned seating on special blue seats, an upscale dining car with special blue linen, and an upper level observation car with wicker chairs. The line was immediately successful and initially had a 97% on time rate.  As the great depression hit, ridership immediately fell.  The line was cut to one round trip train per day.  Some residents who lived in the rustic Pine Barrows of New Jersey, who...

The small prop plane suddenly drops out of equilibrium, careening sharply into the volcano.  It swoops down, losing altitude as it tilts at a nearly 90 degree angle.  The three other passengers and I hold on for dear life certain that we’re about to crash into a crater.  A moment ago, we were placidly snapping photos of a cool geological feature.  Now we’re more or less certain that the volcano is the last thing we’ll ever see.  Steam jets from a crevasse that can’t be more than 20 feet away from us.  I can almost feel the heat. I’m one day into my 35th year and I’m about to die.  It’ll be like a bad joke:  Two Americans, an Australian, an Israeli, and an Austrian crash into a volcano. . .Of course. Every year, I like to do something interesting for my birthday.  I’ve confronted my religious prejudices, gone on the Dr. Phil show, skydiving.  All sorts of stuff.  This year, I decided to go camping in Alaska.  Up until this whole airplane incident, it had been going well.  I’d met new friends from England, Australia, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Israel.  We’d all slogged through the rain to a vast glacier together, cooked together, gone kayaking with porpoises, seals and sea otters.  The group had surprised me with a birthday cake on my actual birthday and we’d eaten it on a beach, snowcapped mountains visible through a faint misting rain. Not bad.  Then I went and pushed my luck by signing up for this scenic bear viewing flight. It all started so promisingly.  We arrived at the airfield on time.  The pilot outfitted us with hip wading boots that would keep us dry as we tracked bears along a river.  We took off into...