If you watched the news, you know that Atlantic City is going through a rough period. Last Wednesday was a day to forget about the problems and watch airplanes. For the 14th straight year the Atlantic City Airshow, known as "Thunder over the Boardwalk" zoomed over the boards and the ocean, doing what it does best: Giving Atlantic City a day to fill up with nearly 450,000 people, according to media reports. The airshow brings many people into the city from all over the Mid-Atlantic region. Families come and sit on the beach all day looking up at the amazing tricks they can perform. If you're not careful, you may even be surprised to see one over your head.
The air show is one of the city's biggest events of the year. The only bigger events are some beach concerts that happen in August and September. The show is special to the city and to me personalty. When I heard about the show back several years ago, I got curious about it. For the first couple of years, I watched online and thought one year I must go. Then, five years ago, I started taking a ride down to Atlantic City to see it live. It easily became one of my favorite events of the year — Non-sports that is, and even though I love my sports teams, I always make time to go see the show. I have great memories of the all the airshows I've been too. Some have been better then others and some trips have been easier then others.
I will always remember my first trip going to the show. I took the casino bus and it broke down and we got stuck at the Monmouth rest stop for several hours. I missed most of the show and wound up only seeing a half hour of the the Thunderbirds airplanes. Even though I went through that frustration, I still have made it back year after and made smarter plans to get there.
One of the best parts of the show is its atmosphere. Not only do you have people having a good time, there are also local organizations out on the boardwalk talking with the locals. Also, local police and military make sure everything is running smoothly; Local boy scouts are there selling programs and water to support their local troops. All this comes together to make the sure that the show and the city can run and not be be in gridlock. Also it brings in a good amount of money to a town and surrounding community that needs it.
