Runawaywidow

RUNAWAYWIDOW -Blog stories about the challenges and adventures of a traveling, mid-life, remarried widow

What happens in Atlantic City sometimes stays on your wrist

by · October 4, 2016

Yes. I could have just snuck away for a few days.  And I did.   It wasn’t a well planned trip. Spur of the moment would be the term. I had a long weekend with no plans. A friend invited me to join her in Atlantic City and so I did. We always have so much fun!

I had visited Atlantic City once before with my husband Mike. He told me the area was very dangerous so we stayed in the fancy Borgata Hotel. That place is huge. It has good restaurants, an indoor pool, many bars and entertainment venues as well as all types of gambling. After spending my $20 on slot machines, Mike and I were done with gambling  stayed inside and enjoyed our getaway.

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So my friend has been visiting AC with her family for years. She was not afraid of walking around so neither was I.  We walked down the boardwalk. There were massage parlors everywhere, like in Thailand. We had a few. 20 minutes for $20. Then they talk you into a few more minutes.  We tried the $5 psychic but of course she wanted more  money too.  We bought hats, earrings, bags and a few other silly things.  We ate some good food and walked through a few casinos. We had a few drinks. Then we got tattoos.

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Inside the tattoo parlor there were so many choices. I looked through some nautical pictures then found a beautiful artistic Thai sign for the word BREATHE. It was perfect. The well tatted up man working there printed out the size I wanted and made a little ink tattoo on my arm.  Then the real tattoo artist with the steady hand used a sterilized machine to painfully paint the design black. We both had designs put on our wrist which we were told is the most sensitive spot.  After an hour we took the taped bandage off and impressed our waiters at the restaurant with our beautiful new additions. I’m glad I got mine.

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runawaywidow

At the age of 51 I unexpectedly became a widow. For the first 6 months after my husband died, I was in shock and numb. I journaled and with the help of friends, family and therapists was able to get back to living my old life, even if it is now very different. Before I was married, I had spent a semester in England and backpacked around Europe. My husband and I moved from New York to California for 8 years and started a family. Travelling took a back seat to raising a family and going to work everyday. Since the loss of my husband I have visited a lot of places with family and friends and took a solo trip to Thailand. I am enjoying sharing my stories and adventures as well as some of my insights to how I am traveling the path of being a widow. I hope to share my stories and adventures as well as some thoughts on being a middle aged widow. While I have some great experiences traveling to Thailand and cruising to Central America, some of my adventures involve a trip to see a Broadway show in nearby Manhattan and a shopping trip at Bed, Bath and Beyond. If I can inspire anyone to go out and continue to live a good life that would be my greatest accomplishment.

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12 Responses

  1. Leslie Speed says:
    October 4, 2016 at 11:55 pm

    You go Girl!! I can’t wait to see it!! Maybe you will give me the courage to get mine! XO

    Reply
  2. Jackie says:
    October 5, 2016 at 1:15 am

    Love it, Kristen!!!

    Reply
  3. Dianne Guarino says:
    October 5, 2016 at 1:42 am

    Very nice! Almost looks like the ‘om’ symbol too. Pretty bracelet too 😊

    Reply
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