The World Must Be Bigger Than An Avenue

Today was absolutely stunning, 85 degrees with no humidity in sight. Though I did a few things online this morning (including posting the next part of The Monkee Knight), it was too nice to sit inside all day. I ran to the bank and the post office, then went for a ride down to Haddon Heights, about a half-hour by bike to the south. I visited Haddon Heights last year on a walk on a boring Sunday, but it's a very religious town, and almost all of the stores were closed. (Not to mention it was a rather cold and gloomy day in March.)

Haddon Heights is a nice little historic downtown. It's larger than Oaklyn and Audubon's historic downtown shopping areas, but smaller and less elaborate than Collingswood or Haddonfield. I browsed a few gift shops, checked out their library, and bought a Diet Pepsi Caramel Cream soda from a old-fashioned convenience store (imagine a 7-11 in a general store atmosphere), then headed back down towards Oaklyn.

Between Haddon Heights and Audubon, I found a wonderful collectibles/antiques store called Act Two. Unlike the thrift shop, they were exclusively dedicated to some great junk (no clothes that weren't on dolls or teddy bears). They had toys, Golden Books going as far back as the 50s, a stack of those 40s and 50s cookbooks I've been collecting, a smattering of Star Wars items (a mint-condition kids' record-and-book of the original movie was tempting, but was six dollars and I don't have much money), Muppet items, Disney items (some looked like they dated to the 30s), Coca-Cola, Peanuts, fast-food and roadside icons, gorgeous old dollhouses, records, cassettes, a few CDs and videos, glassware and dishes...and that was just the stuff I actually got to look at!

I finally bought one of the 50s cookbooks (a low-calorie cookbook, proof positive that America's obsession with thinness did not begin during the 80s diet craze), a Chipmunks Christmas record, two cassettes (the 1973 Debbie Reynolds revival of Irene and the 1975 Pearl Bailey/Cab Calloway revival of "Hello Dolly!"), and the exact reprint of the 1950 Disney Cinderella Golden Book my sisters and I had when we were kids!

I had a very late lunch at the Merchant's Deli in Audobon. I had a huge turkey wrap. It was so big, half of it is now in my fridge. I wanted to say hi to Bob at the used CD store Abbie Road, but apparently he's only opened on weekends now. Oh pooh. Just as well; I want to have some money left for volunteering tomorrow.

I finally got in around 3 and went straight over to Uncle Ken and Bruce's to do the laundry. Everyone was home, including Jessa, Jodie, and Dolores. Uncle Ken ultimately had to go to a Lions Club meeting, but everyone else had tacos after I took a relaxing (if slightly chillier than last week) swim.

I'm so happy today went so well, especially after yesterday. It felt great to just get out and about on such a glorious summer day.

Oh, and the Camden County Library called today. They wanted me to volunteer for Vorhees, which is more than a half-hour away. I politely admitted I couldn't get there without a bus or carpooling and asked to see if they had anything in Haddon Township's branch. I'm just happy they actuall acknowledged my application this time, unlike February, when I applied and never heard a word.