Journey to the Center of the Library

Despite not sleeping well last night, I just could not sleep in. I don't know why. I was up by 8 and couldn't get back to sleep. I read Wild Ride and wrote in my offline journal instead.

I finished Journey to the Center of the Earth while having Cherrios and a peach for breakfast. Based after the Jules Verne novel, Journey involves Scottish professor James Mason and his best student Pat Boone (?!), who set out two prove their theories about what's really in the middle of this planet. They're eventually joined by the widow of the man who was about to make a similar trip (Arlene Dahl), and a young Icelander and his beloved pet duck Gertrude.

This is old-fashioned action at it's finest. It's corny. It's silly. The miniature-based special effects are dated by today's standards. And yet, it's still charming and genuinely exciting. Mason is in fine form as the stubborn, Henry Higgins-like professor. Dahl has a wonderful time sparring with him, and Boone isn't as out-of-place as you might think at first.

Rode to the Haddon Township Library next via Newton River Park. It was hotter today than yesterday, but there was a lovely breeze that made the heat far more bearable than last month's 90-degree temperatures were. It was almost as busy in the park, too. I dodged dog-walkers (one college student had the cutest golden retriever puppy I'd ever seen), joggers, and families with small children in strollers who weren't ready for school yet.

The library was fairly busy for the first day of school, mostly with older adults and parents looking to distract non-school-age children. I helped a little girl find Strawberry Shortcake DVDs, and returned piles and piles of them. I picked four DVDs for myself - more Max and Ruby, the MGM operetta That Midnight Kiss, and two animated films from last year, the Pixar hit Up and the Japanese modern fairy tale Ponyo.

It was past 1PM when I finally headed across the street to the Westmont Plaza. I haven't had lunch at the Bagel Shop in a long time, but it might not have been a great idea at 1PM on a day when the kids were back in school. There were knots of kids and teenagers from the three schools within walking/biking distance standing around the Plaza. Between kids on their lunch hour and office employees and nurses on theirs, the Shop was jam-packed. I was lucky to find a seat next to the Flyers photographs. I'm surprised my Turkey and Swiss Wrap with Avocado Spread came as fast as it did.

Made a quick stop at Super Fresh, then headed home. Spent the next few hours watching Max and Ruby and doing a major dusting session on the living room. I dusted under everything, including books, records, and stuffed animals, and that always takes a while.

Max and Ruby is a charming young kids' show about the adventures of a pair of dissimilar bunny siblings. Max is a feisty toddler boy; Ruby is his very feminine and rather bossy elder sister. Visits from and trips with their beloved Grandma was the theme of this DVD. They went on a treasure hunt in the area near their house, painted a rainbow, set up a birdhouse (and fed the birds), and made mudpies.

After the cartoons ended, I put on jazz records and continued cleaning. When I finished the living room, I decided it was too late to start the bedroom. I opted for a swim instead.

The pool was very chilly today, 75 degrees. (Though chilly pools don't really bother me that much. I've swum in 60 degree seawater before.) Rose, Craig, Jodie, baby Khai and Jodie's college-age son TJ joined me at the poolside as I finished my swim. Khai's getting to be such a plump baby! He's so round and cute. Rose, Craig, and Jodie were all fine. It was nice to see all of them again. Jodie's feeling a little lonely because Dad's on another cruise ship job, otherwise they all seemed pretty happy. They mostly gossiped and talked about babies and pets.

Went straight home and into the shower after the mini-party ended. Had leftovers for dinner as I watched another East Side Kids opus. The Kids enter the fast-paced world of newspaper journalism in what I think is my favorite Kids movie yet, Bowery Champs. The title suggests another boxing tale, but it's closer to 'Neath Brooklyn Bridge. The Kids set out to write a story proving the innocence of a woman who witnessed a murder.