A Whale of a Saturday Morning

No sleeping in this time! We were both up bright and early on another beautiful May morning for the Collingswood Farm Market. I ran the second half of the American Top 40 as we got dressed and I ate coffee cake and a slice of grapefruit. Casey jumped forward a decade to 1984 as pop, soul, and power ballads ruled the airwaves. We heard "Let's Hear It For the Boy" by Denise Williams from the Footloose soundtrack, "Against All Odds" by Phil Collins from the film of that title, and "Time After Time" by Cyndi Lauper. The number one hit was a touching ballad from that week's top album, "Hello" by Lionel Richie.

We finally started out around 9:30. After a brief but futile stop at a yard sale on West Holly, we headed over to East Haddon, the street next to PNC Bank, where several sales were taking place. A group of 6-and-7-year-old kids were calling out their lemonade stand. Neither of us could resist liquid that was a quarter or those cute faces. We each bought a cup, and I purchased a heart made from colorful beads melted together that one of the girls was selling as her "art."

I did better at a sale on the next block. They were selling records in pristine shape. I bought three:

George Winston - Autumn and December

A Winter's Solstice: A Wyndham Hill Sampler, which looks like a collection of New Age and jazz holiday/winter-related songs

We headed for Collingswood next, strolling past Newton River Park. As we did, we passed many people going in the opposite direction around the paths. I couldn't figure out why so many different people - men and women, children and elderly folks, even people in wheelchairs - were doing until I saw their t-shirts. I forgot "Steven's Walk," a charity walk-a-thon, was today.

We made it to the Collingswood Farm Market around 10:30. I didn't really need much. In fact, all I bought was strawberries, turnips with their greens still on, and bibb lettuce. Lauren grabbed apple butter for her parents.

We walked down to the Collingswood PATCO station and hopped a quiet train to Haddonfield. The train was so quiet, the only people in the car besides the two of us was a dad and his two very energetic toddler sons. The boys kept going on about the dinosaur statue in Haddonfield; Dad mentioned taking them to see the Green Festival.

We stopped at the Freestyle Bike Shop first. I wasn't taking any chances this time. One of my bike pedals is starting to come apart. They're good, solid metal pedals, but I've used them continuously for seven years. That's how I got that nasty bruise on my stomach; the pedal broke, and my tummy had a close encounter with the handlebars. It wasn't off entirely, but I figured it was only a matter of time. I told the boy what I needed, and he asked me what kind of pedals I had, if the gear was held in place by a bolt. I ended up buying somewhat smaller, black versions of the ones Dad bought when the plastic/metal pedals I'd had for years broke off shortly after moving here in 2006.

We went to the British Chip Shop next for an early lunch. As the waitress seated us in the small wooden tables on the sidewalk, I noticed some commotion in the common area with the large gazebo at the end. There were several booths and tables, most staffed by people giving out pamphlets or selling plants. I figured this was the "Green Festival" the dad on the train talked about. (We even saw the dad and his boys again as we waited for our lunch.)

I had my favorite Chip Shop Sandwich (chicken, Irish cheddar cheese, sliced apples, spicy mustard on thick bread) again. Lauren had the Ploughman's Sandwich - same thing with ham instead of chicken and no apples. We both enjoyed the earthy Great Mountain of Greens. She had iced tea; I had a can of "ginger beer" (a spicier ginger ale).

I peered around the Green Festival as Lauren used the bathroom after lunch. It seemed to be a combination of booths about environmentalism and Haddonfield's smaller version of the Farm Market, with the British Chip Shop replacing the Treehouse Cafe as the choice food provider. Alas, they were just starting to close up shop as I browsed. One table was giving away free pine tree seedlings. I liked the idea, but I have tons of trees around my apartment, and Lauren wouldn't have been able to carry one to Pittsfield.

We headed for our favorite store in Haddonfield, the Happy Hippo Toy Shop, next. Despite the place being packed, we both found things we wanted. Lauren bought a floppy stuffed frog and dragon made by her favorite toy company, Mary Meyer, as well as two lavender ladybug-themed bracelets for her mother and herself. I picked up a WebKinz I'd always wanted, the sweet Blue Whale.

We browsed in Jamaican Me Crazy and the other games-themed toy shop next, but didn't find anything we liked. Not to mention, the crowds on King's Highway were still pretty heavy, even with the Green Festival over. We hiked back to the PATCO and took a far fuller train to Collingswood.

Lauren loved our trips to the Pop Shop last year so much, we absolutely knew we had to go there again. We got in by ten after 1, hitting the tail-end of a busy lunch crowd. We ended up having our ice cream at the counter. Lauren had a chocolate cream soda. I had an "Aloha Allie"; seltzer, vanilla ice cream, and coconut with pineapple and coconut syrups. Lauren may have been the smart one; my overflowing soda was making a mess when the girl placed it on the counter (with piles of napkins under it). It was pretty good, though.

This morning, we passed by people setting up some tables in the parking lot of St. Mark's Church in Oaklyn, across from the PNC Bank. I completely forgot about their Strawberry Festival! I usually end up working during it. We strolled around tables of strawberry-themed baked goods, some small local crafts, and used items for sale indoors. We didn't buy anything, but we did say "hi" to two of the tellers from PNC who had a table set up under a tree.

There was one last yard sale in Oaklyn I wanted to look at before we went home. A house on Kendall was having a two-day moving sale. We both hit paydirt here. Lauren found a fluffy bear who looked like one of the hand-made critters I've seen at the alpaca booth at the Farm Market in November, a really nice backpack-purse (Lauren says she has a purple version that isn't in nearly as good of shape), and a Nintendo-themed necklace keychain. I bought a beautiful doll-themed quilt, also hand-made. I've wanted to find a nice, summer-weight quilt or comforter for my bed during warmer months. We discovered when we made it back that it doesn't fit the full bed, but the stuffed animals cover most of it anyway.

After spending the morning on our feet, we rested for a couple of hours. I beat Lauren at War; she was ahead for most of the game, but I got the jokers. We each won a round of Bingo. I made Sauteed Swiss Chard, Spinach, and Mushrooms to go with our leftovers for dinner as we watched another Bowery Boys movie, the wrestling tale No Holds Barred.

It was still too nice to sit inside, even after dinner. We saw a Little League softball team being treated to ice cream from Leo's Yum Yums around the corner from me when we were walking home, so we decided to do our own treating. I already had my ice cream at the Pop Shop and settled for an Orange Vanilla Yum Yum (creamier water ice). Lauren ordered a Peanut Butter Sundae, but the harried girl behind the counter must have heard her wrong. She gave her two! She must have been hungry; she ate them both. We enjoyed our cooling dessert while listening to a pack of kids chatter and brag about how brave they were and grab a lot more free spoons than they really needed.

When we got in, Lauren went online, and I hit the shower; I joined her afterwards. Tomorrow, we're going to see the Phillies play the Red Sox at Citizen's Bank Park.

Oh, and meet Big Bertha, my adorable Blue Whale! She'll take the second underwater room I created to use a couple of the more recent water themes.