The Road to Deptford

It was an absolutely gorgeous day today, sunny, breezy, and in the mid-60s. Couldn't have been nicer weather for late April and for my first road trip in ages. I first stopped in at Dad's to say "hi" and see how he was coming with the pool. The empty dirt plots have now been filled in with grass; Dad will add more flowers and plants as the weeks go on.

Rode up to Barrington after leaving Dad's. I was just in time to pick up the bus to Deptford. I've been wanting to make a trip to Target and the Deptford Mall for weeks now, but I've been constantly interrupted or have had other things to do. The major item I needed at Target was underthings. I picked up some groceries that were cheaper there than at Acme or that the Acme doesn't carry, including Smuckers' Natural Chunky Peanut Butter (the Acme only has Creamy, and it's more expensive), cooking spray, batteries, and a limited-edition Pillsbury Pink Lemonade Cake Mix. (They also had cookie mix.) Found Daffy Duck's Quackbusters, one of the few Looney Tunes movies I don't own and have never seen, for $5.

I didn't have nearly as much luck at Deptford. I did finally buy Belle, the last Animator's Collection Toddler doll I wanted, from the Disney Store, and bought two pairs of cotton Gold Toe socks from Boscov's (they seem to be the only ones who carry the good cotton ones). I couldn't find anything else I wanted. No one seemed to have good plus-sized sportswear on sale, and Boscov's had no women's sportswear at all in my size. They don't have a Lane Bryant, either (I swear they did a while back; maybe I was thinking of Cherry Hill), nor any book or media stores.

(And...sigh. From now on, I hit Cherry Hill on the rare occasion I need a mall trip. It's not as pedestrian-friendly, but it's easier to catch a bus there, and it has far more stores and more useful stores. I'll only go up to Deptford when I need to use the Target.)

I picked up the 3:18 bus at the mall. Finally got in an hour later, making a quick stop at WaWa for a drink on the way. When I got home, I put everything away, then went straight in the bath. I needed a bath badly. I haven't had the time to take one all week. Today was my first day off since LAST TUESDAY. I ran my Bing Crosby: The Essential Collection CD and read Simple Abundance for a blissful hour under soap bubbles.

Listening to that CD put me in the mood for the Road To... series; I opted for Road to Morocco. Bing and Bob are shipwrecked and wash ashore in North Africa. Desperate for money, Bing sells Bob into slavery...but Bob protests a lot less when his buyer turns out to be the local Princess (Dorothy Lamour). She's dropped her original intended, a wily desert sheik (Anthony Quinn), to marry Hope thanks to a prophecy. When the prophacy isn't exactly what the boys think, they find themselves on the run from the chief and his men and having to rescue Lamour and her handmaiden.

Road to Morocco is my favorite of the Road movies, and possibly the most famous of the series. In fact, if you want to get an idea of what this series is about, this is an excellent starting point. If nothing else, it has some of the series' best music, including the hit ballad "Moonlight Becomes You."

Oh, and I love my new Belle. She's such a sweetie. She has the nicest hair of any of my Animator's Collection dolls, long, soft, and brushable. She's the only one who doesn't have curls, and subsequently will probably have the most done to her hair.