Wednesday, May 23, 2018

Good Day Sunshine

I stumbled out of bed around 5 to go to the bathroom, then went back to sleep. When I was finally up for good, it was quarter of 10. The sun was shining, my apartment was warmer, and there was a wonderful breeze drifting in through my window.

Lauren didn't get up until past 10:30. While she got organized and I had breakfast, I ran the rest of the Classic Cartoon Favorites: Starring Chip & Dale DVD. Chip is a "Chicken in the Rough" when he tries to take a hen's egg, thinking it's a big nut, and she thinks he's her chick. "Chip & Dale" gave the chipmunks their names in a tale that had them rescuing their log home from Donald, who wants to use it to warm his cabin. It's "Food for Feudin'" when the chipmunks have to retrieve their nuts from Pluto's doghouse. They're "Working for Peanuts" after they discover that Donald's charge Dolores the Elephant gets the tasty legume as part of her regular food in the zoo. Donald is "Out on a Limb" when he chases the chipmunks while pruning a tree. "Three for Breakfast" has the duo trying to steal Donald's pancakes. They have to save their home from Donald again, this time from being knocked down by his steam shovel, in "Dragon Around."

It was noon before we finally headed out to Collingswood. The weather was absolutely amazing, especially compared to yesterday. The view of Newton Lake Park as we passed over the bridge between Oaklyn and Collingswood was incredible. The lake sparkled; the green trees rustled in the breeze. We even ran into one of my co-workers, a nice lady who works in the deli department, and her husband on the bridge. She apparently had today off as well, and since it was so nice, talked her hubby into a walk in the park.

We had lunch at the Pop Shop. We were originally going to walk further up the White Horse Pike to Haddon Heights and Barrington, but first of all, after hiking around two malls in two days, we weren't up to that long of a stroll. Second, Lauren wanted to eat at the Pop Shop, and I like them, too. They were surprisingly quiet for them for lunch, with only a few families with young children enjoying their meal.

Lauren had a tuna wrap she said tasted a lot like a fish taco and a Creamsicle ice cream float (orange soda with vanilla ice cream). I had a Cherry Coke Float and a waffle with crushed pineapple and a mountain of whipped cream. Other than I wish the guy had added more pineapple, it was delicious. The waffle was much better than the one I had on New Year's Day 2015, just tender enough.

Strolled down Haddon Avenue to check out a few stores in Westmont we enjoyed visiting on Saturday. Phildelity Records was our first stop. Lauren grabbed three more CDs. I picked up the Peter Pan book-and-record version of Cinderella and the original 2006 Disney Movie Club release of Ducktales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp. She bought a Shirley Temple soda at Rocket Fizz (and later said it was delicious). I found a nice blue and yellow floral sleep shirt and a pizza-themed cozy mystery novel at Good Samaritan Thrift Shop. Lauren's finds included two shorts for her dad and a blue blouse for her.

We cut through Newton Lake Park on the way home, on Lauren's suggestion. It was hot, in the lower 80's, and the shady park was nice and cool. It was also surprisingly quiet. There wasn't a soul on the path between the lake and the houses on Bettlewood Avenue. The kids must have just been getting out of school. Steep stone steps took us up to East Clinton Avenue. We strolled down the street, right to the end of the block with The House of Fun and Comicrypt.

The House of Fun was still pretty quiet; the manager and his people were going through boxes of loose vintage action figures that were all over the floor. Lauren found another vintage Roddy Piper figure, this one painted wearing jeans, with far more articulation than the other Roddys she's found on this trip. Comicrypt was busier, with several collectors also looking around. She bought another stack of older titles on a really good sale. I settled for scratching the black and white kitty between his ears at Comicrypt.

It was almost 5 at that point, and the traffic was getting worse on the White Horse Pike. It was time to head home. When we got in, we put everything away, then went right into playing Lego Indiana Jones. Did the first three rounds in Last Crusade. The round that takes you through the library and the catacombs and ends with bashing the Brotherhood member in a boat wasn't too hard...but the second round in the castle and the third that had Indy and Professor Jones escaping across Germany involves a lot of blowing things up (including yourself) with a bazooka that takes a while to figure out.

Put on Ducktales the Movie while we ate leftovers and green salads with tomato wedges and turkey pepperoni for dinner. Scrooge McDuck (Alan Young), Launchpad McQuack (Terrance McGovern) and the kids are searching for the lost treasure of Kali Baba, but they lose it when they're attacked by evil sorcerer Merlock (Christopher Lloyd). He's searching for a lamp with a wish-granting genie (Rip Taylor) inside. Scrooge gave the lamp to little Webby (Russi Taylor) to play with. When the kids discover the genie, they treat him like one of the gang and mostly make goofy wishes, like making Webby's toys come to life or creating the world's biggest ice cream sundae. Scrooge still has treasure on the brain and orders Genie to make Kali Baba's fortune appear....which attracts not only Merlock, but the treacherous thief Dijon (Richard Libertini) as well. He wishes for Uncle Scrooge's fortune. Scrooge and his household fights back, even after Merlock figures out what Dijon is up to. Merlock may have magic, but Scrooge knows every inch of his money bin. It's up to him to prove that having someone to lean on is one of the most important things anyone can wish for.

If you're a fan of the original Ducktales show or the classic Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge comics the show was based on, this is worth checking out. Critics were hard on it at when it came out in the early 90's, and while it doesn't compare favorably to other Disney movies from the time and was a flop when it first came out, it's a fun ride in it's own right.

Ended the night with another treasure-hunting adventure, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. After a short opening segment that introduces Indy as a young boy (River Phoenix), we cut ahead to 1939. The adult Indy (Harrison Ford) is tasked with finding his missing father Professor Henry Jones (Sean Connery), a scholar of medieval literature who vanished while searching for the Holy Grail. The trip first takes him and museum owner Marcus Brody (Denholm Elliot) to Venice, where they meet the lovely Dr. Elsa Schinder (Alison Doody) and are chased by a secret society that protects the Grail from harm. After they win their trust, the two head to a castle in Austria where Professor Jones is supposed to be held. Indy does find his father...but he also learn that Dr. Schinder is not what she seems. Now the father and son have to outwit the Nazis and find the Grail's final resting place, all as they try to mend their long-fractured relationship.

This is by far my favorite of the four Indiana Jones movies. Sean Connery and Harrison Ford play off each other so beautifully as father and son, they make the film a treat to watch. Doody is good as the treacherous Elsa, too. I'm not the only one who loved this; it was the biggest hit of 1989, surpassing even the iconic Tim Burton Batman at the box office that year. I was dying to see it then, and was pretty upset when I never got to it. (Dad did buy the video as soon as it came out, though.)

Today was our last full day together. I called Dad and Jodie after we got in. Lauren will be heading to the train station at 11:30. I'll probably spend the rest of the day writing and running errands.

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