Tuesday, May 21, 2019

Blowin' In the Wind

This time, I was up by 7:30 and read and worked online until Lauren got up around 9. I had a quick breakfast, then ran a few classic Looney Tunes shorts while we got organized. Daffy's a "Duck Amuck" when he's constantly picked on by an animator with a really strange sense of humor. Porky wants "Dough for the DoDo," but he's having a hard time catching the crazy critter in the surreal world of Wackyland. "Drip Along Daffy" is a western spoof, with Daffy as the daring white-clad hero and Porky as his burro-riding comic relief sidekick. Daffy goes after the local bad hombre, but Porky's the one who knows how to be a real hero.

Headed out around quarter of 11. Our first stop of the day was the Oaklyn Library. We said "hi" to the librarians and checked out the library book sale. Neither of us saw anything we wanted, and the library wasn't busy anyway. We moved on.

Lunch was at Amato Bros a block from the library. They'd been open for less than an hour and were quiet when we arrived. Lauren had a BLT sliced into quarters and slid on skewers. I had the Cutlet Italiano (broccoli rabe with provolone and a lightly breaded chicken cutlet - not as good as the one I had last time, but not bad).

We had a long walk up to Barrington. Good thing there wasn't much traffic despite it being noon. We had no problems crossing the street, including King's Highway. At least it was a gorgeous day for a walk. The heat had dissipated overnight, leaving sunny weather, cold wind, and a perfect morning in the lower 70's. I saw quite a few other people walking off their lunches or strolling to or from work, too.

Barrington is the home of the Barrington Antique Center, a huge rabbit's warren of tiny rooms filled with antiques ranging from retro clothes to Victorian china to more recent DVDs, books, and videos. We both made small but fun finds here. Lauren pointed out a room with vintage Star Wars action figures, both loose and in a locked shelf. I found a loose Young Anakin Skywalker with his backpack for a mere $2. Keefe had Anakin (and Padme in her blue Tatoonie outfit) when The Phantom Menace came out in the late 90's, but apparently the small figures had vanished by the time he gave me his collection. Lauren came up with a lavender Beanie Baby bunny.

The stop for the bus going to the Deptford Mall is just a block from the Antique Center. Good thing it didn't take too long to get there. They were four minutes early. There were no problems on the road whatsoever. The ride to Deptford is only about 15-20 minutes, and we ran into no traffic. We got off at the Deptford Mall around quarter of 2.

While the Deptford Mall isn't as big as the one at Cherry Hill, it has a couple of stores that can't be found there. The bus let us off right at Boscov's. I found 99 cent packs of ponytail holders, grabbing two. Lauren picked up several shirts and shorts.

Strolled over to the food court area next. Along with a candy store and the food booths, we found a Game Stop. I didn't get anything this time, but Lauren bought Super Mario Brothers U for the Wii U.

The upper entrances for Macy's and JC Penney are on either side of the food court. We hit JC Penney's first. I found a pair of jeans on the clearance rack listed for $9. When I brought them to the counter, they rang up for a little over $5! I was thrilled. Lauren said she made a few good finds on the clearance rack as well. Didn't find anything at Macy's; Lauren came up with some shirts. (There also used to be a Sears at Deptford, but it closed last year.)

The Disney Store and Box Lunch are across from each other downstairs. I found an adorable small stuffed Baymax (the cuddly medical robot from Big Hero 6) near the counter for $1.99! In the expensive Disney Store, that was a steal. Neither of us found anything at Box Lunch, but I did hear from Jodie. She thought Lauren was leaving tomorrow. She's leaving on Thursday. We confirmed picking her up at twenty of 11.

We decided there wasn't much else to see and strolled over to Target around 4. Not much to see there, either. I was hoping to find clothes for the dolls, but the toy selection at all of the Targets here are always so picked over, even the larger Targets. We spent the last half-hour before dinner relaxing on the concrete patio next to the Target. I don't know who put this there, but it's a nice place to sit down and get organized...when you're not getting blown over by heavy and chilly wind.

Met Jessa and her boyfriend Joe across the parking lot at Applebee's for dinner. Despite it being the dinner hour, they weren't that busy. (More people may have been at the bar.) Joe had a Whiskey Bacon Burger. I went with a cheeseburger. Jessa had the Bacon Cheddar Chicken Sandwich I had the last time I was at Applebee's. Lauren had an enormous Southwestern Chicken Sandwich that flooded the plate. (She ended up taking some of it home for a snack later.)

Made a quick stop back at the Mall on the way home. Evidently, T-Mobile gives out freebies on Tuesday. Joe wanted free spatulas. Good thing there's two T-Mobile stores in the Mall. The downstairs store was out of them, but they still had them upstairs. Jess and Joe each got one. Joe's son JoJo is now working in Hot Topic. Joe visited him while we explored the stacks of Funko Pops, odd pop culture t-shirts, and other strange toys.

Joe and Jess drove us home, even running the Broadway channel on their car radio for us. We chatted for a while at my apartment after we got in. I showed them all the changes, including the remodeled exterior and new windows and porch light. We talked about pop culture, our families, and the movies we enjoy.

After Joe and Jessa left to go the movies, Lauren and I finished the night playing Angry Birds Star Wars. We ran through Bespin this time. Cloud City is a lot less difficult that either the Death Star, or even Hoth. There were a few rounds that took a while, but we got a lot more two and three star rounds, or even just beat my original high score.

Tomorrow, we're going to sleep in on Lauren's last day before checking out the Audubon Crossings Shopping Center one last time.

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