Malls and Harts

Started my morning around 8 AM with Dough or Die and my journal, then breakfast. I was admiring the considerable DVD collection Lauren and her parents have in their living room when she came upstairs. We hit the road at 9. There was no traffic anywhere, not in Lee or on the Mass Pike. It was still cloudy when we left. It even showered a little bit on the road, though it didn't really amount to anything. Lauren pulled into the smaller shopping center just outside of the Holyoke Mall at a little after 10.

Explored a few of the other stores in the mall first. They have a huge, two-story Barnes & Noble. Lauren didn't find anything here, but I picked up the fifth entry in the Spice Shop Mysteries by Leslie Budewitz,  The Solace of Bay Leaves. (I'll keep looking for the fourth, Chai Another Day.) I didn't see anything I needed at TJ Maxx, but Lauren bought two long-sleeved shirts. 

We had lunch two doors down from Barnes & Noble at Red Robin. The only noise I heard when we arrived were the sports shows talking about last night's football games. We must have been the first ones there. We both had iced teas and shared the towering stack of onion rings. She had the Crispy Fish Sandwich with a huge pile of steamed broccoli. I had a Red Robin Gourmet Cheesburger with fries. The sandwiches were so slippery, we ended up eating the fillings off the buns. Lauren took most of that big mountain of broccoli home with her.

Lauren parked us near one of the main entrances around noon. We decided to start at Round 1 first, before the kids got out of school and invaded the place. Spent the next hour running from giant Pac Man to Bust-a-Move to Nerf Arcade and that pirate spinning wheel. Played Star Wars and Guardians of the Galaxy pinball and tried throwing balls at clown figures. I did much better at Lane Master bowling (three strikes in a row!) and skee ball. I also got a small stuffed Hello Kitty out of a crane for the daughter of a friend. I amassed over 2,700 points, but ultimately decided to save them for when I'm able to carry more at home.

Spent the next three hours ducking in and out of stores. I just used the bathroom at Macy's, but Lauren bought two pretty flowered blouses, one in orange, and one in yellow. Lauren didn't get anything at JC Penney, but I found an orange t-shirt on clearance for $5.50 to replace the orange Eddie Bauer t-shirt whose hem unraveled. We peeked at Stateline Video Games and GameStop, but Stateline was ridiculously expensive for a store that mainly sold used merchandise, and Lauren didn't see anything she wanted at GameStop. 

While downstairs, I bought the original cast CD for the Tyne Daly Call Me Madam Encores concert and Good Times: The Complete Series at FYE. Lauren picked up a mini-Light Brite at Alex Bath & Toys and an anniversary present for her mother at a toy and gift shop. We browsed around Hot Topic, but no one got anything there. I forgot my suntan lotion. Lauren suggested picking up a travel-sized bottle at Target.

Had an early dinner at 99 Restaurant near Macy's. They're basically the same thing as Red Robin, trading the kitschy pop culture decor for local sports jerseys and photos. I had a tasty fried chicken wrap with barbecue sauce, cole slaw, and a Diet Pepsi. Lauren had a bowl of decadent macaroni and cheese and a lemonade. We had very sweet slices of Key Lime Pie for dessert. 

I realized as we left that we forgot to hit Old Navy on our first trip around the mall. They were busy, but we both walked out with something. I found two cute floral blouses, one in green, one in dark brick red. Old Navy was having a buy 2 t shirts, get each for $10 sale, so I got them both. Lauren bought a tank top and a t-shirt. 

Lauren said her cell phone was running down too quickly. We stopped at Best Buy to buy a wire for it and a battery pack. She grabbed those two items, and we were in and out. 

No trouble driving home, either. No traffic whatsoever. It remained cloudy, though not to the degree of earlier. The sun didn't even try to come out until we were very nearly back at Lauren's house, and we were treated to a rather nice pink and blue sunset.

We showed our finds to Lauren's parents, and then I hit the shower. I finished the night online. Watched Hart to Hart on Tubi. None other than Batman himself, Adam West, plays the husband of a woman who is cheating on him with a tennis star in "Love Game." Another stockbroker is blackmailing to reveal his messing around. The tennis pro is supposed to be helping Jennifer with a tournament. Jonathan and Jennifer try to figure out what's going on, especially when the lady turns up dead and everyone thinks it's a robbery.

The original Sailor Moon and its remake Sailor Moon Crystal are on Hulu. Decided to finally give the remake a try. The first episode...is almost exactly the same as the first episode of the redubbed series, with the same voices. It just has a wispier colored pencil art style that's closer to the mangas these are based on. "Act 1-Usagi" relates Usagi's first encounter with Luna, Luna giving her the magical broach and wand, and how she defeated a monster who was posing as her friend Naru's mother to suck human energy.