Last Train to Cherry Hill

Lauren and her parents and I headed out relatively early for the station, around quarter after 9. As soon as we got there, I picked up a turkey on rye with lettuce and tomatoes for lunch. It would be too late for lunch by the time I got into New York. We were only sitting in the waiting area for about twenty minutes before they announced my train. I gave the Millers big hugs for having me. I always have a great time when I visit Lauren and her parents, and this week was no exception.

I had no trouble at all during the entire trip. I managed to find a car that wasn't full and got a seat to myself. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, warmer and with bright sunshine reflecting off the rolling Hudson River. I had my lunch after about an hour, then colored in my adult Star Wars coloring book with artwork from Marvel Star Wars comic books and watched Match Game episodes on my phone.

Spent the hour and a half I was in New York just walking around. I did sit and read a chapter of The Last Jedi at one point, but I was mostly too nervous to sit down! Finally joined everyone else at the Departure boards in the main waiting area. Luckily for me, my train was loading right across from where I stood.

I managed to get a seat quickly, which was a good thing. The train was full and sold out, filled with commuters on their way down the East Coast to Virginia. A young man sat next to me and slept almost the entire way to Philadelphia. I resumed watching Match Game episodes, ignoring the suburbs and graffiti that the train chugged through.

The train arrived in Philly at 4:30. That gave me just enough time to buy a ticket for the NJ Transit and hop on. Since I was taking Uber home anyway, I thought I'd get in a little earlier than originally planned. The train to Cherry Hill was busy, but I did manage to get a seat to myself. It pulled into Cherry Hill around 5:15.

Called Uber when I got in. I...forgot to confirm my call, and it took a little longer to get a driver than I thought. The driver was a pleasant young British fellow with a thick beard. For some reason, he took the long way around, down Cooper River Road and past Cooper River Park down to Haddon Avenue. Don't know why he didn't just take Cuthbert Road - he may have been trying to avoid traffic - but I did finally get home around 6.

Listened to the soundtrack from Cocktail while I unpacked and dropped my dirty clothes in the laundry basket. I have fond memories of this one. I've never been a fan of the ridiculously melodramatic Tom Cruise vehicle about the adventures of a cocky bartender, but the soundtrack is an old favorite in my family. We must have listened to it every other day in the late 80's-early 90's. Along with the hits "Don't Worry, Be Happy" and "Kokomo," we have roof-raisers like "Hippy Hippy Shake" and "Wild Again," John Melloncamp's "Rave On," and the catchy "Oh I Love You So."

Finished the night with an episode of Buck Rogers while having a marmalade omelet and slightly limp salad for dinner. "Vegas In Space" is Sinlasia, the intergalactic casino playground. One of the top gangsters on the planet promises to trade information with Buck and New Chicago if they find one of his workers, who was kidnapped when she accidentally saw sensitive information. Buck has to find the girl...but it becomes easy to attract the hitman who kidnapped her when it turns out that Buck's old-fashioned "intuition" is more than a match for the casino's computer dealers.

Today was technically my last day of vacation, but I checked online, and it turns out I have tomorrow off. Good thing. I have a lot of errands to run, including hitting the farm market, getting the rest of my schedule, and doing the laundry.