Thursday, September 16, 2021

I Get Around

Began the morning with apple mini donuts for me and Body Language. This time, Jeff Cohen's young contestant got the winning puzzle in the tiebreaker. They didn't do so well on the bonus round, missing the last word.

I thought it would be easier - and a lot faster - for us if we took Uber to the Cherry Hill Mall and the bus home, like I have the last few times I went there. I don't know why I couldn't get my Uber app to work. It kept giving me error notices. I finally went on my laptop and reserved a driver through the main website. 

We were picked up around 11:30 by a pleasant young man in a cherry red car. I told him I liked the color of his car; red is my favorite color, and it would seem to be his as well. He had a nice chat with us about Lauren's visit and our vacations as he took us down Marlton Pike and Haddonfield Road to the Cherry Hill Mall.

It wasn't terribly busy when we arrived, allowing us to explore the remaining toy stores first. Build-a-Bear is finally open to the general public again. Lauren bought a tuxedo and a scarecrow outfit for her teddies, while I picked up a pumpkin costume for my Steiff bear Abigail to wear at Halloween. We peeked around Go Toys and Games, but I found nothing of interest, and Lauren couldn't carry the board game she said a co-worker was interested in. Miniso claims to sell Japanese-inspired everyday items, but most of what I saw were stuffed animals, accessories, and a lot of gear for Marvel and, for some reason, We Bare Bears

(We noticed an FYE setting up a few doors down from Build-a-Bear. The Cherry Hill Mall's original FYE moved to Moorestown, and I was pleased and a a bit surprised to see them return. Hopefully, it'll be open the next time I hit the mall)

We had more luck at Bath and Body Works. I finally have the money to indulge in more than one or two of their fancier products. We caught them on the last day of their big all hand soaps for $3.95 sale. I had to get the Afternoon Apple Picking soap scent; also grabbed Autumn Rainfall and Sunshine & Lemons. Lauren and I both picked up mini hand sanitizers with their 5 for $8 deal as well. 

Gray, gloomy clouds moved in by the time we headed across the parking lot for lunch. They did cool things off as a nice breeze blew across the pedestrian walkway over the highway to the Hillview Shopping Center. We took the elevator up; despite the dirty floor, we really didn't feel like hiking up the steep steps.

Had lunch at the 50's-style Silver Diner, just outside of the main shopping center. Lauren ordered vegetable chili and half of a thick turkey sandwich. I went with the same crab cake and Old Bay dusted fries I had the last time Lauren visited in May 2019...and it was just as good the third time around. Like I told her, the Silver Diner franchise is based in Maryland. They know seafood.

Headed for Kohl's next. I didn't see anything here I couldn't live without, but Lauren bought a shirt. Hobby Lobby replaced Babies R' Us next-door to Kohl's...and it was so ginormous, we couldn't figure out where anything was. I'll have to give that one another look when I have more time to explore it. She picked up a couple of bras at the huge Target in the back; I got shredded mozzarella and bread crumbs for the Eggplant Parmesan. 

Went back to the main mall around 3. Checked out their Macy's and JC Penney's department stores, along with the Old Navy next-door to JC Penney. I found nothing anywhere. The only clothes I really need are pants and socks for work, along with long-sleeved t-shirts. Lauren picked up a shirt for work at Penney's and several tank tops at Old Navy. 

We were originally going to have an early dinner at Stone Fire Pizza next to Fatburger's, but they closed early due to plumbing problems. Lauren bought a panini from Saladworks in the food court instead. I was more thirsty than hungry and opted for a pineapple coconut milkshake from Haagen Das. We sat back and chatted at the table until it was time to go upstairs and pick up the bus.

The bus to Camden was only two minutes late, not bad for the height of rush hour. Traffic was fine, not as heavy as it could have been on a Thursday. We arrived at the now-expanded Mulligan's Bar and Grill on the White Horse Pike around 6. Stopped briefly at WaWa for drinks; she had a sparkling Poland Spring, I went with a peach Perrier.

Went right into Match Game '76 when we got home and I closed the windows. Jodie finally got in, and she must have turned on the air conditioning. For some reason, they skipped the next episode, taking us into one of the last shows of the year. Cranky Joe Bishop and smart Elizabeth Allen joined Fannie Flagg and the regulars to help that sweet young man contestant with "Song of __" in the Audience Match.

Flagg stuck around for Match Game PM, this time joined by poet Nipsey Russell and stage legend Ethel Merman. Gene got a bit nervous when he realized the male contestant stood six feet, ten inches! He told him he could have any question he wanted. I had leftover black bean dip for dinner while Richard Dawson got a little too close with the contestant in the last few minutes!

Organized my new CDs into the appropriate binders as Sale of the Century began. For some reason, we skipped an episode and had a new champion, a sweet older lady. The one man bought two out of three Instant Bargains, but she picked up the third and just got past him in the Speed Round. Picked up a shopping spree from the Match the Prizes board for her trouble.

Finished the night at TCM with The Barkleys of Broadway. I got further into the last movie to feature Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dancing together at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

No comments: