Headed out after that. First stop of the day was The Big Event, the bowling alley and arcade in Cherry Hill. The arcade is much smaller than Round 1 or Dave and Buster's, but they're also less expensive, and the few games use far less points. I spun the pirate wheel, pushed both lever wheels, and played a ton of Nerf Arcade. One little boy no more than 5 joined me at Nerf Arcade at one point. He didn't do great, but he had an absolutely marvelous time and was hilarious to watch. I amassed over 2,100 points. Got a cute stuffed popcorn named Arnel who apparently (and appropriately) is a movie lover, a little stuffed rainbow seal, and two fruit Tootsie Rolls.
Stopped at Dunkin' Donuts and bought a Diet Pepsi, then headed over to the Ellisburg Shopping Center. I had hoped that book store had reopened. Sadly, no. A Wren Kitchen Store opened in what had been Dollar Tree. The book store now held a martial arts studio. The book store would seem to be gone for good.
There was no way I could hike down Route 70 to Market Place, like I did last summer. It wasn't the weather. It was a gorgeous and sunny, if chilly and windy, day. There wasn't much of a Route 70 left for me to walk down. The right side as you came from Ponzio's and the Ellisburg Shopping Center was being completely refinished, including the sidewalks. I ended up just taking Uber from the McDonald's on the edge of the shopping center.
My original thought for lunch was The Cheesecake Factory. I took one look at the long line bunched up in their lobby, even at quarter of 3, and decided to save it for a non-holiday weekday. Brio also had a long line and seemed a bit fancy for lunch.
I ended up at Shake Shack. That might not have been a good idea. Not only were they busy too, but while they have great crinkle-cut fries, their burgers aren't very good. The Shackburger I had was barely one step up from McDonald's. Their fries are delicious, nice and crisp, and I liked the iced tea. I think if I need to eat there again, I'll just get shakes or snacks.
The other reason I ate there is Trader Joe's is right across the parking lot from them. Needless to say, they were insanely busy, too. I just wanted my favorite snacks. Picked up the chocolate-almond butter cereal bars, the coconut strips, and the dried orange slices. All of their yogurt had a ton of sugar. The Iceland-style seemed to be the least sweet.
It was getting late. I had no time for anywhere else in the mall but Barnes & Noble. I walked around for an hour, but I had a hard time picking things I wanted. I just ended up with a work book for women with ADHD and Twilight Falls, the next book in the Shady Hollow Mystery Series revolving around a Zootopia-like town in the woods whose residents are talking animals. They had long lines, too, that moved slow as molasses in January. There was only one register open. Maybe they're having trouble finding help, too.
At least I had no trouble with Uber today. The one going to The Big Event came in two minutes! The other two took 6 minutes. There was a little traffic on Route 70 and Cuthbert, but no real trouble getting home.
Went straight into dinner and tonight's Match Game marathon when I got home. For a show as popular as Match Game, their set seemed to always be breaking down. The turntable would go the wrong way, or not go at all. The question holder was forever sliding out of Gene's reach or not going down when he wanted. Lights went out when they weren't supposed to. Earl, the little guy who slid the answers during the Audience Match, fell asleep on the job at least once. Once, the question holder was so stubborn, Gene had a contestant hold it. Gene tripped while doing his Mr. Perriwinkle impression and landed in Elaine Joyce's lap. Some stagehand dropped an orange background instead of the monitor that showed the $5,000 for the Head to Head.
See how a hit game show deals with some pretty crazy breakdowns in this goofy marathon!
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