Our first stop in downtown Woodbury was The Nerd Mall. This is a collectibles shop that specializes in action figures and games of all kinds. While Lauren looked over their wrestling action figures (and did buy one), I checked out their floor-to-ceiling shelves filled with board games.
They're also a vintage arcade like the one in Haddonfield with mostly older games, though they did have a few recent Japanese cabinets. I played Pac Man Jr., Bust a Move, Sunset Riders, Final Fight, and Galaga. I did best at Sunset Riders, but I also kept continuing. I was going to play Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but Lauren had been there so long, she left her game. I didn't realize until I took over and was in the Technodrome. I managed to get past the door guard and Krang on my own, but Lauren returned to help with Shredder.
We figured there was no way we were going to top beating Shredder together, so we headed across the street to On the Record. This is a lovely little music shop that not only sells records, but CDs and concert DVDs as well. I ended up with a CD and several records. Lauren bought a 3-disc collection of 80's songs and another of big band-style Christmas music.
Jessa was supposed to meet us in Woodbury. I had no idea when she was arriving. Turns out she called and texted when we were in the Nerd Mall, but I didn't hear her over the noise of the games. She finally met us about 15 minutes later in front of Charlie Brown's Grill and Steakhouse about two blocks down from the main shopping district.
Charlie Brown's was a dark-paneled steakhouse and sports bar with comfortable older wood chairs. Jessa had the salad bar, but Lauren and I opted to watch ESPN reports on baseball and the basketball playoffs and talk about the Celtics having made the finals. Our sandwiches were all huge. I had a juicy basic burger with crispy fries and tart Cole slaw. Lauren had chicken ciabatta - chicken, peppers, and mozzarella on a ciabatta bun, and Jessa had a Reuben. Yum! My burger was tasty, moist and meaty and just big enough. Lauren finished her chicken ciabatta. Jessa didn't finish her Reuben, but she also had the salad.
We headed back to Woodbury's shopping district after lunch to check out the SMS Thrift Store next-door to On the Record. They're a warren of small rooms filled with just about everything you can imagine. I found a thick, soft peach T-shirt and a set of two blue and red woven placemats with a rose design. Lauren found another nice vest for work.
Went across the street next to check out 2nd Chance Antiques. They're not nearly as big as SMS, just one room of clothes and one of furniture and other larger items. This time, Lauren and I didn't find anything, but Jessa came up with a really cute porcelain cookie jar in the shape of a vintage post office.
Woodbury Antiques is a block from 2nd Chance. This enormous dark space is a warren of areas with antiques and artwork sold by different artists and collectors. Having visited last October, I knew exactly where to go. I went in the back where most of the records were and came up with three. Found two more that were even better on a shelf further up front. Jess didn't get anything here, but Lauren bought two books.
Jessa lead us another block down and around the corner. I had no idea there was a parking garage in Woodbury. Even their parking garage had been made to look Victorian, with lavish trim on the tower. She was proud to have parked on the top floor, which is apparently something she's never been able to do at other parking garages.
At least the weather was perfect for a stroll downtown. It was sunny, breezy, and warm, but also dry, with a pale blue sky and not a cloud in sight. The strong wind kept it from feeling quite as unbearable as the last few days.
Our final stop was the Woodbury Goodwill just outside of town amid a sea of car dealerships and shopping centers. We all did really well here! I found a CD and a gorgeous swirling skirt in a really cute red flowered cotton print with a bright green border. It ties instead of buttoning or zippering. I can't find a tag on it anywhere, which makes me think it's handmade. Lauren picked up yellow plaid shorts and a shirt. Jessa found a shirt, a CD, and a nice vintage tray for her and her husband Joe to eat their dinner on in the living room.
Oh, and in addition to the shirt, skirt, and placemats, I found two CDs:
Frank Sinatra - Swing and Dance With Frank Sinatra
Radio City Music Hall Presents Songs of Christmas (I know I've heard this before, possibly at the Stockton Media Center.)
And eight records:
Stan Getz & Charlie Byrd - Jazz Samba
Santana - Shango and Zebop
The Monkees - Changes
Tale Spinners for Children - Treasure Island
The soundtracks from Darling Lili, Head, and a double collection of Calamity Jane and the movie Pajama Game
(And yes, I already have Changes and Head on CD, but even the later Rhino vinyl re-releases I picked up tend to be hard to find.)
After Jess dropped us off at home, we put everything away, then relaxed over Classic Concentration. The contestants were about even when we got in, but the girl managed to beat the guy to the answer. She didn't get the car, though. He had far more luck later in the episode.
Let it run into Match Game Syndicated next. The first episode featured a gorgeous college student whom Bart Braverman drooled over and a charming little old man who looked and sounded like Old Man Periwinkle come to life. Unfortunately, he blurted out his answer before everyone was finished writing, and they had to throw out the question. This is also the one where Gene collapsed when an answer he didn't expect came up on the Audience Match. Bart took over hosting briefly, but he sounded more like a race track tout than a game show host.
Alas, the next episode is lost, so we never did find out how Irv did. We resumed with two new contestants and Gene discussing the opera Charles directed. The others tried to help one of those contestants with "Powdered __" on the Audience Match.
With the episode after that also missing, Buzzr skipped to the next week with Paul Williams, Clifton Davies, and Gail Farrell from The Lawrence Welk Show. Clifton was pretty thrilled with his constantly cheering groupies in the audience. Meanwhile, a shy Naval officer turned quite a few heads and Charles made fun of Brett's "gold" necklaces. The officer did far better in the next episode as Charles and Gene discussed the studio having printed the wrong date on their tickets.
Finished out the night with The Love Boat. It's a "Marriage-a-Thon" in a two-part episode where 50 couples are married on-board. "The Promoter" (Darren McGavin) who set up the contest for a certain couple to win a house, a car, and money may end up losing his wife (Debbie Reynolds) to Captain Steubing, which Vicki wouldn't mind a bit. An older couple (Rue McClanahan and Ted Knight) are "Forever Engaged" and hope to tie the knot after ten engagements in ten years, if he can finally bring himself to say "I do."
One of the fathers (Peter Graves) and the mothers (Kathie Browne) make "The Family Plan" to split up their children (Erin Moran and Brian Kerwin), only to fall in love with each other. A friend of Julie's (Donnie Most) is supposed to be the best man to one of the grooms, but when the groom runs off with an old girlfriend, he has to tell the jilted bride (Charlene Tilton). It becomes a case of "May the Best Man Win" when he ends up falling for the beauty himself.
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