Downtown

Began the morning with Family Feud. They jumped to 1989 and the week where Bob Barker, the show's producer, and three models from The Price Is Right played the cast of The Young and the Restless. Turns out that Bob and his ladies know about more than pricing games. They were winning when we finally headed out.

It was a gorgeous day to walk into Collingswood. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, the breeze was deliciously cool, and it was warmer than yesterday without being overly so like it's supposed to be later this week. We strolled through the park, enjoying the shade and giggling at the adorable little chipmunk who ran out to greet us. 

We arrived at the Pop Shop for brunch around quarter after 11. I had the Bananas Foster "Bettys," aka pancakes with caramelized bananas and walnuts. Lauren had the Magill Grilled Cheese with three different kind of cheeses and tater tots. She shared her tater tots with me when she couldn't finish them all. Unlike the Bananas Foster Waffle I had there a few years ago, the bananas and walnuts were actually baked into the pancakes, and not too big to eat in one setting. 

Given the Pop Shop has won awards for its ice cream concoctions, we had to try some ice cream. We both went simple with ice cream sodas. She had a cherry float with Cherry Coke, cherry syrup, and vanilla ice cream. I went with Coke and coffee ice cream. They came in adorable little mason jar mugs topped high with whipped cream that overflowed when they were brought to us. My coffee ice cream and Coke complimented each other nicely. Lauren seemed to enjoy her cherry float, too.

(And we got there at just the right time. Even as we finished our sodas, the Pop Shop had begun to fill up with noisy families and kids who got off of school early.) 

There were two stores we missed in Collingswood and Westmont on Saturday that we still wanted to check out. I thought Lauren would love Secret Comics, a huge comic book store on Haddon Avenue that replaced a gym a few years ago. I didn't buy anything, but she came out with two Nightwing comics she'd been looking for and a Funko Pop Sophia from The Golden Girls for a guy friend. Two adorable little kids buying toys with their dad said they liked my new Pokemon backpack, which was sweet of them.

Samaritan Thrift in Westmont closes at 3, earlier than most of the small stores in South Jersey. They were busy with women on their lunch break looking for bargains. Lauren found a blouse in a nice brown print. I picked up two CDs.

After that, we headed down to the Westmont PATCO train station behind Santander Bank. We got in at the right time. The train arrived quickly, and it was barely half-full when we rumbled into the 9th/10th Street Station in Philadelphia.

Rustic Music is a block from the 10th Street PATCO entrance. I wanted to check out at least one of the Philly music or book stores while we were in town. I hadn't been to this tiny store in over a decade. They may be small, but they have a good selection. Lauren bought three CDs. I walked out with two CDs and six records. We were even treated to an impromptu jam session by a young man trying out one of the guitars and discussing vintage guitar lines with the owner while we were there.

Between Rustic Music and Samaritan Thrift, I came up with four CDs:

Original Broadway cast albums for Avenue Q and the 1999 Bernadette Peters Annie Get Your Gun revival

Frank Sinatra - Come Fly With Me

Bob Marley and the Wailers - Legend: The Best of Bob Marley and the Wailers

And seven records:

Soundtrack for Give My Regards to Broad Street and a triple Jane Powell MGM soundtrack collection featuring Nancy Goes to Rio, Royal Wedding, and Rich, Young, and Pretty

The K-Tel collection Star Power

Stars of the Silver Screen 1929-1930, a collection of songs from early sound films (some of them now otherwise lost)

Stan Kenton - Encores

Smokey Robinson & the Miracles - Greatest Hits Vol. 2

Martha and the Vandellas - Greatest Hits

The reason I wanted to visit Rustic Music is it's only a few blocks down 10th Street from Market Street and the Fashion District. We walked down there, then turned another two blocks to the huge Macy's. The Macy's in downtown Philly is massive, three stories of clothes, shoes, housewares, and toys. They used to be Wanamaker's before Macy's bought the brand. We really wanted to use the bathroom, but you need to ask a salesperson for a combination to open the locks. I bought nothing here, but Lauren picked up some shirts. 

Headed down a very busy Market Street around 4 PM to check out Primark. This Irish department store mostly sells casual t-shirts, shorts, slacks, and blouses, along with a lot of Disney and cartoon branded items. I looked at Disney-print sleep shirts, but ultimately decided I didn't really need them and just went to the bathroom in the main mall. Lauren did pick up a shirt. 

We took the elevator to the third floor to check out their Round 1. It's much smaller than the one in Deptford, but it does have some games they don't. I played the Star Wars pinball machine and tried a game similar to Whack-a-Mole, only you hit buttons and whack an on-screen alligator. The ring toss didn't work and I couldn't find the skee ball, but I did spin the Monster Wheels and the Pirate's Wheel, tried their Wheel of Fortune wheel, shot baskets, and did a different ring toss with larger rubber rings you tried to get on spokes. 

Lauren decided to save her points for when we get together in September, but I found something I've wanted for a while. Cute green-eyed Beanie Baby tiger Tiggy with his teeny little smile has been on the rack with other Beanie Babies at the Acme for ages. I think he's darling. I considered getting another one with Tiggy, but decided I too would otherwise wait for the fall.

We were going to hit Burlington Coat Factory next, but we saw a guy only letting a woman in through a barrier. That wasn't something we wanted to deal with after a security guard almost literally chased us down at Round 1 to check our bags. We just ended up taking a half-full PATCO home instead.

Stopped at WaWa for a drink on the way home. Neither of us were really up to anything fancy this time. I bought a Propel. She walked out with a Coke Spiced Zero. 

After we got in, we had a fancy lobster dinner with a friend and her family. Relaxed before we ate with Match Game Syndicated. Jon Bauman in Bowser greaser mode and sweet Gina Hecht joined in this week. Jon showed off his musical ability by playing the Match Game think music on the toy piano provided to musicians on the show. 

After our long walk, I wasn't up to much more than finishing the night with The New Scooby Doo Movies.  "Guess Who's Knott Coming to Dinner?" The Mystery Inc kids, who are stranded at a mysterious mansion when all they're trying to do is ask for directions. The butler, maid, and several pirates all look familiar...and they learn why when Don Knotts reveals he's been in disguise to ferret out the ghosts who plague a wealthy sea captain who has gone missing. Knotts thinks they're the captain's nephews who are after his loot. The kids and Scooby not only prove otherwise, they help him find the real culprits.