The Berlin Farmer's Market is one of the oldest of its type in the area. As Lauren pointed out, their parking lot alone was larger than the one at the Big Exposition in Springfield. Every Saturday and Sunday, they hold a massive flea market outside on the grounds. Most of it is cheap toys, rusty old tools, and piles of old junk. I did manage to dig three jazz CDs for a dollar each out of bins. Shortly after that, we felt it start to sprinkle lightly. It was time to head inside.
After exploring one of the junk shops, our first stop was Mary Ann's Pizza Stand in between the rows of stores. Mary Ann herself was a pleasant older woman who quickly took our orders. The slices were small and the crust was thin, but it tasted delicious. I had cheese and mushroom. Lauren had mushroom and pepperoni. We enjoyed them with cups of Diet Coke.
We strolled around the Farmer's Market for the next two hours or so. Lauren never did find anything she wanted. I picked up The Jazzman's Trumpet by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel, The Smugger's Secrets by Kathleen Ernst, and Josefina's Cookbook from the magazine store. Lauren looked at Hot Wheels at the DVD store, but I took advantage of a buy 2, get the third free sale to pick up the first two seasons of The Adventures of Superman and the Errol Flynn western Dodge City. I found the green Beanie Baby bear Erin for St. Patrick's Day and a gift for my niece Finley's birthday next month at the toy store.
There were a few disappointments. For some reason, the record shop wasn't open. They had a stack of records and a drum set in front of the door, but the door was locked tight and the shop was dark. The Amish bakery turned out to be closed on Sunday. The Comics store that also sells records was way overpriced.
On the other hand, the arcade was a big hit. They claim to be the oldest arcade in existence, probably opening with the original Farmer's Market. You still use tokens on the games, rather than cards. They made up for those broken pinball machines at RAM yesterday with two long rows of pinball games. The first room featured vintage games from the 70's through the 90's, some possibly from when the Arcade opened. The second had recent games from the last decade. I played Flash Gordon and the (Christopher Nolan) Batman on the vintage side and Dr. No, Star Wars, and Guardians of the Galaxy on the modern side. I also played the Lane Master bowling game.
Since it was only 2 when we got out, we decided to try an enormous Goodwill the Uber driver passed in Stratford on our way to Berlin. It took 20 minutes for the driver to arrive after the first one canceled, and then they couldn't figure out where we were at the Farmer's Market. Thankfully, there still wasn't much traffic. It took less than 10 minutes to get back to Stratford.
The Goodwill did prove to be gigantic. The warehouse-sized building was mostly full of clothes, with rooms for other items off to the side. I immediately made a beeline for the alcove with the records, books, CDs, and DVDs. Unfortunately, it was also mobbed. The lines when we got there went half-way across the huge store. I forgot Goodwill has items with certain colored tags for a dollar on Sundays. At least the four records and the hardback copy of In This Grave Hour by Jacqueline Windspear I found were the dollar colors. So was a Lands End tank top in a pretty purple flower print. The three Faded Glory shorts weren't on the dollar sale, but I still got them.
Incidentally, the CDs are:
Cannonball Adderly - The Best of Cannonball Adderly: The Capitol Years
The Blues Brothers - The Definitive Collection
Fats Domino - My Blue Heaven: The Best of Fats Domino
The records are:
Bing Crosby - Bing Crosby's Greatest Hits
Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra - Remembering Tommy
Melissa Manchester - Greatest Hits
The original cast album for High Button Shoes (The record and cover are not in the best shape, but I've been looking for this one for years.)
Since it was only a block away, we opted to walk to the PATCO station in Lawnside and pick up the train from there. At least it was a nice day by then. The clouds disappeared while we were in the Farmer's Market, replaced by warm sun and a pleasant breeze.
Taking the train on a Sunday afternoon may not have been the smartest idea. It wasn't bad when we left Lawnside (other than the person blasting TLC in the car), but at every location the train stopped at, it kept picking up more and more barely-dressed, noisy, inebriated teens carrying drinks. By the time it pulled into the Collingswood station, the car was so full of giggling, yelling kids, we could barely squeeze our way off. Thankfully, Collingswood was the first station they hadn't gotten on at, allowing us to get downstairs and into town normally.
I originally suggested looking for a coffee shop for a snack, but we decided we were too tired and opted for WaWa instead. She had the same vanilla coffee she's been drinking for the past week. I had a pina colada smoothie that was so thick, I thought I got the milkshake at first. We sipped our drinks as we headed home down Lakeview Drive and Bettlewood Avenue into Oaklyn.
Took the laundry downstairs, then got back upstairs just in time for dinner and tonight's Match Game marathon. Celebrity "misfits," or who didn't really fit one way or the other on the panel, were the theme of tonight's show. Joan Collins, for instance, was clearly bored during her one week in 1975 and absolutely did not want to be there. Nor did Mabel King in 1978. Raymond Burr, everyman host Larry Blyden, and Robert Culp didn't get the comedy vibe. Peggy Cass was at sea on any game show but To Tell the Truth.
Comediennes Sydney Goldsmith and Kaye Stevens had voices and laughs that annoyed panelists and viewers alike (and Kaye had the habit of jumping into everyone else's frame). Denise DuBarry, Tudi Wiggins, and Brenda Nixon were pretty soap and drama stars who were there as eye candy, nothing more. Pat Harrington, Ronny Graham, and Marty Cohen tried too hard to be funny. (The last-named would do better on Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour.) Don Adams raised a ruckus and demanded special treatment, including Richard's seat, in 1974. (And he didn't play very well, either.)
Doing comedy and playing games at the same time isn't as easy as it looks. See who worked out and who didn't in this unique marathon!
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