Ride Captain Ride

Lauren and I started out early on my last day of vacation. We wanted to have one last breakfast together. Ended up back at Denny's. This time, she had the Grand Slamwich, I had the "Say It Three Times Slam," part of their line advertising the new Beetlejuice movie, and a fruit cup. Actually, she ended up bringing a plate of cut-up fruit. There was plenty to share with Lauren. The "Say It Three Times" slam ended up being three silver dollar pancakes topped with chocolate chips, melted chocolate, vanilla cream, and green sprinkles. Not bad, and while decadent, it also wasn't too much to eat in one sitting, thanks to the pancakes being smaller.

Denny's and Cracker Barrel are less than a 10-minute's ride from the Albany-Renessaler Train Station. While smaller than the big-city stations, it's equally nice, with wood trim and vaulted ceilings. I bought a turkey sandwich for lunch and went to the bathroom, and we sat together and chatted until my train was called. I told her to say "hi" to her parents and Rico for me and followed the line to the train.

This time, the train going to Albany was nowhere near full. I had a pleasantly quiet ride, eating lunch, coloring in that old Care Bears coloring book, and just admiring that stunning view of the Adirondacks. Though it was misty and foggy when we left this morning, by noon, the fog had cleared, revealing a gorgeous, sunny afternoon.

I was feeling so relaxed after I got off that quiet train, I treated myself to an enormous salt-covered soft pretzel from a cart parked near Penn Station before I crossed to Moynihan. They weren't more than the normal busy, either, nothing like Sunday. I got a Pumpkin Spice Frappucino, but was too keyed up to do more than walk around and keep an eye on the time.

The train going to Philadelphia was actually a commuter train on its way to Harrisburg, and it was jammed full. I got stuck next to a gentleman who spent the hour and a half checking his phone. Spent the hour and a half ride thinking of how much I didn't want to go home. I don't want to deal with the Acme tomorrow. Lauren's so lucky to have co-workers whom she actually likes and who like and respect her back. I hate my job. I don't want to go back there. I don't want to go home, either. I'm just tired of everything.

I was good and depressed by the time the train rolled into 30th Street Station. It took me three tries to get an Uber home, probably due to it being rush hour. Even when one arrived, I almost missed it across the street. At any rate, there was no traffic going home, not on the Schuylkill Expressway or the Ben Franklin Bridge. I was back in Oaklyn by quarter after 6.

Unpacked and had a sandwich for dinner while watching Match Game '77. Soap star Tudi Wiggins made her first and only appearance on the show during this week. This is also the week that's missing an episode, due to a very randy answer that now has that episode banned from the airwaves.

Took a shower, then finished the night on YouTube with word-based game show. Password is likely the word-association game show champ. It began in 1961 with celebrities helping contestants to guess a word and was such a sensation, versions have been popping up ever since. The episode I have here is Password Plus from 1980. Allen Ludden, who had hosted the show from the very first 1961 episodes, took a few weeks off in April 1980 to recover from illness. This was his first episode back. Bill Cullen, who took his place during those few weeks, is one of the celebrity partners here.

The wild success of Password was bound to inspire imitations. The original version of You Don't Say! debuted on NBC in 1962. Basically the same deal, only here, people described the names of famous people. Tom Kennedy had one of his first hosting gigs with this show.

Match Game started out as a more serious affair in 1962, but it didn't work until they started playing the simple questions for comedy. The hit 70's version put even more of an emphasis on goofy questions featuring characters like Dumb Dora and Mr. Periwinkle, as in this episode from August 1976. 

Pyramid is another celebrity-contestant pairing show. In this case, the celebrities help the contestants guess what subject the clues belong to. It's been going in some form or another since 1973. Fred Grandy and Didi Conn are the celebrities helping their contestants to the Winner's Circle in this episode of The $20,000 Pyramid from 1978. 

Lingo and Chain Reaction didn't go over in their original forms. Lingo, which involved contestants guessing words on a bingo board, didn't even last a season in syndication in 1987 and early 1988. Chain Reaction originally had celebrities helping contestants guess which words came next in a chain of relating words. It ran headlong into game show-hating Fred Silverman, who canceled it and two other shows in favor of The David Letterman Show. (Which lasted four months when Letterman proved too edgy for morning TV.) 

Both shows did far better in revival after re-runs of the originals were hits. Lingo was an early hit for Game Show Network, and Chuck Woolery's last game show hosting job to date. Chain Reaction dropped the celebrities for a streamlined version filmed in Canada in 1986, with Geoff Edwards hosting. It too would later be a Game Show Network original - three times, in fact, in three short-lived year-long runs, the most recent in 2021-2022. 

The third word game champ is Wheel of Fortune. Most people probably don't remember that it goes way far back. It debuted in 1976 on NBC and narrowly escaped being canceled several times, including when Fred Silverman went on that show-axing spree in 1980. It didn't really become a smash until Woolery left in a salary dispute and was replaced by Pat Sajak. I have one of the few Woolery episodes in existence here.

I wish Wordplay did better on NBC in 1987. I've watched this one several times, and it's a lot of fun. Three celebrities describe a word, but only one has the real description. Nifty variation on Liar's Club, with the celebrities bluffing on words and their definitions.

Learn new words and how to describe them with these adorable and very funny shows!

You Don't Say! (1964)

Match Game (1976)

Wheel of Fortune (1976)

The $20,000 Pyramid (1978)

Password Plus (1980)

The New Chain Reaction (1987)
Wordplay (1987)

Lingo (2007)

Look Out Here Comes Tomorrow

This time, we started out at bit later at 9:30...and we made an extra stop before getting on the highway. Lauren promised her guy friend Rico that he could join us at Six Flags Great Escape today. Rico works with Lauren at the bank in Great Barrington. He proved to be a lot of fun, chatting and making jokes as Lauren drove through Stockbridge and Lee and got on the MassPike.

We first ended up at a rest stop about a half-hour or so outside of Lake George to use the bathroom. Lauren and I were delighted to find sodas we didn't often run into at home in their vending machines. I got a Dr. Pepper Zero Sugar. She found a Wild Cherry Pepsi Zero Sugar. Rico got an Arizona iced tea and an energy drink.

Parking has been greatly simplified since we started coming to Great Escape together. Lauren only had to show the kid a voucher she printed online to get us in. She drove around back, parking us in the Three Musketeers lot near the edge of the woods. (All lots at Great Escape are named for Mars candies.) We followed the crowds over the bridge to the entrance.

Great Escape is a charming cross between Storybook Land in Mays Landing and the New Jersey Six Flags Great Adventure. It was originally a family park in the 50's called Storybook Town USA, but it added coasters and other rides over the years along with the original little fairy tale cottages and western ghost town buildings. We came in time for their Fright Fest. Kids dressed as witches, ghouls, Cinderella, and Mario streamed into haunted "house" rides and mazes. Alas, the spooky mazes and Trick or Treat cost extra, so we stuck to the regular rides.

We walked around first, taking in the lay of the land. Fabric spider's webs covered every single stationary object and ride and food booth that wasn't in use. Foul-smelling smoke drifted from vents and a huge spooky jack-'o-lantern near the Cinderella's Castle. Water in the fountains, including around Cinderella's Castle, was colored red to resemble blood. (Though it really more closely resembled cherry Kool Aid.)

Ended up at the Ghost Town. Lauren showed Rico how she's short enough to easily fit in one of the little houses before we stopped at a building housing games and cranes. These cranes contained stuffed toys that were far nicer and better made than the stuffies one usually found in them. One crane had nothing but Gund toys. Gund is a very good stuffed animal brand, not cheap at all. To my surprise, I got a soft, floppy white and gray cat on my second try! I named her Queensbury, after the town where Great Escape is, Queenie for short.

Our first actual ride took us over a steep bridge and into Hot Rod USA. Thunder Alley lets guests drive over a track decorated with vintage Storybook Town signs in 50's-style cars. It was also the only ride open in Hot Rod USA. Most of the others were down for the season or in the midst of being refurbished, which may account for the very long line. It was fun when we finally got in the cars, though. I rode a police car and giggled at the bright signs describing a ghost family on a Halloween picnic outing. The real-life 50's architecture across the street, including a fried chicken stand with a huge neon chicken sign, added to the ambiance. 

Made our way through the crowds and past many scary statues and busts of jokers, ghouls, and the Phantom of the Opera to the Fest Area. More rides were open here, including the brand-new wooden roller coaster the Bobcat. Lauren and Rico wanted to continue on and ride another wooden coaster, the Comet, but I was hungry and hate coasters. 

They ended up heading to the back of the park while I stepped into the Alpine Haus cafeteria for lunch. It was a dark, simple room that was just benches and a counter. The grilled chicken sandwich was a little dry but not bad. The fries were delicious, perfectly cooked with their skins on. I ate them outside at one of the yellow picnic tables and watched the crowds stroll by. 

Since they still hadn't arrived after I finished eating, I strolled around the area for a bit. There's several smaller carnival-style rides in the Fest Area, including the Cannonball Express. This is another name for the Music Express, which goes around and around on an up and down track and features brightly painted artwork of famous singers. The Music Express was one of my favorite rides in Wildwood, and I missed it. Unlike Thunder Alley, the line here wasn't long at all. I got on right away and even had a seat to myself. I screamed and clutched the bar as the music blared and the seats rocked and rolled over the track.

I met Rico and Lauren outside the Alpine Haus, where they enjoyed burgers and those yummy fries. After they finished, we doubled back to Hot Rod USA after I picked up a soda. We were originally going to ride the Storybook Town Train, but the line was prohibitively long. I talked them into the Grand Carousel instead, since that barely had any line at all. (They later said the Comet didn't, either.) 

The Grand Carousel is unique in one respect. Many of the horses are replaced by beautifully painted and detailed animals. I spotted an orange jack rabbit, a purple dragon, a camel, a black and white cat, and a lion. I ended up on a handsome pale blue horse with a cobalt mane and lovely flowers painted on his bridle. The little kids and their parents all around me rode their fanciful equines in happy awe, and I was delighted with their sweet reactions. 

Though the line at the train was still long when we got there, we figured it was one of the few rides all three of us could do together. In fact, it was so long, we didn't get on the first train that came around and had to wait for the second, and then the girl in charge took another 10 minutes making us wait while she called someone on her walkie-talkie. It was lovely when we finally got on. The Storybook Town Train takes you through the woods, past Popo the Purple Cow (who is really more of a friendly dragon), Hickory Dickory Dock, and slightly dilapidated jungle animal statues taken from the overgrown remains of the Jungleland rope walk-through. 

I spied giant Technicolor flowers from the train that were part of the Alice In Wonderland walk-through, so we headed there next. After getting turned around in the kiddie ride section Timbertown, we finally ducked into the low, narrow cave that took you into a black-light Wonderland. Rico chattered and joked about Alice stuck in the White Rabbit's house, the Mad Tea Party, and the Queen of Hearts looking slightly murderous among her card guards. 

It was past 4 when we got out of Wonderland. Time to head back to the International Village entryway and buy souvenirs. I didn't get anything. Not only am I running out of room, but I already won Queenie. Rico picked up a cool pair of yellow vinyl clogs with rainbows, unicorns, and Captain America shield buttons on them. Lauren bought a Great Escape t-shirt at the main gift shop you pass through on the way out.

The Pirate Adventure Golf Course isn't more than three minutes from Great Escape, so we went there next. This beautifully landscaped mini-golf course lets you choose two different courses, one harder than the other. We went with the tougher Blackbeard course. We all had a great time hitting our balls, chasing them when they bounced off-course, or trying to keep them from rolling into the many gurgling streams and waterfalls. They even had blurbs about the real Blackbeard on wooden signs posted at the start of each course. (I think Rico won this one.)

I hadn't eaten at Golden Corral since ours closed over a decade ago, and Rico called it "my mecca" and was delighted to eat anywhere that would fill his endless appetite. They turned out to be another short five-minute drive. They were also busy as heck, and not just because it's Sunday. We arrived just ahead of two buses filled with elderly tourists.

I'm glad we did end up there. I missed the one that used to be behind the Pep Boys/America's Best building at Audubon Crossings. They had tons of everything, from their amazing sweet potato casserole to what I believe was real whole berry cranberry sauce. I started with the cranberry sauce, cubed tropical fruit, and a greens salad with blue cheese and dried cranberries. My main protein was delicious steak tips straight off the grill. We all tried their yummy creamed spinach and cheese pizza. I had this pasta smothered in mozzarella, provolone, and herbs that was amazing, too. 

By the time we got to dessert, I was too full for more than a slim slice of chocolate cake with a curl of vanilla ice cream, a spoonful of banana pudding, and a brownie square I didn't finish. Lauren had blueberry pie and a watermelon Icee. Rico grabbed cookies and cake. I had a cherry ice with strawberry sauce (and a rogue berry gummy bear) for a chaser.

After that, we practically rolled back to Lauren's car to head home. This time, we went straight back to the Berkshires on the highway, no stopping anywhere besides Rico's house to drop him off. After he gave us big hugs for a great afternoon, we finished our ride through Lee and Lennox to Pittsfield, singing along with the Monkees.

I finished the night with the second of half of today's Match Game marathon. Debralee Scott started off in the ingenue seat in mid-1976. The flirtatious young sitcom star may be best-remembered by game show fans today for joining Richard Dawson in instigating the infamous "school riot" in 1977. She and Rich argued when judge Ira Skutch wouldn't accept their "finishing school" or poor scared Patti Deusch's "night school" as answers to a question about where Dumb Dora takes her cultured pearls to. Gene tried to calm them down, but he couldn't keep order. Charles and Brett jokingly had Charles sprawled on Gene's entrance steps as the victim of the "school riot," but the damage was done. The lower tier kept their responses up in protest for what little remained of the episode.

Debralee's other great early moment was when Bill Anderson performed a song just for her at the end of a 1976 episode. Brett and Charles, dressed as cowpokes, sang along. Deb was flattered that someone came up with a song for her on the spot and gave Bill a very sweet kiss.

Deb did most of her best work in syndication, when she generally sat in the sixth seat. She happily flirted with contestants and panelists alike. Bart Braverman thought she was cute and kept throwing papers at her. She did not think he was cute. She pounded on him until he grabbed her for a kiss! She did better with the Head-to-Head, winning contestants big money at least twice in the nighttime episodes.

Watch Debralee as she flirts and fights with panelists and contestants alike in this very funny marathon!

Match Game Sunday Night Classics - Tribute to Debralee Scott

Oh, and it's a good thing I wasn't down in Philadelphia today. The Eagles got their rears handed to them by the Buccaneers 33-16. 

Beyond the Blue Horizon

This time, we began the morning after breakfast with running errands for Lauren's parents. They needed milk and their medicine at Lauren's local Market 32 by Price Chopper. This huge and very modern supermarket would seem to be the local equivalent of Wegman's in South Jersey, a high-end grocery store that sells both healthy and regular food. It's so big, it has a Starbucks on one side. We walked around and admired that enormous store, then picked up sodas for our trip later. Lauren got Baja Blast Zero. I finally found Voo Dew Zero, which I've never seen anywhere but Pittsfield on vacation.

(Incidentally, the Voo Dew was really good. This year, it has citrus-y notes. I think it's supposed to be some kind of lemonade flavor. It's certainly better than their attempt at candy corn last year.) 

We went back to Lauren's house to drop off the medicine and milk, then we started back to Albany. Once again, it was a gorgeous day. The sun was out, the breeze was fresh, and it was much warmer than it has been, probably in the lower-mid 70's. We sang along to the mix of classic rock and country Lauren's been playing all week and enjoyed the beautiful weather.

Our next stop was the Cracker Barrel we had dinner at on Monday. They were even tastier for breakfast. Lauren had the "Country Boy Breakfast," a plate of ham, scrambled eggs, and hash browns with fried apples. I had the Signature Fried Apple French Toast Bake, thick bread slices soaked in vanilla custard with cheesecake filling in between, topped with fried apples and pecan struesel. It came with pecan syrup (which didn't taste all that different from regular syrup) and wonderfully crispy bacon. She had coffee. I had hot tea. Oh, yum. The French toast was amazing. I don't even like cheesecake, but it worked between layers of sweet bread, and the apples were a lot less gloppy topped with praline bits. 

This time, we went a bit beyond Crossgates to the smaller Colonie Center, further down Wolf Road. They're the oldest of the malls we visit on vacation, but a major remodeling a little over a decade ago left it attractive inside and out. We parked near what had been their Christmas Tree Shops and was temporarily Spirit Halloween. It was just after 12 when we got in. They were busy, but not overwhelmingly so, likely thanks to the lovely day. We started at Nordstrom Rack. Lauren bought a dress, but I rarely see my size in the one at Cherry Hill, and I didn't see it here, either.

Tried the Pier Arcade next. This is much smaller than either Round 1 or Dave and Buster's, one room and a smaller party room. Many of the machines were broken, too, but I did manage to spin a Scooby Doo wheel, play a lot of Pac Man, Pac Mania, and Galaga, and get decent scores on skee ball. I had over 1,500 points, but I didn't really like any of the toy prizes. Lauren ended up with a box of Swedish Fish that was larger than you'd find in a store. I got a container of Tootsie Rolls.

We were in and out of smaller stores. Lauren bought the most adorable teddy-bear print t-shirts and a wonderful teddy bear sweater at Aeropostale. I wanted the sweater, but they didn't have it in my size. I'll check the malls in my area. We were in and out of L.L Bean and Go! Toys and Calendars. Lauren didn't buy anything at FYE, but I picked up two more CDs: 

Bon Jovi - Cross Road

America - The Very Best of America

Ducked into Barnes and Noble next. Found the next books in two mystery series I'd been looking for, Wonton Terror by Vivien Chien and Coconut Drop Dead by Olivia Matthews. Also finally picked up the cast album for the 2022 Music Man revival with Hugh Jackman on CD. I've wanted it since it came out, but it's pricey on two-disc LP. Grabbed a Passion Mango iced tea and two chocolate chunk cookies from Starbucks with coupons that came with my recent purchases.

Joined Lauren at Aeropostale, then headed to Boscov's. She got a shirt for her father and blouses for her. I found a pretty blue and red plaid short-sleeved, button down blouse and a heathery periwinkle blue long-sleeved t-shirt, both for $4.99 each on the clearance rack. I didn't get anything at Macy's or at Five Below, but she got blouses at the former and teddy bear lounging pants at the latter.

By the time we finished, it was past 5:30. We headed to dinner at Ted's Fish Fry, a very popular local seafood fast food joint. The line looked daunting when we arrived, but it moved fast. She had fish tacos and a Mountain Dew Zero. I had a scallop roll (fried scallops in a hot dog roll) and sparkling water. We both had salads, and we shared my fries. 

Though it clouded over while we were in the mall, it remained fairly warm as we headed back down to Massachusetts. No trouble with either trip, no real traffic either way, and the weather held. Lauren took the back way going home, driving through lovely neighborhoods behind the malls before getting on the freeway.

Finished the night at home with tonight's Match Game marathon. Big George Kennedy was starring in the short-lived cop show The Blue Knight when he first appeared on Match Game in 1976. He was probably the best player on the entire show besides Richard Dawson and Charles Nelson Reilly. He never failed to come up with the right answer, or at least one that made sense. He continued appearing on the show through the syndicated era. He was also one of the larger panelists. He and Barbara Rhodes showed just how tall they were compared to everyone else in a 1981 syndicated episode. He also won some folks big money, including a $10,000 win on a PM show in 1980.

Join the Police Squad and match along with Lieutenant Drebin's boss, the Blue Knight himself! 

Match Game Saturday Classics - The Best of George Kennedy on Match Game 1976-1981

Goin' Up the Country

This time, we started off going north after Lauren got gas at a Shell station down the street, heading through upstate New York and into Vermont. This is one of my favorite trips when I visit Lauren. Vermont is really beautiful. We passed by cows and horse grazing on smooth green fields and corn and pumpkins ripening in the morning sun, over streams gurgling and rushing around stones, and past dilapidated farm houses, weathered silos, and grand hotels made to look like Tyrolean homes. 

Lauren wanted to stop somewhere and use the bathroom. We tried a truck stop, but they had a sign on the door of the main building stating that the bathroom was out of order. She drove into Bennington and stopped at a Walgreens, but they had no bathroom. We finally ended up at a Dunkin' Donuts down the street. Not only was their bathroom fine, but we picked up donuts and drinks. I had green iced tea (which definitely had burnt notes) and a butternut (glazed rolled in nuts) donut. She had an iced coffee and bought a dozen donuts for her parents later.

We finally pulled into the Vermont Country Store at Weston around 11 AM. The Vermont Country Store is a rambling old farmhouse that sells "the practical and the unique." Their wares may be practical and unique, but the vintage holiday decorations, fancy milled soaps, huge bottles of long-discontinued shampoo and conditioners, recreations of older toys and books, kitchen gadgets, local cheeses and baked goods, and handmade linens tend to be pricey. 

There's an upstairs clearance area that sells items on deep discount. I did better here, digging a long-sleeved maroon blouse with a pretty fall leaf print out of the women's racks. Originally priced at $69, the tag said $34; it rang up as $19.99. I also grabbed a bag of coconut macaroons, a cute little stuffed female scarecrow to go with all of my male ones at home, and a small leaf-shaped bottle of maple syrup. Lauren bought a blouse for her, a plaid shirt for her dad, a shirt for her mom, polo shirts for her guy friend Rico, and candy for her and her folks.

Someone finally opened up the old Bryant House Restaurant next-door, behind Mildred's Dairy Bar. It's now known as Leyla's, and apparently it just debuted this past June. The formerly whitewashed building was now stripped down to bare, polished wood floor and ceiling beams and was decorated with what I suspect was local artwork and textiles. They're owned by a Manchester cafe that specializes in food cooked on a wood-fired stove, including pizza. The wild mushroom pizza, real mushrooms and caramelized onions on local mozzarella with a thin, yet soft crust, was amazing. I'd never had such wonderful mushroom pizza. Lauren had a Diet Coke, but I went with a sparkling water that was almost as good.

It was almost 2 PM when we bounced down the country highways to Manchester. This is a slightly larger town that's mainly known for its outlet mall...but it does have one truly unique business in that mall. Pastime Pinball is an interactive museum that showcases pinball machines from Humpty Dumpty, the first machine to use flippers in 1947, to consoles themed around Labyrinth and Elton John from last year that boast fancy LED graphics and elaborate levels and bumpers.  

I spent an hour playing those games, and Lauren was there for even longer. I did best on a nifty version of Ghostbusters from 2003 that included a cool Slimer that "floated" around when you hit him. I swear I remember seeing some of the 80's and early 90's games like High Speed, Space Shuttle, Pin Bot, Diner, The Machine: Bride of Pinbot, The Addams Family, and Fish Tails at the Cape May arcades when I was a kid. Theater of Magic, The Simpsons Pinball Party, Indiana Jones, Spider Man, and Lord of the Rings were among the games at the Wildwood arcades in the late 90's-early 2000's. I played most of the consoles, including the gorgeous LED retelling of the 1939 Wizard of Oz that was down the last time we visited here in 2022. I even gave the awkward sit-down console Night Moves a try.

The third level features other vintage games besides pinball, along with the snack stand. I decided to save my appetite for later and focused on the games. I never was very good at Pole Position, and today was no exception. I couldn't figure out the shoot-the-neon-aliens gun game, either. Tried Pac Man on a table console. I did better at Skee Party from 1950. It plays like the skee ball of today, but instead of rolling balls, the player sends a heavy metal puck into the holes. I got pretty good at it, but I was afraid that big metal puck would fly off the wooden ramp and hit someone in the head!

Lauren was still working her way through the consoles at 4 PM. I left her at this point to walk two blocks and around two circles to the Northshire Bookstore. I can never pass up a local bookstore. This one is housed in what had once been an inn. The children's books are upstairs. The downstairs is given over to everything else, including records, stationary, journals and notebooks, accessories, and adult fiction and nonfiction. I considered a book on the Monkees and a huge paperback pirate novel, but eventually just bought the first Brooklyn Wainright mystery Homicide In Hardback and a book to write down my internet passwords. I've been using the same notebook for over a decade to write passwords. Not only is it falling apart, but half the passwords listed are ones I don't even use anymore. 

At least it had turned into a gorgeous day for hiking between stores. It was foggy when we drove over the mountains this morning. By the time we got to the Vermont Country Store, the clouds had cleared, the sun was out, and it was now far warmer than I anticipated, probably in the mid-70's. It felt great on my back as I dodged heavy traffic and made my way back to the Outlets. 

I met Lauren outside of Pastime Pinball around quarter after 5. We strolled another block past the Northshire Bookstore to have dinner at Christo's Pizza and Pasta. I suspect Lauren mainly wanted the pasta. Her bowl of linguine with oil and garlic was enormous, and she ate the whole thing. My turkey panini with bacon, tomatoes, roasted red peppers, and cheese took longer to arrive, but it was delicious when it did come. 

That heavy traffic was getting even worse by 6 PM. We figured it was time to head home. And this time, we did go straight back to Pittsfield, with no unscheduled stops. I even got to see a stunning rosy sunset over the mountains on the Vermont Highway.

After we showed Mr. and Mrs. Miller our finds and Mr. Miller tried on his new shirt, I finished the night watching The Love Boat on Paramount Plus. It's not all fun and fabulous dresses on a high-style cruise to Acapulco for a fashion festival. The clumsy assistant (Richard Gilliand) of an old-fashioned designer (Dick Shawn) tries to keep "The Model Marriage" to his daughter (Debra Clinger) a secret. He finally gets his own chance to shine when the designer's dresses end up shrunk in the washer. The married owners of a modeling agency (Anne Baxter and McLean Stevenson) argue over whether "This Year's Model" (Camilla Sparv) is too old to be in the big on-ship fashion show, while Captain Steubing (Gavin McLeod) falls for her. 

A handsome industrial thief is a "Vogue Rogue" who is supposed to be stealing a fashion queen's (Elke Sommer) new designs, but falls for her instead. The head of a major perfume company (Robert Vaughn) searches for the right woman to advertise his new scent "Original Sin." Julie is feeling a bit dowdy among all those glamorous beauties, but she discovers her inner model when a friend who is getting married claims it's "Too Clothes for Comfort" and wants Julie to take her spot in the show.  

Rainy Day Women

We awoke to a gloomy day as we had a quick breakfast and headed out. This time, we went in the opposite direction through the villages and hamlets of upstate New York towards Albany. Upstate New York is beautiful country. We passed by the New Lebanon Speedway and past lovely little towns with ancient hotels with wrap-around porches and . The leaves are just starting to turn colors here, radiant shades of gold, green, and red-yellow. 

Our first stop was the Denny's next-door to Cracker Barrel just outside of Albany. They're a pretty standard diner, which is probably why there aren't too many in my area. We have plenty of real diners. I considered the Pumpkin Pecan Pancakes, but finally decided they were too rich and had Hearty 9-Grain Pancakes with sausage, bacon, and a bowl of strawberries, grapes, and bananas. Lauren had a Southwestern Benny (eggs Benedict). Oh, yum. The pancakes were delicious, just the right combination of sweet and flavorful.

We emerged from Denny's in a light shower. It grew heavier as Lauren drove us to the Crossgates Mall down the street from Denny's. Once we parked, she grabbed her umbrella, I pulled up the hood of my blue sweatshirt, and we hurried for the nearest entrance in front of JC Penney's.

Our first stop at Crossgates was their big Old Navy. Lauren bought a really nice tan sweater vest with turquoise and orange stripes running on it for her dad. I found a quilted coral pink metallic holder for my laptop when I travel that only came out to $5, despite being listed for $9.99. This time, neither of us got anything at Hot Topic, and all the Nintendo 64 and Switch games Lauren wanted at Jay St. Video Games were too expensive.

Dave and Buster's is pretty much the same deal as Round 1, with a sports bar instead of a bowling alley. Once again, I spent an hour running from skee ball to the fishing-themed wheels to the giant Centipede and Space Invaders games. Got Yoshi on Mario Kart; came in second. Did better on Cruisin' Blast, coming in first on the Death Valley round with a really sweet vintage red Chrysler. 

I don't have room for another big Care Bear (in my luggage or my bedroom), so I picked up a smaller stuffed panda. Though she came with the name Purdy, I re-named her Tea Blossom. Lauren grabbed one soft blanket with goofy sayings on it for her and another for her guy friend Rico.

There's an indoor mini-golf course directly across from Dave and Buster's. It was a black-lit neon maze with a really nifty space theme. The walls were painted with scenes of alien landscapes, and the obstacles were giant neon alien flowers, Venus Fly Traps, circular and triangular bumper moon "rocks," and astronauts in neon purple. As I said to Lauren, there's some advantages to a golf course being indoors. We didn't have to worry about our balls ending up in a water or sand trap or up a tree. I even got a hole in one at one point on a smaller course with no major obstacles just by making it hug the vinyl edges. (Lauren still won by two strokes over me.)

We walked around for the next few hours after that. Lauren bought cute lounge shirts and shorts at Charlotte Russe. I didn't see anything I really needed or could fit into. She didn't see anything she wanted at FYE; I picked up a 4-disc Thelonius Monk CD set and a better copy of Jetsons: The Movie. She peeked at The Lego Store, but said she has tons of Legos she's barely used. We checked out Newbury Comics, Lollipop Toy Shop, Miniso, QLZ, and the anime-themed Otaku House, but saw nothing of interest at any of them other than some records at Newbury I might pick up somewhere along the line. 

Since it was open by 2:30-3 PM, we tried Apex Entertainment on the other side of the mall from Dave and Buster's. Their focus is on bowling, go-karting, "adventure rooms," and nightly shows, which is likely why their arcade is much smaller than Dave and Buster's or Round 1. I was able to play Yoshi on Mario Kart again - and won this time, and didn't do too badly with skee ball and ring toss. Got really far on Centipede before I finally ran out of credits. I still only amassed a little over 500; Lauren didn't do much better. We decided to save our points for next time. 

Had dinner at Maggie McFly's, an aviatrix-themed sports bar and grill. They have the tastiest bar pizza I've ever eaten. My Hawaiian slices came with tons of mozzarella, ham, red onion, and pineapple and had wonderfully soft crust. Lauren had the potato and rosemary, potatoes and herbs on mozzarella. She had a Caesar salad. I went with basic greens with tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and balsamic vinaigrette. 

We finished out the day at the Primark and JC Penney anchors. I didn't see anything else I wanted. I'm really not in desperate need of clothes right now, and Primark doesn't really carry much in my size anyway. Lauren picked up a few good shirts at JC Penney and a Winner the Pooh sleep shirt for her mom from Primark.

By the time we finished at JC Penney, it was past 6:30. If the soaked parking lot and dripping trees were any indication, it had been raining for the better part of the day. It was misting again when we jumped in Lauren's van. We got there just in time. Just as she turned back on the highway, it started raining hard again. Thankfully, the rain slowed down to mist as we arrived at Lauren's house.

When we got in, Lauren showed her parents everything she found and I jumped in the shower. After I got out, we played the US and Canada in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe again. I don't think Lauren ever came in better than ninth. My best showing was 4th on Rainbow Road, thanks to two bullets and two invincibility stars. 

I finished the night with Spenser for Hire at the Roku Channel. It seems like an open-and-shut case when the wife of an oil tycoon hires Spenser to deliver one million in "Blood Money" and rescue her husband. Her husband's company has been indulging in some unsavory practices, including damaging a small country to get their resources...and the oil tycoon's been indulging in some unsavory practices of his own, cheating on his wife with one of his female CEOs. Spenser has to figure out who wanted him dead badly enough to dump him in the river. 

Can't You Hear My Hart Beat

This time, we began a cold, gloomy morning in Lauren's area. It looked like it might have rained the night before. The streets and sidewalks were still quite wet at 9 AM, but any rain had long since ended. We stayed in Lauren's area this time, heading up to the Co-Op bank in Great Barrington, where Lauren works now. Lauren wanted to say "hi" to her co-workers Michael and Rico, and I wanted to exchange two hundred-dollar bills I got out of the ATM machine at PNC Bank in my area. While Lauren exchanged the bills and talked to the guys, I chatted with one of the managers about our record collections.

After we left the guys, we went for a short walk down the street. Great Barrington is one of the many small former industrial towns in the Berkshires whose main industry nowadays is tourism. Though there were many lovely little stores housed in vintage 19th century brick buildings on Main Street, they weren't open yet at 9:30. We ended up walking back to the car and heading out instead. 

Our next stop was the Goodwill up the road. While not huge, it was a good size, maybe a little bit bigger than the one in Audubon. Lauren picked up two shirts. I found two CDs here:

Bruce Springsteen - The Ghost of Tom Joad

Barbra Streisand - Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway

We doubled back a little down the road to Marshalls next. Apparently, Lauren's fond of this store and has shopped here before. I didn't do any better here than at the TJMaxx yesterday and just used the bathroom, but Lauren did find a nice shirt and vest for work.

As we headed to the Goodwill, we passed an older blue house with a sign that said the Bookloft. Lauren knows I love books, and we needed to kill some time before lunch, so we stopped here. It was indeed a lovely restored house filled with books of all kinds, from science fiction and poetry to a children's room. I actually found a book here that I hadn't seen at Barnes and Noble yesterday, the newest Shady Hollow cozy mystery Summer's End. 

Doubled back again, this time to Four Brothers Pizza Inn. We ate here the last time we came up to the Great Barrington area about a decade ago. It looked pretty much the same as it did in 2015, with lots of blond wood on the walls, and it still specializes in pizza, Greek food, and diner basics like burgers. Lauren had a Buffalo chicken wrap with curly fries. I had a Four Brothers wrap with regular fries. Both sandwiches came with cole slaw. Oh, yum! The "Four Brothers" turned out to be grilled chicken with Greek salad and dressing. I wasn't crazy about the salad containing olives, and the dressing made it rather messy, but it was otherwise excellent. 

Lauren took us back in the opposite direction, this time to the Lee Outlets. She's been spending a lot of time at this mall recently, walking there with Rico after work. We did some walking of our own as we checked out stores. We struck out at Chico's and Eddie Bauer. I didn't see anything I wanted at J.Crew and Old Navy, but she picked up shirts and vests. I found a nice tank top in a jungle green and white leaf print that came up to $8 on a 70 percent off sale at the Loft. Aeropostale was having a buy one, get one sale on shirts. She bought two polo shirts, as she recently got rid of two worn ones. I bought cute graphic tees with the 80's Care Bears and Strawberry Shortcake on them. She got blouses from Ann Taylor. I found a lovely long-sleeved cream blouse with amber-colored flowers on it. We browsed in the little gift shop with the imported knick-knacks and shelves of Beanie Babies. 

The rain that threatened all day finally came down as we headed back to the car around 4:30. Rico was supposed to join us for a non-shopping walk. Lauren checked her phone, while I watched an episode of Match Game '76. They skipped way ahead to the first week of that year, with Dick Martin getting one of his first matches and Richard delighted to have his then-girlfriend Jodie Donovan next to him. 

As it turned out, not only was Rico not eager to walk in even a light shower, but he had to babysit his niece at the last minute. We ended up walking back to the Outlets for dinner at their food court instead. The Outlets food court consists of four very basic booths - Mexican, pizza, Asian, and a sandwich shop. By the time we got there, it was quarter of 6. The Mexican booth had already closed, and we just had sandwiches. We ended up with pizza by default. She had a salad and a big, thick slice of pepperoni. I had a small spinach stromboli. It was a little too brown on top, but the spinach and cheese filling was really good. 

With most of the food court closing, we ignored the tiny arcade in favor of the gumball machines and small crane games in the center of the room. We both got peanut M&Ms for dessert out of the gumball machines. I wasn't able to get anything out of the cranes, but Lauren picked up a cute charm bracelet.

The light mist began to pick up as we returned to Lauren's car. By the time she was driving us home through Lee and Lenox, the rain had become a heavy shower. It continued even as we drove home, though I think it ended shortly after we arrived.

We went straight into Mario Kart 8 Deluxe when we got in. Lauren played her Mii. I tried Wendy O. Koopa for something different. Wendy's one of the Koopalings who serves Bowser, and the only girl. She handled a little rougher than Peach, but not as heavy as her boss or some of her larger brothers. We first played the Banana Cup in 50 cc mode. She came in first. I was third, thanks to a fifth-place showing on the twisty DK Jungle. 

After the Banana Cup ended, we played contestants from around the US and Canada. That worked out a lot less well. On one hand, neither of us did well. Her best showing was 9th. Mine was 8th. On the other hand, we also got to see courses based around Paris, Madrid, and Rome that are exclusive to the online-only Mario Kart Tour. 

Finished the night at the Roku Channel with Hart to Hart. It's a "Solid Gold Murder" when Max is attacked by thieves who steal his nephew Vince's barbells from his new gym. The Harts can't figure out why someone would want Vince's barbells, and they're even more baffled when a Scotland Yard inspector turns up dead. The British cop is able to speak the name of an infamous criminal who steals and collects gold antiquities and bars. Turns out he had gold bars melted into those barbells, and now he wants them back. Jonathan sets up a trap to prove he's behind the thefts and inspector's death.

Calling All Angels

Once again, we began the day with a trip down the Mass Pike. Instead of continuing to Springfield, we turned off at Holyoke to check out the huge mall there. Once again, we had no trouble on the road, no traffic anywhere. It was gorgeous and sunny when we came out, if chilly, but clouds began to move in even as Lauren pulled into the parking lot of the shopping center next-door to the mall. 

Barnes and Noble was the only store open at 9:30, so we started there. I love that store. It's huge, two stories with a mostly-full music and video section. We both found things here. Lauren dug a movie out of the music and video section. I picked up the next book in that teddy bear mystery series, Bear a Wee Grudge, and two CDs: 

Miles Davis - Birth of the Cool

Little Richard - The Very Best of Little Richard

Since my purchase came with a coupon for a dollar off iced tea, I bought a green iced tea while waiting for Lauren and checking out my new book. It was earthy and not sweet at all. Just wet enough after the car ride.

Went across the street next to TJMaxx, the only other store open that interested us. I used the bathroom, but otherwise didn't find anything. When Lauren didn't see anything she wanted either, we headed out.

We were the first ones at the door of Red Robin promptly at 11 AM. Far from the only ones, though. Shortly after we came in, several other couples arrived as well. Lauren had the Red's Double Tavern (smaller) Burger. I had the California Chicken Sandwich. The waitress brought fries out right away, and we had to order the usual towering onion rings. Lauren had a sparkling lemonade. I ordered a mint mojito...before I realized that the waitress hadn't heard my request for it to be non-alcoholic. I took a few sips, tasted rum (yuck), and didn't finish it.

After lunch, we jumped back in the car, and Lauren drove us to the main Holyoke Mall. She parked at the JCPenney entrance, which isn't far from Round 1. We wanted to start there, before we had a lot of packages to carry around and the kids got off of school. I spent the next hour running from Bust-a-Move to giant Pac Man to Nerf Arcade to Lane Master bowling to skee ball. Practiced my pinball skills for the Vermont pinball parlor on Friday with games based on Guardians of the Galaxy, Star Wars, and Deadpool. Played Mario Kart Deluxe and came in first with Yoshi. 

I eventually amassed over 2,200 points, not bad for an hour. I liked the dragon Kai that I picked up in June so much, I went for a smaller stuffed animal from the same line who was even prettier. Haru is a red and white fox fire spirit ("kitsune") with three tails like Tails the Fox, a bell on her collar, and a mischievous embroidered expression. I think she's an absolute darling, and one of the loveliest from that line. Lauren forgot her original card and didn't have the points, so she just got candy.

We were in and out of stores for the next few hours. Lauren did best at the two Stateline Used Video Games, picking up five Nintendo 64 games to try between the two stores. She also bought a dress that resembled Sally's in The Nightmare Before Christmas from Hot Topic and a Sarah Sanderson from Hocus Pocus costume from Spirit Halloween. (Apparently, she and the women at the bank where she works will be dressing as the Sanderson Sisters this year.) She bought a dress at Macy's. I just used the bathroom. We browsed in Build-a-Bear, but didn't buy anything. She bought pants for her father and for her at JCPenney. I found a sea blue short-sleeved t-shirt on the clearance rack for $6 and Fila sneakers on sale for $44 to replace the Reebox that never really fit right and were already looking shoddy.

I did the best at FYE. The FYE at Holyoke has a far larger selection of CDs and DVDs than most of their stores nowadays. They were having a buy two used items, get a third for $1 sale. I really hit the jackpot with cast albums on CD in particular. I eventually came up with:

The Who - Magic Bus: The Who On Tour

The soundtrack from That Thing You Do! (I have this on cassette, but not only are my cassettes in storage, I'm trying to phase out all cassettes but the ones containing old-time radio shows I've never seen anywhere else.) 

The original cast albums for the Broadway Little Women from a decade ago, Liza Minnelli's first show Flora the Red Menace, Kinky Boots, and the Bette Midler Hello Dolly! revival. (Dolly ended up being the dollar item. I forgot that the Who was a new CD I grabbed from the bin up front.) 

Our plans hit a snag when dinnertime came around. We were going to eat at the 99 Restaurant there, like we did last year...but it would seem that they've closed since then. The only other sit-down restaurant was the expensive 110 Grill. We eventually ended up downstairs at the food court. Lauren had a pepperoni stromboli and salad from Sbarro's that she claimed was excellent. I had two street tacos with cilantro, tomatoes, and taco meat and a Diet Coke from El Burrito. The taco meat was a little dry, but I liked the soft corn tortillas they used. It also came with a bag of chips and container of salsa that were so huge, Lauren and I agreed to have them for a snack later instead.

It was past 5:30 when we made our way back to JCPenney and the parking lot. Once again, no trouble getting home. It had clouded over considerably since this morning, but otherwise wasn't bad. No traffic anywhere, on the Mass Pike or in Lee and Lennox. Lauren's brand-new van allowed her to speak her comic texts to a guy friend on his way back from work and still focus on the road. 

When we got in, we showed our finds to Mr. and Mrs. Miller, and then I took a shower. After my shower, I joined Lauren downstairs to try those new games. The only one we could play together was a WCW Wrestling game...but that honestly ended up being a lot of fun. We did a tag-team (two on two) game. It took forever for us to figure out which buttons did what, let alone pin a guy! It was 9 PM before my Randy Savage managed to get Lauren's Kevin Nash down. (We also had Sting - who wore black and white makeup like a KISS reject - and Booker T.) 

Finished the night with Charlie's Angels at The Roku Channel. "Angels On the Run" help a singer newly hired by a nightclub to find her husband when he doesn't turn up for her show. Turns out the guy was a dump truck driver who left his truck and a pile of dirt with his farmer girlfriend (Elaine Joyce)...along with a fortune in diamonds a group of crooks stashed in his truck. Kelly poses as the singer to get the goods on the thieves...and the other Angels and Bosley go after her when she's kidnapped as well. 

I'm Into Something Good

Started off early this morning after a quick breakfast, heading through Lenox and Lee and down the Mass Pike. Lauren first stopped at a shopping center to get gas and for us to use the bathroom at a Stop and Shop. We used the bathroom again at a travel plaza along the Mass Pike. Otherwise, there were no problems in the small towns or the Mass Pike, no traffic anywhere.

We didn't have any trouble until we got off the highway and closer to Springfield. Lauren retired her GPS in favor of using the maps on her cell phone, since she already uses it for music. She thought it was wrong when it asked her to turn, so she kept on going. We ignored it twice before we finally turned and found ourselves on a leafy, tree-lined street going past the West Springfield Library. That ultimately took us to the Eastern States Exposition...but Lauren had wanted to park in the shopping center parking lot. We just ended up parking at the Big E.

The moment we entered the gates, we were assaulted by pink, blue, and yellow boardwalk-style signs for everything possible that can be fried (and a few things that can but probably shouldn't be, like Kool Aid). There were people milling around, but it wasn't too busy at 10:30 in the morning. We strolled around the grounds first, getting the lay of the land. Checked out one of the many long tents that sold leather goods, but didn't buy anything.

Explored the Avenue of the States next. Each of the New England states touts their wares in a recreation of their original state capitol buildings. Rhode Island started with spooky carved pumpkins from Roger Williams Park and Zoo. We passed by a Del's Lemonade stand, but even at quarter of 11, it was too busy to stop for a drink. People stood in a line for baked potatoes at Maine that went out the door. Connecticut had displays for a science center and Mohegan Sun Casino. Massachusetts pushed wild honey and memorabilia and crafts based on the Red Sox and Patriots. People bought Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream in Vermont and locally made soaps, creams, and jewelry in New Hampshire. 

After we left the state houses, we doubled back to the street running up to it. Lauren said she saw a unique pizza booth on our way up there. I've never seen pizza topped with pickles or Mexican street corn before. We had a slice of each. She got regular Coke. I had Diet Coke. Yum! Both slices were white, meaning without sauce, and drizzled with what I think was ranch dressing. Though the dill flavoring on the pickle pizza was tasty, I liked the corn pizza best. The sweetness of the corn blended well with the Mexican spice and the salty cheese. 

Since we needed to hit the bathroom anyway, we made our way back to the demonstration and sales buildings. We checked out a collection of prize-winning quilts at the New England Center. I wish I could have bought a few, but they were only for display. We walked around in the Better Living Building and the Young Building, but bought nothing in either place. 

The main reason we came to the Big E today was to see one of Lauren's favorite performers, former Herman's Hermits front man Peter Noone, who had a concert at 2 PM at the Court of Honor stage. This is the smaller mostly outdoor arena in front of the Coliseum and across from the back gates. Since there was already a pretty good crowd when we passed by at 1, we decided to get our seats early. We went with the picnic tables on either side of the venue, rather than the yellow seats under the tent covering. 

I didn't know Herman's Hermits still had so many fans in the US. It was literal standing room only...which is why I barely saw any of it. People sat on the other end of the picnic benches and stood all around me. Lauren stood up to get photos and footage for YouTube, but I didn't want to lose my seat. Even Peter commented on the huge crowds when he came over our way and had to climb up on a table to perform for the folks on our side. As he put it, it had been easier to get through Customs coming from his native England than to wade through that huge crowd!

I'll give Peter credit, though. He really can put on a show. Most of his set consisted of oldies from the 60's, including one saluting the three late members of the Monkees, "Daydream Believer." He did start off with a dynamic "I'm Into Something Good" and ended with more Hermits hits, including "Leaning On a Lamp Post" and "There's a Kind of Hush." He really got the crowd singing along to the raucous music hall ditty "I'm Henry the Eighth." 

(Speaking of the Monkees, the last concert Lauren and I saw at the Big E was Micky Dolenz and his sister Coco in mid-September 2008. The Court of Honor stage was totally outdoors then. There were concerns about a thunder storm during Micky's second show, which led him to half-joke about not wanting to get electrocuted. I suspect his complaints and similar comments from other musicians may have been why they ultimately put up that tent.)

After the show, we headed back towards the Midway. We'll be doing rides at Great Escape next week and were wary of games after Lauren spent an hour trying to win a big fish last year, so we just ended up doing the cranes. This time, Lauren did better than me. She won a purple Elmo and a sweet indigo Crayola bear. I tried for 20 minutes and only came up with a Beanie Baby unicorn named Harmonie. She's odd but cute, with her multi-hued blotches, glittery rainbow eyes and hooves, and twisted horn of sparkling gold and blue. 

By the time we finished with the crane games, it was past 4:30. The crowds had increased substantially since Peter's concert. Kids were out of school and were now running around, playing games and chasing each other. It had been in-and-out cloudy and cool all day, but the wind picked up during the concert as well. Not to mention, we'd been there for over 6 hours, and I was just plain tired of crowds. We finally headed back to the parking lot by quarter of 5. 

Had dinner at the same Chipotle we have the past two years. The blocky gray and red building is in an outlying parcel at a shopping center about three minutes or so from the Big E. We both had bowls with rice, tomatoes, cheese, beans, and meat. Lauren had plant-based sofritos, black beans, and white rice. I had spicy steak, pinto beans, and brown rice. We enjoyed our big and tasty meal at a counter along the window overlooking the parking lot.

We had far less trouble getting home. This time, Lauren stuck to the directions and the Mass Pike, passing by downtown Springfield before getting on the highway. We took a slightly longer way back after we got to Lee so Lauren could show me where a close guy friend of hers lives. Once again, no traffic anywhere, not even at the Big E this time.

After we got in, Lauren set up the Nintendo 64 her co-worker sold her last year. I remembered that Mario  Kart 64 has a VS mode where you can play with one or two or three other people, rather than them and the computer. We each chose four rounds, playing eight all together. Lauren beat the pants off me, winning six to 2. Most of the rounds were pretty close, though. I snuck by her in Moo Moo Farms, and she kept running into snowmen at Frappe Snowland.

Lauren tried Donkey Kong 64 briefly, but she couldn't figure out the gameplay in Adventure Mode without a manual. If memory serves me correctly, you have to do a couple of "training" mini-games before you can get started on that one. She finally decided it wasn't worth the effort, and we went online instead. 

Finished the night watching flop game shows from the 1970's. Game shows were in a precarious position on the networks as the 70's began. The few that existed were simple general knowledge quizzes. The Reel Game, for instance, tested people's knowledge of movies. No one won more than $1,000 at any given time. The show itself wasn't all that exciting, but it did bring Jack Barry back into hosting after he and his partner Dan Enright were caught in the quiz show scandals of the 1950's. 

Game shows became bigger and bolder in 1972 thanks to the hits The Price Is Right, Gambit, and The Joker's Wild. Suddenly, big shows with bigger payouts were all the rage. The Magnificent Marble Machine from 1975 let contestants and a celebrity partner play a giant pinball machine after guessing the name of a person, place, or thing from clues provided on what looked like a pinball machine's backbox. I can understand why this one didn't work. Pinball is more fun to play than watch, and the actual game wasn't really all that interesting. Roddy McDowell and Florence Henderson try to get that machine going.

50 Grand Slam brought back the tough quiz shows with people in isolation booths in 1976. Tom Kennedy asked two contestants questions based on their area of expertise. While one heard the question, the other went in an isolation booth. The first contestant would answer the question, then the second would see if they could answer the whole question. For some reason, there's even a golf game demonstrated in the premiere episode seen here.

The Wizard of Odds from 1973 was a variation. Alex Trebek had his first hosting experience in the US with this show that had contestants answering questions based on the law of averages. The second game had contestants choose which phrase didn't match the others. Yeah, not the most thrilling show in the universe, but Alex is as warm and enjoyable as he'd be in later shows.

Masquerade Party was a failed 1974 attempt to revive the 50's show that had a celebrity panel trying to guess who the famous person was under a costume. This one is more significant for giving Richard Dawson his big hosting break than for the goofy gameplay. Look for one of his fellow Match Game panelists in the first costume in the only surviving episode. 

Bill Cullen didn't have much more luck with Pass the Buck from 1978. Bill gives four contestants a topic, like the circus, and they have to give answers to match. If someone gets stuck or gives an answer someone else gave, the next person can give the answer and knock them out. If they miss, the contestant after them can take both out. Honestly, I thought this was cute, and Bill Cullen really seemed to have fun with it. It's too bad it couldn't survive competition from Card Sharks. 

Whew! is another failed 70's game that's a lot more fun than you might think. I wish Buzzr would take another crack at it. Watching people set up blocks on the huge board as the other contestant answers pun-based sentences, then run the "gauntlet" of Hanna Barbara-designed villains, is a lot of fun, and Tom Kennedy clearly enjoys hosting.

See what game shows worked and what didn't in the Me Decade with these truly unique flops!

The Reel Game (1971)

The Wizard of Odds (1974)

Masquerade Party (1974)

The Magnificent Marble Machine (1975) 

50 Grand Slam (1976)

Pass the Buck (1978)

Whew! (1979) 

Autumn In New York

I decided to save the usual mystery novels for reading on my trip and read American Girl and short stories about vacations this morning. Felicity Merriman loves visiting her grandfather's plantation during the summer. She's even happier when her beloved horse Penny, whom she helped escape a brutal owner, turns up for sale. Penny proves to be instrumental in helping Felicity reach the hiding spot where her father's apprentice Ben has fled. Ben's hoping to join the Continental Army, but he has to break his apprenticeship to do so. Felicity Saves the Day when she reminds Ben that it's even more cowardly to break a promise than to not join the army.

Samantha Parkington is equally happy to be at her family's cabins in the Adirondacks. She and her cousins Agnes and Agatha discover the artwork Samantha's late mother drew of Teardrop Island in the lake where their cabins are situated in their cabin's attic during a rainy afternoon. They visit the island and discover it truly is beautiful, but their trip is a lot less romantic when their boat floats away and they end up stranded during a storm. When the Admiral, a friend of Samantha's grandmother, gets hurt coming for them, Samantha Saves the Day by directing the twins through sharp rocks blocking the island from the rest of the lake.

Donald Duck never seemed to have much luck on vacation. "Donald Duck In Disneyland" loses the boys when they arrive at the park, then sees them on rides out the window of the Disneyland Railroad. He ultimately decides what was then known as Rocket to the Moon is safer. He does even worse when he falls off his burro and into "The Grand Canyon." Mickey braves the rapids to go after him.

Put on The Rolling Stones while eating breakfast and making the bed. I mainly bought Sticky Fingers for one of my favorite Stones songs, the smash hit "Brown Sugar," but their first album without Brian Jones has a lot more to recommend it. "Sway," "Wild Horses," and "I Got the Blues" are other good ones here. 

Switched to Dave Brubeck as I finished packing. Jazz: Red Hot and Cool is an aptly-named live album, apparently recorded in the smoky confines of a night club. Most of the songs are standards, but "The Duke" is his swinging tribute to Duke Ellington.

Called Uber at 10:30; got a car in 8 minutes. The pleasant young man chatted with me about my vacation all the way into Philly. I left early just in case we hit traffic on the Schuylkill Expressway. Thankfully, the roads were clear all the way to 30th Street Station. 

Normally, I love walking around 30th Street Station. It's a gorgeous Art Deco monument that makes me feel more elegant just being there. It's also in the midst of a multi-year remodeling project. The food court and news stand are closed and boarded, replaced with Au Bon Pain and Dunkin' Donuts stands and a much smaller news stand. The entrances are being repaired, too. I read the first two chapters of Wedding Bear Blues, then walked around again after the bench got too crowded. 

The Northeast Regional lined up a little after noon...but the train was late. We were supposed to be on our way by 12:19. The train hadn't even arrived by 12:19. It finally rolled out of the station 10 minutes later, stuffed to capacity. I spent the trip eating my turkey sandwich and two white chocolate macadamia nut cookies next to an older lady. The train pulled into Penn Station around 2 PM, more than 13 minutes late.

I emerged from Penn Station into an absolutely stunning first day of fall. The sky I could see between towering skyscrapers was a searing cerulean. The breeze coming off the Hudson felt fresh and cool. I lingered for a few moments outside of Moynihan Train Hall, just enjoying the soft, warm sunshine.

New York and Moynihan were very busy with people on their way home from weekend trips. I walked around for a bit. Considered getting a treat, but I packed plenty of food. I ended up eating a squeeze pack of applesauce and a granola bar sitting in a corner of the train hall. Tried to sit down and read in the waiting area after using the bathroom, but I was too excited. 

Thankfully, I had far less trouble on the New York-Albany train. It left on time, arrived early, and wasn't full until it picked up hikers and commuters in the New York suburbs. The Adirondacks were incredible today. Bottle-green waters glimmered like stardust along emerald green mountains lined with waving pines and oaks. Sail boats bobbed along on the waves; suspension bridges floated overhead. I could readily believe this area was filled with ghosts, princesses, kings, fat old burgomasters, spooky ghosts, and headless horsemen. I admired the view while working on the Care Bears coloring book I've had for over 15 years now.

Lauren was waiting for me when I arrived more than 10 minutes early. We had dinner about 20 minutes or so away at the Cracker Barrel. The southern-themed restaurant wasn't busy at 6:30, despite it being the dinner hour. They must have been much busier earlier in the day. They were out of everything from chicken fingers to meatloaf. Lauren finally ended up with rainbow trout. I opted for grilled chicken. We shared home-style cheesy tots and corn muffins. Yum! My chicken was nice and moist, much better than grilled chicken usually is at chain restaurants. The green beans and bacon were a bit overcooked and the fried apples were more like apple glop, but the apple iced tea was sweet and very fruity.

We stopped in the gift shop on the way out. Lauren bought a candy bar, two Christmas Peanuts-themed pajama pants, and a Snoopy long-sleeved t-shirt. I just picked up a box of dark chocolate orange jell sticks (that were so good, I put them downstairs in Lauren's refrigerator so I wouldn't eat the whole box in one sitting). 

(Oh, and I checked the score for the afternoon Eagles game on the way home. I didn't get to watch the game, but apparently, the Eagles just barely got past the New Orleans Saints 15-13.)

Finished the night after a shower with the Match Game Sunday marathon. Comedian Jack Carter turned up on Match Game almost from the beginning in early 1973, on a week with Lucie Arnaz and Nanette Fabray that's now partially lost. His wiseguy remarks added a great deal to some of the best episodes of the entire series. 

He was the one who made the infamous "Looks like a station break in Poland" crack at Gene's ugly plaid suit later in 1973. He was a gentleman who helped Trish Stuart back onto her seat after Gene accidentally yanked her off a year later. Everyone made jokes about Gene's more stylish gray leisure suit with the turtleneck. He and Gene sang "It'll Be a Hot Time In the Old Town" for a funny and dear older woman from outside of Paterson in North Jersey during a syndicated episode, then Bill Daily danced with her. 

Let's dance on with one of the show's funniest quipsters in this wacky marathon!

Match Game Sunday Classics - Best of Jack Carter on Match Game

Around the Matches In 80 Minutes

Began my morning with breakfast and the other 2003 Strawberry Shortcake travel episode. Strawberry and Peppermint Fizz end up going "Around the Berry World" when Ginger Snap bets the Peculiar Purple Pieman and Sour Grapes their berry crop that Strawberry won't have any trouble getting around the world and home again in 80 days. The dastardly fruit duo do their best to stop the girls, but as Strawberry constantly reminds Peppermint, there's always a solution to the worst problem if you just take time to figure it out.

Hurried off to work after that. Work wasn't a problem for most of the day. We were quiet for a Saturday. It was humid, but also sunny and breezy. I suspect a lot of people either went to the Shore or decided to spend the last weekend of summer out with their families. 

I didn't have any major trouble until I was trying to get outside to the carts during my last half-hour. One woman said she needed an electric cart, and then three more claimed they saw a spill in the floral department. I saw nothing in the floral department but flowers. They then said it was in the bakery, then the deli, and then they whined for an electric cart, too. I brought them a cart and went outside to try to get some carts done. When I saw them outside, they claimed I never brought them an electric cart. I left it right in front of them! How did they not see it? I think the woman in charge of customer service was right and they were just being mean and ornery. And everyone wonders why I want out of retail so badly?

Needless to say, I rushed home as early and quickly as I could get away with after all that. Changed and went straight into Tweety's High-Flying Adventure on Tubi. I go further into another riff on Around the World In 80 Days, this one featuring Tweety and Sylvester, at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Animation Celebration Saturday - Tweety's High-Flying Adventure

(And a reminder that, while the Musical Dreams reviews will be on hiatus during my vacation, I'll continue to update this blog.)

Worked a little on the inventory after I took my laundry downstairs. Put up Crazy for You, Curtains, and the Decca Desert Song/New Moon set. I think I actually got the Decca CD from Sun Rose Music and Books in Ocean City during one of my trips there when I lived in Wildwood. No clue about Curtains. (I recently looked them up and, thank heavens, Sun Rose still exists in the same location as Sun Rose Words and Music. Some of my earliest cast CDs came from there, along with the Lost In Boston and Unsung Musicals collections.) 

Listened to Santana while I worked. Abraxus was their first album to hit number one in the US, and their biggest hit until Supernatural debuted in the 90's. The sultry "Black Magic Woman" was the big single from this one.

Finished the night after dinner and doing the laundry with today's Match Game marathon. Character actor David Doyle started out on the show early in 1978 and continued to appear fairly frequently through the end of the syndicated run. Today, he's best-known as Bosley from Charlie's Angels and the original voice of Grandpa Pickles from Rugrats. He always seemed to have a great time on Match Game too, especially sitting on either side of his drinking buddy Brett Somers. 

David made some of his most memorable appearances in PM episodes. He saw Richard Dawson fawn over a very pretty and bubbly contestant who was all of nineteen. He greeted a charming little old man named Tiger who bore a striking resemblance to Wally Cox. He nervously helped a cheerful and suave gentleman who wrote cookbooks with his wife with "__ Mountains" in the Head-to-Head.

Celebrate with this comic character actor who is beloved by Angels and babies alike in this hilarious marathon! 

Match Game Saturday Classics - Best of David Doyle

Peachy-Keen Day

Began the morning with breakfast and the 2003 version of Strawberry Shortcake. "Strawberry's Berry Big Journey" takes the fruit-scented miss and her three best friends on a long car trip to visit their friend Tangerina Torta and see a flower that only opens every ten years. They encounter many obstacles on the road, including lonely Banana Candy, who tries to get them to stay in her one-woman town. In the end, even though they miss what they came to see, Strawberry is still thrilled that they saw so many wonderful things and had such great experiences anyway. 

Dawn picked me up for my interview at 10 AM. We ended up at a clean, modern travel plaza on a service road outside of Cherry Hill. Yeah, the job was strictly stocking and handing the register. Absolutely not. I want out of retail, not to work in a slightly fancier version of it. It wasn't a total loss. I mentioned I work at the Audubon Acme to the lady who did the interview...and the face she made and her less-than-enthusiastic response was enough to make Dawn understand why I want to get out of there so badly. 

After I got home, I dragged out the luggage and my backpack to see what I need for my vacation. Packed most of my clothes, my underwear, and the coloring book, crossword book, and pencil bag with crayons and pencils I keep for the train ride. Watched The Scooby Doo Show while I worked. The gang get involved in "The Ozark Witch Switch" when the Mystery Machine breaks down and they're invited to stay with the Hatfields in their cabin. Apparently, a witch who once threatened to turn the family into frogs over 200 years before has appeared and is making good on her promise. The kids try to figure out what she's really after.

Watched the first half of Super Password while getting organized and making a grocery list. Dick Gautier and Constance McCashin headline the "First and a Half Annual Tournament of Losers," contestants who failed to win the big money in their first appearances and returned for another go. The Super Password match here was especially exciting, coming down to the last possible second. After the girl got "tank" in on the very last second, she certainly deserved to move forward in the tournament!

Headed out during the next commercial break. My first stop was PNC Bank to get money for my own trip. I won't have the time tomorrow. The outside ATMs were busy, so I went inside. Got my money quickly and got out. 

The Westmont Plaza was next on my list. Looked for humidifiers at Dollar Tree, but found nothing and moved on. Picked up travel-sized shaving lotion, body wash, and mouth wash at Target. Tried the Pumpkin Spice Frappucchino at Starbucks before they got overrun with teenagers on lunch break. Not bad. At least it did taste like pumpkin. Bought bagged caramelized mixed nuts, lemon raspberry dried mangoes (they were really good!), white-chocolate macadamia nut cookies on clearance, and Olipop and Poppi soda at Sprouts. Went back to Target when I couldn't find any cake mixes on the shelves for a decent price. Their boxes of yellow cake mix looked like Godzilla sat on them, so I went with vanilla.

Found a treat sitting on the steps when I got home. I saw the FedEx truck come down the road even as I went to run errands. Yes, that two-disc special edition Headquarters album I bought from Rhino almost two weeks ago finally arrived! It was supposed to come on Wednesday but apparently got stuck in North Jersey. When I saw on the tracking page this morning that it was in Barrington, I knew it would come today.

But first, I wanted to try a recipe I found in my Taste of Home Baking Book. They had a very simple peach crisp that only called for butter, peaches, cake mix, coconut, and pecans. I wanted some friends to try it and I didn't know if they liked nuts, so I left them out. The original recipe listed canned peaches...but perish the thought! I wouldn't insult my baked goods with canned fruit. I still had a bunch of peaches from the farm market and Acme, so I cut up those (including one with a bad spot). It came out of the oven looking like nothing had been done to it, other than the toasted coconut on top...but when I mixed it and tried it, it was delicious, like a peach dump cake.

Watched Blazing Saddles while the crisp was in the oven. Nefarious attorney general Hedley Lamarr (Harvey Korman) tries to drive settlers out of the town of Rock Ridge when the railroad reroutes through them and he realizes the town will be worth millions. He encourages the Governor (Mel Brooks) to hire Bart (Cleavon Little) to be the town's sheriff. Bart being African-American doesn't sit well with pretty much anyone anywhere in the West but The Waco Kid (Gene Wilder), who draws so fast, no one can see him do it. 

Hedley first sends his henchman Mongo (Alex Karras) to attack Bart, then Lily Von Shtupp (Madeline Kahn) to seduce him. Bart is so darn charming and such a nice guy, Mongo ends up becoming his friend, and Lily falls head-over-heels for him. Hedley still wants that land, but Bart is one step ahead of him. The West...and the Warners lot...aren't big enough for the two of them, even as Bart shows everyone that anyone can be a hero no matter what they look like.

One of Mel Brooks' best spoofs and one of the funniest movies of the 1970's, this one digs hard into western cliches and the treatment of African-Americans and others in action films. The title song was even nominated for an Oscar. If you love Brooks, westerns, or any of the cast, you'll want to whip out that bowl o'beans and make music with this one. 

Worked on updating the inventory after that. Finished the C titles with a collection of the Ethel Merman and Dinah Shore Call Me Madam albums, the original Can-Can and Chicago with Gwen Verdon, A Chorus Line, City of Angels, Company, the full London stage version of Copacabana, and Crazy for You. I've had some of these for decades. Can-Can was a birthday gift to me from Mom in 1993 (along with Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band). I bought Copacabana from Vibrations, the now-defunct music store in North Cape May, sometime in the late 90's. City of Angels and Chicago go so far back, I have no clue where they came from anymore.

Broke for dinner and Match Game '74. For some reason, Buzzr jumped way ahead to the end of the next year. By this point, Gary Burghoff had temporarily replaced Charles Nelson Reilly while he was directing a play in New York. He got to have his own fun, like when he took off his shirt after getting a question wrong, or when he shyly read a question about what he smells on Brett.

I was watching the show when, while admiring the red and blue translucent vinyl discs for Headquarters, I had a hard time putting them back in their sleeves and accidentally knocked over my Olipop Banana Cream soda all over my table, my chair, and the rug on the floor! I had to dump everything on the wood floor and wipe down whatever got spilled on. The place mats I use to prevent scratches ended up in the laundry basket.

Finished the night with Headquarters. This is the result of the infamous confrontation between Mike Nesmith and their original producer Don Kirchner to be allowed to play their own music...and sorry Don, but the guys were right. This album is a lot of fun, from the playful spoken-word goofiness of "Zilch" and "Band 6" to Micky's sweet "I'll Spend My Life With You" and two of Mike's best songs, "You Told Me" and "Sunny Girlfriend." There's two songs on there I'd never heard before, a decent Mike version of his own "The Girl That I Knew Somewhere" and a new one from Micky and Mike, "Gotta Give It Time." I'm not as fond of the version of "She Hangs Out" here, though, which is too slow and sappy for such a cute song. 

Peace and Quiet

Started off the morning with breakfast and The Busy World of Richard Scarry. "Mr. Fixit's Magnet Machine" gets out of control and starts attracting anything made of metal, including Mr. Frumble's car keys, Mr. Cat's lawn mower, and an ocean liner. "Sneef and Sniff at the Opera" returns two of the detective characters from the first two seasons as they search the opera in Milan for stolen pearls. Huckle things "Mr. Gronkle Won't Mind" if they get their ball and arrows out of his yard. He does mind, until he learns a valuable lesson about what's trespassing and what isn't.

Hurried off to work after the cartoon ended. No trouble here whatsoever. They were quiet for most of the day. I cleaned the bathrooms, swept the store, gathered trash, and pushed carts. Some of it may have had to do with decent weather. It was still a little humid and warm, but nothing like yesterday, sunny and breezy. Picked up yogurt for the next few days and my first couple of days after vacation and soda after I got off.

Went straight home and into Hollywood or Bust after doing some chores. I go further into the last movie to feature Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin together at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Hollywood or Bust

Added a little to the inventory after that. Put in the rest of the B titles and the first C ones, including the Disney stage version of Beauty and the Beast, By the Beautiful Sea, the original 1966 Cabaret, and the 1995 Tyne Daly Call Me Madam Encores concert. By the Beautiful Sea was one of the first cast albums I ever bought. I picked it up from the long-defunct music store Vibrations down the street from us in North Cape May somewhere between 1995 and 1997. I know I had it before I went to college. I've listened to it at least once a summer ever since.

Switched to Match Game '73 while eating a ham sandwich and broccoli for dinner. Charles appeared as a southern-accented Santa Claus in the first episode to wish the audience a very merry Christmas. Lee Merriweather made her first appearance in the second as they headed towards their first New Year and we met Harry, a laid-back contestant who would become more important early in '74...

Finished the night with more recent record finds. Black & Blue came out after the Rolling Stones' guitarist Mick Taylor quit and was basically an audition for another guitarist. That's why there's more emphasis on the rhythm section in many songs like "Hot Stuff" that are a lot funkier than usual for these guys. "Fool To Cry" was the closest thing to a hit at the time.

I'm surprised my family didn't own Picture This in the 80's. We had the two albums Huey Lewis and the News made after this, Sports and Fore!, but not this one. It features one of my favorites of their songs, the driving rocker "Workin' For a Livin'," along with their first major hit "Do You Believe In Love?"

Yoko Ono assembled songs she and John Lennon had worked on before his death into the album Milk and Honey in 1984. It wasn't the huge hit that the previous Lennon album Double Fantasy had been, but it still did well enough, with "Nobody Told Me" hitting the top 10 in the US. I prefer "Sleepless Night" and the gentle demo "Grow Old With Me." 

Little Drops of Rain

Began the morning with breakfast and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Mickey sets up a second carnival at the Clubhouse Farm, this time just for fun. "Mickey's Farm Fun Fair" features great games like a test-your-strength machine, and fun challenges like the egg and spoon race. Chip and Dale are determined to win something, but they end up being the heroes of the fair when they help save Donald from Willie's runaway giant peach.

Though it was only cloudy and thickly humid when I left, the streets were wet. I wasn't taking chances and called Uber. The driver picked me up in six minutes this morning. Unfortunately, they're still working on Nicholson Road. His driving around that and back out to the Black Horse Pike almost made me late. Thankfully, though it took 11 minutes for the driver going home to pick me up, he was from South Jersey and knew to avoid the road repairs.

For the most part, work was fairly quiet. It did pick up a little bit around 11:30-noon, but nothing like the week of Labor Day. Unfortunately, they called me to put cold items away...which put me behind on the carts. I only just caught up when I finished for the day.

(Incidentally, it showered a bit - and hard - on my way home. The rain ended just as I arrived. To my knowledge, it hasn't rained since.) 

After I got home, I changed and put on The Monkees. "The Prince and the Paupers" starts with a somewhat similar premise to "Royal Flush." Once again, the Monkees have to help a young royal wrest their throne from a dastardly relative...but in this case, the royal in question just happens to be Davy Jones' double. Prince Ludlow is a sweetheart, but he's also a shy young man who is scared of girls. Davy poses as him to woo a lovely socialite (Heather North) in order to keep his throne.

Switched to Road to Zanzibar next. I go further into the second Road To movie, this one spoofing African safari stories and jungle epics, at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Road to Zanzibar

Worked on the inventory for a little while after the movie. Started in on the cast album CDs today. Did the A titles - the 1999 revival of Annie Get Your Gun, the original cast of Annie, the Elton John Broadway Aida from 2000, the supremely weird early Sondheim show Anyone Can Whistle, and the Decca operettas Babes In Toyland and The Red Mill. Lauren gave me Aida with an added live performance by Micky Dolenz, who was a replacement for the original Zozer, way back in 2004. I believe Annie and Babes In Toyland came from the Borders near the Hamilton Mall somewhere between 1999 and 2002. 

Broke for dinner and Match Game '73 at quarter of 7. Joyce Bulifant made her debut on the show in this episode, joining a wisecracking Morey Amsterdam and game show host and comedian Robert Q Lewis. Morey's quips and jokes were especially funny, and I really wish he appeared more often on the show after 1974.

Finished the night after a shower with more records and CDs I've acquired recently. The Wonder Woman LP must have came out in response to the popularity of the TV show. These short action-packed stories do sound like short episodes of the show, especially "Secret of the Magic Tiara" that has her hanging with two rather goofy-sounding buddies who get her into trouble.

Most people associate the 60's with rock or jazz...but the real number one group in that decade was Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. Their albums sold in the millions, with the racy cover of Whipped Cream and Other Delights propelling it to number one in 1966. I've seen that around, but I think Going Places has more iconic music. The jaunty, honking "Tijuana Taxi" and bouncy "Spanish Flea" remain associated with them to this day and can be frequently heard as underscoring on everything from game shows to online channels.

Jazz master David Benoit is likely best-remembered today for his contributions to the later Peanuts specials, which is likely why The Best of David Benoit: 1987-1995 includes his versions of "Linus and Lucy" and Vince Guaraldi's "Cast Your Fate To the Wind." I seem to remember "Drive Time" turning up occasionally on jazz radio stations in the late 80's-early 90's as well. Other good songs here include "Freedom at Midnight" and "Mediterranean Nights." 

The Road to Audubon

Began the morning with breakfast and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. "Clarabelle's Clubhouse Carnival" is held to earn corn for the new chickens at the petting zoo. Everyone has a great time, from Mickey and Minnie guessing Pete's weight to Chip and Dale dunking Donald in the tank. They still can't make enough corn for the chickens, though, until Willie the Giant helps out.

Put on Road to Singapore next while looking at a few things online. I go further into the first Road To... movie with Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, and Dorothy Lamour at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Road to Singapore (1940)

Headed out around 1:30 for a bike ride and a short picnic. I'm not up to a lot of running around this week, but I did want to have another outdoor meal at Haddon Lake Park. The last time I went there in April, the pollen was so bad, all I did was sneeze. 

Tried Champs in Audubon for my sandwich. It's your basic burger and hoagie hole-in-the-wall, this one with an Eagles theme and a lot of memorabilia on the walls. The guy said they were out of turkey, but the roast beef hoagie was so huge, it needed a Styrofoam container and a paper bag to hold. They didn't have much in the way of drinks, so I picked up a Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi two blocks down at the Speedy Mart convenience store. 

It was a nice, cool day for a picnic. The sun tried to come out once or twice and it was really humid, but it was also windy and far more tolerable than it has been. I had my giant sandwich at the same yellow and blue paisley-shaped tables on the hill overlooking Haddon Lake Park's walking path I did back in April. After I ate, I read a few things on my phone, then once again goofed off with the wooden xylophone and tubular bells surrounding the tables. 

Took the long way home across Audubon, dodging buses and kids coming out of school on my way. Stopped at Family Dollar on the way home. I wanted something to make peach cobbler. I didn't find them, but I did pick up a few sales. They're clearing out their school supplies. I grabbed thin and thick markers and new scissors. Also picked up a white binder. The jazz CDs are starting to outgrow their current binder. I'd like to eventually move the CDs to CD books, but this will do for now.

Put on The Monkees while I got everything organized at home. Peter's thrilled when he wins a free dance lesson at Renaldo's Dance-Au-Go-Go. "Dance, Monkees, Dance" is anything but fun when not only does it turn out to be a lifetime contract, but Micky and Mike get caught in it, too. Davy gets a job as a teacher in order to turn the tables and drive away Renaldo's (Hal March) customers.

Worked on the inventory after the Monkees ended. Added four animated and family soundtracks I forgot, An American Tail, All Dogs Go to Heaven, Raggedy Ann and Andy: A Musical Adventure, and The Muppet Show. Finally finished the vinyl cast albums with Walking Happy, What Makes Sammy Run?, Wish You Were Here, Wildcat, The Wiz, Wonderful Town, and Your Own Thing. 

Switched to Match Game '73 while eating dinner. McLean Stevenson was a total nut during the first week he appeared. He kept running out to kiss Richard and give him hickeys whenever he got a Head-to-Head right and complained about Brett never hearing the questions. Wish Nancy Dussault came back during the 70's run, too. Her dry humor added a lot to this week.

Finished the night with two more recent record finds while working on the Road to Singapore review. Crosby's rival narrates his own story in A Man and His Music. The anthology itself features some well-chosen hits, including "All Or Nothing At All," "I'll Be Seeing You," "Night and Day," "Come Fly With Me," "Witchcraft," and "Love and Marriage" that continue to be associated with Sinatra to this day. I just wish I could hear them better. The records were horribly scratched and battered. No wonder I found this in the dollar bin. It's in such lousy shape, I think I might toss it and see if I can find a better copy somewhere along the line.

Thankfully, Maureen McGovern's self-titled album was in near-mint shape. Although the lyrics for "Can You Read My Mind" ultimately weren't used in the 1978 Superman movie, McGovern's gorgeous rendition is still a favorite of mine. We also get the theme from the sitcom Angie "Different Worlds" and enjoyable covers of "I'm Happy Just to Dance With You," "Carolina Moon," and "He's a Rebel."