It was nearly noon when we arrived. Friendly's is pretty much the only place at the Gloucester Outlets for lunch. I think we got there just in time. They weren't that busy when we sat down in one of their red booths. I had a cod sandwich with very small, slender fries. Lauren had broccoli and cheddar soup and half of a BLT. It's pretty much a requirement to have their ice cream when you eat at Friendly's. Lauren ordered her favorite black raspberry ice cream with peanut butter sauce. I felt decadent and went with Hunka Chunka PB Fudge with hot fudge sauce.
Spent the next two hours in and out of stores. Lauren didn't get anything at Eddie Bauer or Old Navy, but I got an orange-yellow t-shirt that was on sale for $4.99 from Eddie Bauer and a pair of black shorts for $12 at Old Navy. I didn't see anything I liked at Aeropostale, but Lauren got pajama bottoms. Lane Bryant had far more of my size underwear that weren't in drawers. I'll return the ones I got on Monday that didn't fit me. I also picked up a glittery Care Bears t-shirt and a pair of pale blue jean shorts with beautifully embroidered flowers on the sides.
It was a nice day for shopping, but not a whole lot else. Heavy clouds threatened all day as chilly winds made me wish I'd worn a sweater. Light showers had just started coming down as we made our way through the parking lot and across the street to Dave & Buster's.
Dave & Buster's is basically the same idea as Round 1, a large arcade chain. They had a sports bar instead of a bowling alley and far fewer cranes, but they're otherwise the same idea. I spent the next hour or so running from pirate themed wheel to giant Pac Man to spinning wheels to ring toss and Lane Master bowling. I almost got to the end of the giant Centipede game, but couldn't defeat the last monster. Came in 1st on Mario Kart Deluxe with Yoshi and second on Cruisin' Blast in a sweet vintage scarlet and white Chevy. They had a really cool Pac Man-themed ski ball game. If you throw the ball too hard, it'll go into holes all the way in the back, and you can lose points.
I ended up making over 3,200 points. Got another large Care Bear. All they had was a cheerful, extremely bright blue Champ Bear, so that's what I got. Lauren had more points than me (she said she hit a jackpot on one game), but decided to wait for when I visit her in September and she can carry more.
Put on Remember WENN when I got home. Lauren's favorite episode of the series is the Christmas show "Christmas In the Airwaves." She's a huge fan of Peter Noone, who plays British radio performer Gil Martin in this episode. Betty Roberts and the rest of the station are gearing up for a fun holiday season, until station owner Gloria Redmond (Betty Buckley) arrives with her miserly financier Rollie Pruitt (Johnathan Freeman) in tow. She lost her husband the year before, and now she wants a place to go where it doesn't feel like Christmas...and that includes WENN. The cast knows that not doing Christmas on their shows isn't realistic, no matter how bad of a loss she's had. Betty is the one who finally figures out how to put on their Christmas shows under Pruitt's nose, while Mr. Eldridge shows Gloria that the holidays are the perfect time for a heart to start healing.
Skipped ahead a bit to "Close Quarters." After Mr. Foley the sound-effects man (Tom Beckett) gets spots on his face, a paranoid doctor insists he has a rare disease and quarantines the staff. It goes well the first night, with a memorable spaghetti (with ketchup) dinner, a charming dance, and Betty talking to Hilary about Jeff's nightmares from the London bombing. As the weeks drag on, the staff grow more and more tired of being stuck in the studio...until the doctor finally claims he made a mistake, and there was nothing wrong with Mr. Foley after all.
We headed back out after "Close Quarters" ended. Though it remained cloudy, windy, and cold, the heavy shower that had come down during our ride home had long vanished. I threw on a sweater, and we hiked down the White Horse Pike to the Legacy Diner in Audubon. They were relatively quiet for a Sunday night. I thought they'd be a lot worse. Maybe the weather scared them off. I had a broccoli and cheddar omelette, a bowl of fruit, and two slices of whole wheat toast I couldn't finish. Lauren loves chicken croquets, but theirs are more like fried chicken logs, drowning in a sea of white gravy and mashed potatoes. She ate as much of them as she could, but had more luck with minestrone soup and cherry jello.
Since it's on the way back, we stopped at WaWa. She got a vanilla coffee latte. I had a chocolate banana smoothie. WaWa makes the best banana smoothies. They use real bananas, and they're always thick and creamy.
The Match Game marathon had already started when I got home. Tonight's theme showcased nighttime episodes from the show's second season, running from 1976 to 1977. The night show really started to pick up steam after it switched from two main games to three and replaced the third tie-breaker round with a "sudden death" that had contestants writing down an answer to a short question and the panelists guessing it.
These episodes could get even goofier than the main show. Once, a lady struck out completely in the main game. Their producer and judge Ira was nice enough to let her match each of the panelists with a question. She went home with $600 and a smile on her face. Another time, Mary Wickes showed off her idea of belly dancing. There were several exceedingly pretty single contestants Richard Dawson kept flirting with, including a beaming blonde college student and a young brunette in a 40's-style white and purple dress. An A gorgeous Asian Indian woman wore a stunning sari in pink and blue that impressed several panelists (and me).
Keep laughing in the nighttime with these classic episodes!
Tomorrow, we're going to brave the rain and take that long-delayed trip to Atlantic City.
No comments:
Post a Comment