Called Uber to get us to The Big Event in Collingswood around 10:30. No trouble here. The driver came within three minutes, got us there in 10, and there was no traffic on the road.
The Big Event has been Cherry Hill's bowling alley apparently for at least 60 years. We rented shoes and played against each other. To be honest, neither of us are terribly good bowlers. I just barely won the first game, but it was close. Lauren won the second. I did terrible. I don't know why I couldn't get my wrist to turn where I wanted it to go. We had even more fun watching the young teens who were on a school trip play each other. They were hilarious, cheering on every turn, even though most of their scores weren't much better than ours.
We played two full games, then headed to the small arcade on the other side of the building. Though it doesn't have nearly as many games as Round 1 or Dave & Buster's, it's also far cheaper than them, and the machines use less points. Lauren tossed axes into a Velcro bullseye. I spun the monster wheel, got to 4th in a sweet cherry-red sports car on Cruisin' Blast, got 500 points on the pirate wheel, and another 150 on the Monopoly dice. Played a ton of Nerf Arcade, too. By the time we finished, the kids had joined us. They were so crowded around the prize counter, we decided to save our points for another time.
Called Uber again when we got out, this time to get us to the IHOP behind the Cherry Hill Mall. They were a bit busier than they were the last time I was there, including a cheeky old couple who kept teasing the waitress. I had tasty Bananas Foster pancakes with bacon, hash browns, scrambled eggs, and a "pineapple lemonade refresher," pineapple syrup in sparkling lemonade. Lauren couldn't decide and got a sampler with sausage, bacon, a huge slice of French toast that could pass as a flotation device if the building sank, and pancakes. I finished the pancakes, but she did eat everything else and said it was delicious.
The other reason I wanted to eat at IHOP was to introduce her to the great stores back there. Our next stop was the little bagel shop next-door. I bought a bag of four assorted bagels for a dollar. She got two red velvet cookies and a broken white chocolate chip macadamia nut cookie that she claimed "looked lonely."
Next, we dashed across the street to Ollie's, and then walked down to the massive 2nd Avenue Thrift Shop at the green-roofed shopping center next-door to the Cherry Hill Mall. We both got snacks at Ollie's. I got Triscuits and a new journal for when my current purple floral journal finishes. Lauren didn't find anything she wanted at the thrift shop. I got jeans for work, a peach polo shirt, a pretty white and blue floral tank top, and three CDs:
Elton John - Reg Strikes Back
Showstoppers, a collection of musical performances dating back to Blanche Ring and George M. Cohan at the turn of the 20th century.
The original cast album for the Maury Yeston version of The Phantom.
I also found a mystery:
Prologue to Murder, by Lauren Elliott
We headed back to the Cherry Hill Mall after we got out of 2nd Avenue Thrift, going in through Macy's. Lauren explored them, but didn't find anything she wanted. I just used the bathroom. In fact, I don't think either of us bought anything at the mall. We mostly just walked around. Neither of us really need a ton of clothes right now, and neither the Squishmallows store nor Go! Calendars and Books or FYE had anything interesting.
Stopped for dinner at the food court. Saladworks is my favorite booth here. I had the cranberry chicken salad with the "Sophie's Salad" with grilled chicken, apples, a spring mix, pecans, and cranberries and a roll. Lauren had a turkey cheddar n' bacon panini that was so big, she took part of it home and ate it later. We washed our meals down with Coke Zeros.
After we briefly checked out JC Penney and Old Navy, we briefly split up at the entrance to Nordstrom. I never find anything there. I don't think they even carry my size. Besides, their prices aren't that great. I briefly explored a lingerie shop before buying a sweet and cool strawberry smoothie from the Nordstrom eBar.
By the time we got out of the mall, it was 6:30. Neither of us were really up to hiking from the bus stop to home, so I called Uber. They arrived in 9 minutes, fairly fast for the height of rush hour. Other than the pleasant older gentleman having to stop for gas, there was no trouble on the road. We got home by almost 7.
There were two Amazon.com boxes waiting for us when we got in. I promised myself I'd buy one necessary item with my first Healthy Kids paycheck, and one that wasn't really necessary, but I wanted. The necessary one was a new plastic chair pad. The one I picked up from Amazon four years ago shortly before I moved was cracked beyond use from four years of chair rolling.
The other was the last Monkees album I didn't have in its original form. Rhino just re-released some of the Monkees' lesser-known albums, including Changes, Pool It, and for the first time on LP, their 90's comeback Justus. I think this one is actually a bit underrated. There's some good songs here, including Micky's driving "Regional Girl" and Davy's sweetly nostalgic "You and I."
Put on Remember WENN while I took the trash out and we got organized. Skipped ahead a bit for my favorite episode from before Victor left, "Armchair Detectives." Jeff Singer finds himself playing Sherlock Holmes for real when a butler they accused of killing his employer claims he didn't do it and wanted his case reopened.
"Hilary Booth, Registered Nurse" is about to go on the air cost-to-coast with the soap opera Valiant Journey...or she would have, if Mr. Foley hadn't accidentally hit her with the microphone boom. Now Hilary thinks she's the kindly nurse she plays on the station's World War I drama. Betty has to deal with this crisis without the aid of Victor Comstock, who is about to relinquish his manager role to broadcast in war-torn London.
Jeff is also in the spotlight in "Valentino Speaks." A director pays the cast to dub a newly-rediscovered Rudolph Valentino movie, then to finish the last sequence. Jeff, who plays the sheik role, is excited, until he realizes how demanding movie acting is. With Hilary's support, he finally comes to the conclusion that he prefers the many roles he plays as a radio actor to being typecast like Valentino was.
Speaking of silent and sound films, I finished the night after a shower with the 1927 The Jazz Singer. I go further into the original Al Jolson version that was the first talking movie with dialogue at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.
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