We had breakfast at Cracker Barrel, just 20 minutes from the Crossgates Mall. It was only 9 AM, so they were pretty quiet. I kept things simple with blueberry pancakes and syrup, bacon, and scrambled eggs. Oh yum! The pancakes were a litte dry, but still pretty tasty. Lauren had a hash browns casserole with eggs and vegetables and a biscuit.
The gift shop on the way out has a lot of country-related items, along with candy and many things Peanuts. I found the cutest little Peanuts advice book, Be Thankful, and dark chocolate cherry gel sticks. Lauren bought It's the Great Pumpkin t-shirts for her parents and a stuffed Woodstock that could be placed in the microwave and warmed to give you a very warm hug!
The Crossgates Mall is one of the largest in the Albany area, and probably the biggest of the three malls we visit. Since Lauren parked by JC Penney, we started there. I'm really trying not to buy too much in the way of clothing, but they did have plain t-shirts on sale. I got an olive-colored t-shirt for $6.29.
We next hiked across the mall to Dave & Buster's. This is basically the same deal as Round 1 with a sports bar instead of a bowling alley, a big, modern arcade. I spent the next hour or so running from giant Pac Man to ring toss to Centipede to skee ball. I amassed over 3,000 points. Settled for a small stuffed Pikachu, since he was pretty much the only thing I could fit in my luggage. Lauren was there a little longer - she was trying a new unlimited plays for 90 minutes deal - but couldn't decide what she wanted and opted to save her points.
Next up, we went upstairs to try another arcade. This one was much smaller, only one room...but it had a wall of vintage games. I played Burger Time, Donkey Kong, and for the first time in over 40 years, Defender. I'm still not much good at Defender, but I actually got past the first board on Burger Time and almost did on Donkey Kong. Also finally got a prize from a crane here, Share Bear dressed as a skunk. Lauren got Cheer Bear as a unicorn and a very funny Grumpy as a duck.
Headed to the food court next for lunch and to use the bathroom. I got a stromboli and bread sticks from Sbarro. Oooh, not bad. The spinach stromboli was nice and crispy, and the bread sticks were huge! Sbarro doesn't have the best reputation, but I didn't think that was bad. Lauren got orange chicken, corn, and rice from the Chinese booth.
After lunch, we went back downstairs to play mini golf. The theme of the indoor blacklight course at Crossgates is outer space. There's an astronaut, giant Venus fly trap aliens, and "rock formations" to get your ball around. Though I got a hole in one on the 15th hole, I also had a hard time getting my ball through several obstacles. Lauren won by three points (though she claimed it was close).
We walked around for a while after that. I got two CDs at FYE, a collection of three Harry Connick Jr. albums and the music from the closing ceremonies of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics that were super-cheap at FYE and a Sailor Moon manga (Japanese comic) at Newberry Comics. Lauren bought Rico a Captain America mug from Newberry Comics and a t-shirt from FYE. I didn't get anything at Primark, Charlotte Russe, Miniso, DSW Shoes, or Old Navy, but she got lounging pants and t-shirts from the first two.
Tried somewhere new for dinner. Aloha Crab opened a few months ago. It's a small seafood restaurant with crab and shellfish dishes that are so fresh, they put paper on the table and tin buckets for the remains. We just got fried pickles and baskets of fried shrimp and sweet potato fries. Oh yum! The shrimp melted in your mouth, and the hearty waffle-cut fries were amazing.
Headed home after that. We left around 6:30, just in time to witness a gorgeous pink and orange sunset on the horizon. There was no more trouble getting home than there had been driving to Albany, no traffic anywhere.
I finished the night watching versions of Match Game that many people might not be familiar with on YouTube. Match Game began as The Match Game on NBC in 1962. Host Gene Rayburn asks a simple question like "Name a flavor of pudding." Two celebrities try to match their answers with the contestant's. It was actually too simple, and not very exciting. Apparently, it didn't start working until they made the questions slightly racier (though not to the degree of the 70's version). Alas, very little of the original 60's Match Game survives. NBC wasn't nearly as good about keeping their shows around as CBS would be later. The premiere episode seen here is one of the few survivors.
Though Match Game ended its run on CBS in 1979, there was enough interest left for them to debut in syndication. This would run for another three years, until early 1982. I think the early 80's syndicated Match Game is highly underrated, as is the attempt to fuse it with Hollywood Squares in 1983. They both have their share of fun celebrities.
There would be two attempts to revive Match Game in the 90s. The 1990 one is generally the better-regarded of the two. It does have some of the fun of the earlier episodes and some hilarious banter, but the Match-Up mini-game tends to slow down game play and is a bit controversial.
The 1998 version didn't do nearly as well. It reduced the celebrities to 5, and while Ross Shaffer could be a tiny bit stiff, Michael Berger was all wrong for a fun-filled comedy show. The show had its virtues, including Vicki Lawrence, Nell Carter, and an occasionally hilarious Judy Tenuta.
Check out some Match Game you may not have heard of with these hilarious episodes!
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