Walking In Woodcrest

Started off the morning with breakfast and Little Bear. Little Bear, Duck, and Emily accidentally go "Rafting On the River" when their raft breaks free and heads downstream. Cat, Duck, and Owl race them to see whether land or water are the fastest ways to travel. "Little Bear's Kite" was made by him and Grandfather Bear on a fine windy day. Little Bear has fun imagining all the places it can fly too, until it runs into another kite...one that happens to be attached to a familiar friend. It's the "Night of the Full Moon." After Father tells Little Bear the story of monsters that appear during the full moon, they pretend to be monsters and try to scare Mother Bear. Mother, however, knows what the full moon can do to people and bears...

Headed out after the cartoon ended. Rode straight to the Collingswood PATCO. Fortunately, the train to Woodcrest arrived not more than 8 minutes after I sat down. The train wasn't busy at all. I think there were two other people going there with me. 

I got a very big shock when I got off. The Woodcrest PATCO station is twice the size of the ones further up the line. There was ample seating inside and out, a long row of ticketed swing doors, and someone was even in the ticket booth. I have never once in the 20 years I've lived here seen someone actually selling tickets in the Collingswood booth. It was even nice outside...at least until you turned towards the street, where they seemed to be doing exterior and track work. I had a hard time just finding my way out of the sprawling parking lot. 

As it turned out, the bridge over the train tracks did have sidewalks. I was easily able to walk over them, passing corporate buildings and towering luxury apartment buildings. I was surprised to see sponge manufacturer Scrub Daddy's offices in another building. I had no idea they were a local business. They're sold pretty much everywhere around here, from Dollar General to Target to the Acme. Passed them, then went by tall pine trees and a leaning sidewalk that went around the Cherry Hill Fire Hall. Thank heavens Haddonfield-Berlin Road was the only traffic-laden street I encountered on this trip. I tried to be careful crossing, especially given it was past noon by the time I did. 

Passed by a green-roofed shopping center for the time being, continuing down Browning Lane. Fortunately, the Centura Condominium complex wasn't even a block from the shopping center. Centura is a gated community, so I couldn't walk around the outside like I did elsewhere. I did see two kinds of buildings through the wrought-iron fences. One half the complex buildings were more like generic 70's townhouses. The other half were older, probably from the 50's, with a Spanish theme complete with cream-colored stucco walls. There was a sunken-in brick area with a charming fountain in front of the guard house. 

As far as I could tell, everything was very clean and well-maintained. The balconies sported either porch furniture and small grills or potted plants, no junk. I did hear there's a pool and tennis courts. Couldn't get around to the back to see what the trash areas were like. The lawns were spacious and velvety green, except for under the towering pine trees near the front. The rest of the neighborhood were the 60's and 70's tract houses that seem to be typical construction through most of Cherry Hill. I was a little annoyed that only the house side of the street had sidewalks. While Browning Lane wasn't mega-busy, it wasn't a quiet country road, either.

Backtracked to the Woodcrest Shopping Center after I saw all I could of Centura. This looks almost identical to the Plaza at Cherry Hill before it's recent makeover, a 70's-era outdoor mall with a green roof. Dunkin' Donuts was one out parcel. The other was an escape room that was definitely housed in a former Rite Aid/Eckards. I was so hot, I grabbed a tasty and sweet SunCloud Coconut Limeade at Dunkin's before deciding I was hungry enough for lunch.

I ate at Asad's Hot Chicken. They looked like a more colorful Crown Chicken and Gyro with an all-chicken menu. I went with two sliders with Cole slaw and pickles, fries, and a Sprite Zero. The girl said she gave me mild, but...yow! It wasn't mild at all! It was way too spicy for me! I did manage to eat one slider, but I couldn't finish the other. Too bad the fries were covered in spices, too. The ones I dug around for without them were really good. They were nice, but I don't think I'll be eating there again. Next time I'm in the area, I'll go to the pizza place across the street.

Explored a few other stores in the mall. Bought a gift card for my nephew Skylar's birthday and a box of Orange Cream cheap hydration mix at Dollar Tree. Wandered around an Asian Indian market, admiring the unique fruits, vegetables, candies, and baked goods. Peeked at Top Deck Games, a card and board game store. Most of their stock was overpriced, which was a shame. They had some nifty stuffed Pokemon. I saw a Strawberry Shortcake Candy Land game that I may see if I can pick up somewhere cheaper along the line.

After I left Top Deck Games, I started back...but I was thirsty again, and I really had to go to the bathroom. It was windy, cool, and cloudy, but also thickly humid. I asked two nice ladies sitting at a picnic table where the coffee shop in one of the corporate buildings was. I'm just glad no one called me on not belonging there. I bought a very tasty matcha latte from the dark and tan wood Terry's Cafe. Found the bathrooms not far from the nifty modern lounge area, with its soft dark blue velvet seats and weird chairs made of blue cloth straps and blue and orange wire flowers on the walls. 

Thankfully, I had no trouble after that. I ducked out of the bathroom and returned to the bridge. Spotted a set of concrete steps with yellow railings that went down to the parking lot. Once again, I got lucky and didn't have to wait long for a train. Took an only slightly busier train to Collingswood, then took my bike home.

Listened to the soundtrack from Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lucky Daughter as I got organized. I reviewed the movie two years ago, and found that it's a charming British MGM musical wrapped up in a vehicle for Peter Noone and Herman's Hermits. You get that sense here as well. In addition to the hit title song and "There's a Kind of Hush," we have the sales pitch "Lemon and Lime" and "The World Is For the Young" as Stanley Holloway, Sheila White, and Marjorie Rhoades discuss how the youth think they know everything about love. 

Switched to Descendants: Wicked Wonderland next. I go further into the latest movie in the Disney Channel fantasy crossover series at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Musicals On TV - Descendants: Wicked Wonderland

Watched Match Game '76 during dinner and after a much-needed shower. Lee Merriweather spent a lot of the week sporting a wig with luscious auburn locks. The others spent it answering questions about what beauty queens do when they get older.

Finished the night at the Roku Channel for The Rockford Files. "The Dark and Bloody Ground" is the first time lawyer Beth (Gretchen Corbett) hires Jim for a case. Here, she convinces him to help a woman accused of her husband's death in a fire accident. Turns out not only was her husband not who he claimed to be, he was the writer of a best-selling book that's being made into a movie. Jim and Beth have to dodge killers taking pot shots and trying to run them off the road when she discovers a loop hole that will allow a company to own the rights to a book if the author's dead.