I love the Barnes and Noble here! It's two stories and probably the largest I've ever seen. I did have a hard time finding the smaller paperback mysteries. Once I did, I couldn't decide on a book. I finally just bought One Poison Pie by Lynn Calhoon. Went downstairs next to their massive DVD and music section. Only half of it actually sold media, but I found two greatest hits CDs on reasonable sales:
Rick Astley - The Best of Me
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - The Best of Everything ($10 off a 2-disc set)
Lauren didn't find anything and was already outside when I was done. We went two doors down to Red Robin for lunch. They were surprisingly busy for a late Thursday morning when they'd just opened. The waitress chatted with an older man in a corner while Lauren ate a chicken Caesar wrap and I had a California chicken sandwich with avocado, bacon, lettuce, and tomato. I had fries and a coconut soda (Coke with coconut flavoring and topped with cream and foam). She had broccoli and a berry lemonade.
After a brief stop at TJ Maxx across the parking lot, we drove further down to the Holyoke Mall. Lauren parked near a light fixture that, for some reason, was surrounded by large spotted brown and red flying bugs. I later discovered they're spotted lantern flies. Holyoke is apparently having problems with the invasive pest right now. Fortunately, they seemed more interested in the blacktop than Lauren's car. At least the weather improved here. It was almost sunny and much warmer, in the lower 70's.
Our first stop was Round 1 on the other side of the mall. On one hand, they were a bit of a mess. They must have been remodeling or adding new machines. I saw lots of dark machines and closed-off areas. To my dismay, their prize area was closed, too. I'll have to save my points for the next time I'm at the Deptford Mall. On the other hand, there were still a lot of other machines working. I was able to run from skee ball to Bust a Move to giant Pac Man and Spaced Invaders for an hour. Crusin' Blast was among the games that were offline, but I had no trouble with Mario Kart Deluxe. Played Pac Man on the Splash Circuit; came in 2nd behind Luigi. Did better on the Hot Wheels race game this time, coming in first with my red car.
Lauren and I did better in the mall proper. Round 1 is the only amusement at Holyoke besides a kids' playground area, but that gave us more time to shop. Our first stop was Lane Bryant. I didn't get to check out the one at Crossgates yesterday! I didn't find more Care Bears shirts, but I did get a bra for $25 and a pretty mottled blue shirt for $13, the latter on clearance.
While I was exploring Lane Bryant, Lauren was across the way at a store that sold "exotic" snacks, mainly from Japan. I loved their nifty collection of Japanese sodas! I went with what looked like a clear peach Fanta. Research later revealed it was White Peach. Oh, yum! No wonder it's apparently popular in Japan. It's just sweet and tart enough and only 20 calories. Lauren had Pepsi Raspberry Ripple. She found unique Oreo flavors, and we both got Hershey's Exotic Dark Chocolates with raspberry goji middles.
We were in and out of stores for the next few hours. Lauren found a cute stuffed purple Snoopy at Toys R' Us. Neither of us found anything at Macy's, BoxLunch, Old Navy, MiniSo, or the toy-oriented Sports Zone downstairs. Lauren didn't pick up anything at Sportsline Video Games or FYE, either. I did better at FYE. Their selection isn't as good as it has been the past few years, but they still have more used stock than most stores do nowadays. I ended up with:
Seasons 1 - 3 of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (Wish DreamWorks would get around to releasing the last 2 seasons on disc now that the show isn't on Netflix anymore.)
Rod McKuen - Rod McKuen's Greatest Hits Vol. 2
Sutton Foster - Take Me to the World
1998 London cast of Oklahoma! with Hugh Jackman
There are at least four Sports Zone stores scattered throughout the Holyoke Mall. They do sell sports jerseys, but they mostly sell...everything else. Collectibles, toys, books, DVDs, games, action figures, stuffed animals. You name the junk, and they probably have it. I was looking for a Flyers Jersey, but I found two used DVDs upstairs for a decent price, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and the relatively recent Looney Tunes: Rabbit Run.
Made one last stop at JC Penney before we left. Once again, Lauren didn't get anything. I found a red short-sleeved t-shirt on clearance for $5.99. My old JC Penney red t-shirt is stretched from many wearings, especially around the collar.
Normally, we have dinner at Holyoke's food court when we're there...but they had a major fire earlier in the summer and are still rebuilding. We considered 110 Grill before Lauren found something even cheaper just a few minutes away. JP's Restaurant is elegant but simple, with a lively bar and terrific prices for what you get. They also have terrific food. Lauren's Cajun burger was massive. It was covered in cheese and sauce and must have weighed a pound or more. She said it was the best burger she'd ever tasted. My steak and cheese wrap was really good, too, dripping with sauteed onions, mushrooms, and peppers. She had a blueberry-lemon cheesecake for dessert. I had an amazingly decadent Snickers Pie.
We had more trouble getting home. The traffic caused by the road work had backed up significantly. At least there was a lovely pink sunset to admire while we waited. Thankfully, the traffic finally moved after about 20 minutes, and we got home within a half-hour after that.
Finished the night watching the Bowery Boys movie Smuggler's Cove on Tubi. Terrance "Slip" Mahoney (Leo Gorcey) and his best friend Sach (Huntz Hall) think they're in the money when Slip's given papers that indicate he's inherited a mansion. Turns out it's not only rundown, it's the home of European jewel thieves who are smuggling diamonds and scientists out of the country. Not only that, but it's not really Slip's inheritance. Another, far more prominent businessman named Terrance Mahoney (Paul Harvey) and his daughter Teresa (Amelita Ward) really inherited the house, and they've come for a vacation. Slip's reporter friend Gabe Moreno (Gabe Dell) smells a story and follows him there as well. Now the boys have to figure out what the smugglers are up to and help Mr. Mahoney get them out of his house, before everyone ends up in real trouble.