Runnin' Down a Dream

We started out on a gray, cloudy morning, this time heading past Lee to the Mass Pike. There was a little traffic near Springfield due to road repairs, but it was fine once we got off the highway. We finally pulled into the Holyoke Commons Shopping Center around quarter after 10.

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.

With a Little Help From My Friends

Started out heading back to Albany on a gray, cool morning. It showered lightly as we made our way through the small, lovely upstate New York towns to Cracker Barrel near the Albany train station. Thank goodness the clouds were starting to break up as we pulled into their parking lot. In fact, that was the last rain we saw all day.

Cracker Barrel goes for southern-fried rustic instead of generic 60's diner. Lauren and I sat under framed artwork of patterns for dresses from the 40's. I could see skis and older snowshoes over one table, 45's and their covers at another. The blazing fire in the huge fireplace felt good on that slightly chilly morning! Lauren had a hash brown casserole with two fluffy biscuits. I had thin but tasty pancakes topped with caramel, sweet cream, and fried apples. (Those fried apples taste much better on top of pancakes than they do as a side.) I thought it would be busier at quarter after 10, but it wasn't that bad.

We of course stopped in Cracker Barrel's gift shop on the way out. Cracker Barrel's country theme extends to their old-style candy, CDs of country stars, and for some reason, a lot of Peanuts merchandise. I just ended up with a cute, fluffy little stuffed cow I named Hoodsie and a pecan log. Lauren got a stuffed Eeyore for her mom and shirts for her.

By the time Lauren pulled into the parking lot of Crossgates Mall about 20 minutes away, the clouds were rapidly vanishing. She couldn't find a good space near JC Penney, so we entered at Primark. I'm not a fan of them. I can never find my size there. Lauren normally does well there, but finally admitted she couldn't find anything either when she joined me in the main mall.

There were small neon gold and white cranes scattered throughout the mall. They pretty much looked like gold and white versions of the Prince UFO Catchers at Colonie Center. Lauren didn't have any luck with them, even when we found a store with rows of them called Kiddleton. I got a cute little round knitted white duck and a butterfly-like creature with beautiful orange, black, gray, and green markings. She had a Godzilla tag. (I later discovered that her name is Mothra, and at least in the current film series, she's a goddess and a good guy.)

Our next stop was Dave & Buster's. The one at Crossgates doesn't have skee ball, but they have plenty of everything else. I spent over an hour and a half going from the pirate wheel (won over 200 on one try there!) to Monopoly to giant Space Invaders to giant Pac Man to ring toss. Got Mario on Mario Kart Deluxe; came in 1st on the Kingdom Way round. Didn't have as much luck with Crusin' Blast, despite my sweet cherry-red Cadillac. I came in 3rd on the Madagascar race with the dinosaurs. Got two cards for extra points out of the SpongeBob and Minions token machines. I had over 4,200 when it was all done. Got a really cute fluffy, floppy mottled brown-and-white teddy bear I named Honeycomb.

I peeked at FYE next. They moved and didn't have the selection they used to, but I came up with enough to do their buy 3 used items for $15 sale:

The Essential Collections - Deanna Durbin (Apparently an import, but I almost never see anything for her, not even on LP.)

Great Women of Jazz - Astrid Gilberto

The soundtrack for O Brother, Where Art Thou?

The third season of Supergirl (This wasn't part of the sale, but it wasn't a bad price.)

Next stop was Macy's. Lauren looked around, but all I did was use the bathroom. After that, we went upstairs and headed to The Arcade House. This is one large room with smaller machines and cranes with better toys than Dave & Buster's. Alas, neither of us had any luck there. They had a row of older games in the back. I played Burger Time and at least got through most of the first round, but I'm still no good at Defender. 

After we couldn't get anything out of the cranes at Kiddleton, we briefly moved on to JC Penney. It was getting late by that point, though, and we also wanted to get mini golf in. There's an indoor black light mini golf course across from Dave & Buster's downstairs. The theme is space. You navigate your neon balls around Venus fly traps, aliens, glowing "rock formations," and astronauts in neon green playing golf. Lauren won by a few points, but I got the only hole in one of the day.

We made a brief stop outside of Primark to use the bathroom before we finally headed out. At least the rain seems to have taken a temporary leave of absence. In fact, the weather was gorgeous when we drove past Albany and down to Mass Pike. It was sunny, breezy, and much warmer. If the dry roads were any indication, it hadn't so much as sprinkled in hours.

Lauren pulled in at Rico's house near Great Barrington around 6:30. Rico was letting his baked chicken brine when we arrived. He and his boyfriend Elliott were absolutely hilarious. It was funny just watching them together, and Lauren was hilarious with them, too. We chatted, then ate Rico's delicious, moist baked chicken with corn boiled in salted water. 

We were going to have dessert at an ice cream bar nearby, but apparently, it closed early tonight. No matter. I had cookies and Lauren had a popcicle while the guys chatted and laughed and drank rum. We tried to play the Train-themed card game Lauren picked up, but I don't think the guys quite got it. We ended up singing along to Garth Brooks (Rico is a big country fan) instead. We did much better with Golden Girls Against Humanity, which ended up being a riot. Elliott won by a wide margin. He had 7 to Rico and Lauren's 6 cards each and my 3. We had so much fun, it was late before we finally got home. 

Have You Ever Seen the Rain?

Started off the morning heading across the rain-spattered landscape of upstate New York. Even with the gritty gray skies and heavy showers, western Massachusetts and upstate New York remained beautifully pastoral. The leaves here are just starting to turn glowing shades of gold, rust, and flaming orange. They hung over huge red barns, charming little villages, lovely Victorian hotels and libraries, and sturdy farmhouses. Thankfully, the traffic was non-existent as we headed down the highway past Schoendack to the Denny's on the hill next-door to Cracker Barrel.

It wasn't raining when we pulled into their parking lot. They weren't even that busy, despite it being 10 AM and prime breakfast time. She ordered a strawberry lemonade for a drink. I got hot tea...and of course, I spilled it on myself when I tried to pour it. Ouch! I've been a real klutz lately. I ran it under cold water right away. Thankfully, though it was a little sore later, it never blistered. I ran cold water on it whenever I could throughout the day, which seems to have helped.

Our breakfast went much better after that. We made our own slams. Lauren went simpler with sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs, and toast that was so heavily buttered, it was practically French toast. I had two delicious and fluffy pancakes, turkey bacon, scrambled egg whites, and a huge plate of grapes and sliced bananas and strawberries. Oh yum! Very tasty, especially those pancakes. We ate every bit.

Our next stop was the Colonie Center, the smaller, older mall on Wolf Road. On one hand, heavy remodeling a decade ago made it modern inside and out. It's also had more trouble with losing anchors than its larger neighbor down the street Crossgates Mall. On the other hand, it also has stores that Crossgates doesn't, including the one we started at. I love L.L Bean's travel accessories, but as Lauren pointed out, their clothes are expensive even on sale. We didn't spend much time here.

We did a little better at Go! Calendars and Toys. I looked at stuffed animals, but didn't see anything I wanted. Lauren did better. She found a cute mint-colored Snoopy key clip and a ball with a surprise toy. 

After we left Go!, we split up. Lauren went to Boscov's and LA 7. I started at Barnes and Noble. I wasn't that impressed with their mystery section. I just went with A Trip With Trouble: The Mountain Lodge Mysteries by Diane Kelly and the soundtrack from Toy Story 5. Headed across the way to Boscov's after that. I replaced the Easy Spirits with white Hi-Tecs. I looked at Avia, but they were too tight, even in wide sizes. The Hi-Tecs are slightly tight, but better than the Avias. 

Met Lauren out in the main hall while tying on my new sneakers. Our next stop was something different. Colonie just added the first all-crane machine arcade I've ever seen. It's small, and interestingly, like Tyler St. Arcade, it uses tokens. The pink and white neon machines did have some larger prizes, but most of them were cards or keychain toys. I kept trying for a Bulbasaur keychain with no luck. I did pick up a Flareon (fire version of Eevee) and a tiny stuffed pretzel with a cat's face. 

Went a little further down to Macy's after we finished at Prince UFO. I left Lauren to wander around, but I rarely do well here anymore. I ultimately just used the bathroom and met Lauren out in the mall. When she revealed she'd had no luck either, we headed a few doors down to Spencer's. I didn't get anything at the weird, edgy novelty store, but Lauren found a goofy shirt for her guy friend Rico.

Our plans got their first check of the day after Spencer's. We were going to spend an hour at the Pier Arcade next, but...they were closed. I could see the games wrapped in cellophane and netting through the bars. Looks like they're gone for good. That's disappointing. They were small, but they had enough in there to kill an hour. Wonder what happened? I can't imagine they had trouble competing with the cranes, which are really a different type of amusement. 

Our next stop wound up being K & A Thrift Shop by default. They were generally well-organized for a thrift shop, and other than some nice furniture, kind of sparse. I did see some cute stuffed animals and the clothes weren't bad, but there was nothing I absolutely needed. We moved on fairly quickly. I browsed in Hallmark after that while Lauren went back to Spencer's for Rico's shirt.

After Lauren got out of Spencer's, we had lunch at the food court. We both ended up getting stromboli from Sbarro's. I went with a spinach stromboli. Lauren got a pepperoni stromboli and added a salad and a soda. Yum! I don't know why Sbarro's has such a bad reputation. Their stromboli are slightly dark but far from bad. Ours disappeared pretty fast. 

There isn't much else upstairs, so we headed back down to the first floor after lunch. We poked around the Gift Emporium and a tiny toy store, but found nothing but Beanie Babies, imitation stuffed animals, and junky statues. Five Below proved to be far more interesting. Lauren bought lounging pants. I found the cutest little leopard Squishmallow dressed as a vampire. Her tag says her name is Xiomara, and she's a chemistry teacher who loves showing her little Mallows how to make slime and bath bombs. 

Thankfully, the rain died down again as we made our way back out to Wolf Road. This time, we headed left to Trader Joe's. Good thing we could actually park in the parking lot this time. They took over vacant buildings next door and are expanding the store and the lot. That doesn't seem to have impacted the store itself. It was busy, but I was able to buy coconut strips, sweetened dried orange slices, fruit bars, and oatmeal coconut cookies with no trouble. Lauren got her favorite ginger slices. 

It was way too early for dinner, so Lauren drove us a few doors down to a small big box shopping center. Once again, I didn't find anything in Burlington, and all I did in Marshalls was use the bathroom. Lauren did better, picking up shirts for her parents and pants for her. The Target was huge! I looked through the Our Generation clothes, but ultimately just had time to grab The Faraway Inn by Sarah Beth Durst on a good sale. 

The rain slowed again as Lauren drove us further down busy Wolf Road to Ted's Fish Fry for dinner. This popular local franchise specializes in massive fried fish sticks on tiny hot dog buns that can't close to contain them. Lauren bought a fish fry for her, two for her parents, and fish tacos for a snack later. I had a fish fry, slightly bland French fries, and very tasty and not-too-sweet Cole slaw. 

By the time Lauren was driving us past the glittering night silhouette of Albany, the rain was down to light showers. They'd continue during pretty much the entire ride home. Lauren cranked up the music and the heat, and we sang to 60's and 80's hits and country favorites as she got off the highway and passed through small towns and down dark highways.

When we got in, we showed our loot to Lauren's parents, and then I took a shower. Finished the night with more vintage music after I got out. Music-based game shows go way back on TV, here and in England. Juke Box Jury actually started in the US, but the long-running British version from the late 50's and 60's is better-known today. Celebrity panelists - Carmen MacRae is among them in the episode I have - would rate songs and try to figure out if they'd be a hit or not. Sounds simple, but the show was popular enough to attract some of the biggest groups of the day as panelists, including the Beatles. Alas, little of the show survives, with only audio from one of the Beatles' shows.

Juke Box Jury was far from the last time young people would get involved with musical game shows. The MTV show Lip Service from 1992 has college kids singing along to popular hits of the early-mid 90's. Whichever group can do it better wins a big trip. Weird as the premise is, the kids really do get into their miming - check out the girls in the opening acts!

Musical Chairs from 1975 also went for the hip youth crowd. Singer Adam Wade made history as the first African-American man to host a game show. He'd introduce regular singers Mary Stuart and Donna Ceillini, plus a guest star - in this case, R&B group the Spinners. The singers would start performing a song, and the contestants would guess the next lyrics. It was too complicated and expensive with the guest starts to last longer than a year, but I'm glad most of the show has been found. For all the weird game play, there's some great music on display here.

I loved watching The $100,000 Name That Tune on USA when I was a kid! In this revival of the popular 50's show, Jim Lange is the one who leads contestants through a series of mini-games to the Golden Medley. Contestants dare each other to see who can name a song in the least notes possible. It's exciting to see how well they do on the Golden Medley, especially one of the rare folks who go all the way, as they do here.

It's a cavalcade of music styles from four decades of musical and game show history in these tuneful episodes!

Juke Box Jury (1960)

Musical Chairs (1975)

The $100,000 Name That Tune (1984)

Lip Service (1992)

Driving My Life Away

It was cloudy and spitting slightly when we headed out around quarter after 10 this morning. Even those clouds were trying to break up as we headed to the shopping center on the bottom of a cliff. The Pittsfield Goodwill is huge (it used to be a Big Lots), even bigger than the Audubon one, and much better-organized. I found their bins and bins of media right away. Lauren found two shirts. Out of their piles and piles of CDs and bins and bins of records and DVDs, I found: 

Billboard Top Hits 1982 (I think that makes 1984 and 1980 the only 80's entries in this series I don't have.)

Julie Andrews - Broadway - The Music of Richard Rodgers

Sea of Love: Hits of the Late 50's (3-Disc set)

The House of the Seven Gables with Vincent Price (This was one of my best finds. Universal Vault DVDs are made on demand and hard to find in the wild.)

We headed up the hill to the upper half of the shopping center next. The Pittsfield Ollie's is also new, and frankly much nicer than the one in Cherry Hill (if not as big). Lauren picked up a pack of Archway Iced Oatmeal Cookies. (Apparently, her folks are big fans of those.) I found Sunkist Thin Shortbread coconut sandwich cookies with dark chocolate cream. The book aisles yielded what was my favorite discovery of the day. TCM Underground was their late-night series discussing classic cult cinema. It ended last year, but not before they released a book of the same title on classic and lesser-known cult films. 

(Among those films are five musicals I've reviewed before. I would have enjoyed the gritty Jamaican reggae crime film The Harder They Come more if I could understand the accents better. Roller Boogie and Xanadu are late 70's roller skating musicals that are way better than they have any right to be. Thank God It's Friday is a dull story with a killer soundtrack. Head is...its own thing.)

We headed into Pittsfield for our next stop. Lauren's guy friend Rico pointed out the recent opening of the Tyler St. Arcade. This is about as old school of an arcade as you can get. The newest machine was probably the SpongeBob Wheel from the late 90's-early 2000's. Most of them were generic machines from the 80's and early 90's. I did get a kick out of the Operation game where you had to hit a "bone" spot with a claw, even if it was hard to do, and the Shaquille O'Neal-themed pinball machine was pretty cool. It even used tokens and tickets instead of cards. Lauren had enough luck to get a Matchbox car, a pretty purple flower ring, and a small, squishy white bear. All I got was a pen with a video game-shaped top. 

Even the cranes were filled with generic printed stuffed animals and vintage stuffed toys from the 80's they probably found at local thrift shops. I'm still having no luck with cranes. Lauren got an 80's Strawberry Shortcake rag doll.

Lauren took us further down Pittsfield for lunch. She loves Angelina's Subs next-door to the Co-Op Bank where she works. They're a small, basic sandwich shop that sells some of the best cheesesteaks and grilled sandwiches in the Berkshires. Lauren had a cheese steak, Coke Zero, and a bag of Andy Capp Cheese Fries. I had a chicken cheese steak, Fresca, and a really yummy bag of ridged sea salt and cracked pepper potato chips. And the older ladies who made the food were funny and total dolls who had worked there for years. No wonder Lauren is such a fan of this place. 

Next up, Lauren took us about a half-hour down the road to the Lee Outlets. Alas, the Outlets have lost quite a few stores of late. There wasn't nearly as much to check out there as there usually is. I just ended up buying underwear at Jockey to replace a pair I bought in July that were too small. Lauren did slightly better, grabbing polo shirts at Aeropostale. 

We were originally going to eat at the Lee Outlets food court, but it was only 4 PM when we finished. That was too early for dinner, especially with our late lunch. Ended up going further south to the Great Barrington Goodwill instead. Lauren found nothing here. I dug through their equally full media bins for two more multi-disc CD sets: 

Original Cast! 100 Years of Musical Theater - Completing the Century (Collection of songs from musicals of the 80's and early 90's. I bought this for numbers from extremely hard-to-find flop musicals, including Dance a Little Closer, Baby, Romance/Romance, and Nick & Nora.) 

Mary Poppins Special Edition (I have the original LP soundtrack, but this has all of the music, plus a second CD with bonus interviews.) 

Lauren drove us all the way up to Canaan to try a restaurant Rico recommended. Picante's Mexican Grill looks extremely modern south-of-the-border in its decor, but it also has an extensive Italian menu along with the Mexican food. We had Italian yesterday, so we went with Mexican. Lauren had four small enchaladas with green tomatillo sauce, Spanish rice, black beans, and chicken that she ate all of. I went with a simpler - and equally tasty - chicken quesadilla full of thick chicken pieces and lots of cheese.

It had been spitting off and on all day. It didn't really start raining until we were heading to Picante's. The heavy shower continued during the hour-long drive home. Honestly, this may have been my favorite part of the day. Lauren turned up her 80's and 60's hits playlist, and we belted along to the Cars, the Beatles, the Chiffons, and Dexy's Midnight Runners. She spoke-texted messages to Rico, and I nearly doubled over laughing at how funny those two were together. 

We showed Lauren's parents most of what we found when we got home, then went downstairs. Lauren is watching YouTube videos. I'm watching today's YouTube Match Game marathon. McLean Stevenson took over Richard Dawson's spot in the fifth seat towards the end of the 1980 syndicated season. Honestly, I think the syndicated episodes are way underrated, especially the ones with McLean. He took over as host when Charles hit Gene with a card in an argument over an answer. Ted Lange dressed McLean in a creamy white suit with a cowboy hat that made him look like he got lost on the way to the set of Dallas. He wore a blond curly wig to imitate later Police Academy cop Leslie Easterbrook. He saw a contestant with a crush on sitcom actress Sydney Greenstreet give her a pretty rose. 

Have a little syndicated fun with McLean in some of the wildest episodes ever on local TV!

Match Game Sunday Classics - McLean Takes Richard's Seat: Best Shows With McLean Stevenson

Day at the Library

Began the morning with breakfast and the series finale of Monchichhis. The Monchichhis are searching for the lost treasure of the Pyramid's Eye. The Grumplins are just searching for the bad-luck charm that belonged to their leader Horgg. Tootoo found it...but it seems to give her nothing but good luck. It turns into a "Charm Alarm" when groups are caught by a group of Pack Rats who want them to run on a treadmill that crushes objects for scrap...and may crush a frozen Horgg if they can't find a way to distract the Rats and revive him!

And that's that. This was part of one of the numerous Hanna-Barbara anthology series kicking around in the 70's and early 80's. I believe it was also one of their five attempts to recreate their runaway success with The Smurfs. On one hand, like Shirt Tales, the series does get better as it goes along, particularly later episodes that focus on unique characters or aspects of their world like "Jingle Pods" and "Cloud City." The goofy reggae-esque theme music grows on you, too. Some of the villains, including the Sand Witch of "Moncho's Gift" and red-eyed Horgg, can get pretty scary, too (and they're all generally more effective than Gargamel).,

Trouble is, divorced from the jungle setting, this is pretty cutesy stuff. The Monchichhis themselves are either bland (Moncho, Kyla) or annoying (Tootoo, Thumbkii) or both (Wizzar). They talk about the Monchichhis meaning happiness in the opening, then do almost nothing with the all-important Happy Works after the first few episodes. Despite the all-star cast that includes Peter Cullen as two of the Grumplins, Frank Nelson as Wizzar, and Robert Morse as Moncho, none of the characters are really all that distinguished or interesting. The animation is even less so, with stilted movement and poor continuity. 

If you can get them past some mild cartoon violence and fairly scary villains, younger elementary school-age kids who will enjoy the Monchichhis' antics and those who remember when this show used to re-run frequently on USA in the 80's like me are probably the best audience for this nowadays.

Headed out after the cartoon ended. Since the schools are out for Yom Kippur, I had extra time today to focus on my library trip. Went across the street to pick up the bus to the Voorhees Library. No trouble going there, other than dodging some road work in Oaklyn. I got off around 11:30.

The Voorhees Library is one of the largest libraries in Camden County along with the Cherry Hill Library and the Bellmawr Library. I explored the vast children's area first, looking at fairy tale picture books and admiring the view of the stand of trees and water outside the wide windows and the cute wooden kitchen playset in the play area. It was pretty busy, though, so I didn't stick around. I peered at the adult fiction stacks briefly before heading upstairs.

The second floor is entirely given over to the adult non-fiction and to meeting rooms. I found a couple of really interesting books on musicals. I've been reading some version of the Stanley Green Broadway Musicals Year By Year series since I found one of the earlier editions at the Villas Library years ago. The one I read went up to 2010 (American Idiot and Million Dollar Quartet are the latest shows profiled), but I was more interested in less-discussed shows of the 1910's, 20's, and 30's that are almost never revived in their original forms today like Maytime, Sally, Tip Toes, and DuBarry Was a Lady. I also found The Movie Musical! by Jeanine Basinger, who wrote that wonderful book on silent stars in the late 90's and a book on demolished Broadway theaters.

By quarter after 1, I was dodging more adults looking for books upstairs. Time for lunch. I went across the street and past the Voorhees Town Center to Restaurant Row. Well, it's supposed to be Restaurant Row. There aren't that many restaurants left. There's an Indian restaurant, a fancy Brazilian steakhouse, a Chinese restaurant, and Crust n' Fire, a fancy pizza place. I originally wanted pizza, but they don't sell slices. As it turned out, their wraps may be even better. I had a Caprese chicken wrap - chicken with arugula, fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and balsamic vinaigrette on a whole wheat wrap. Yum! The wrap was too thin to hold all of that, but it still tasted delicious. Their crispy "Jersey Shore" fries were even better. I washed it down with a Diet Pepsi.

Went to Boscov's next. Boscov's is the only store that's still open at the Voorhees Town Center. Some Voorhees government offices have reopened, but most of the other stores closed even before the Town Center's food court had a nasty fire in 2024. Luxury condos, a beauty school, and a couple of restaurants do not make a "Town Center." Boscov's wasn't much, either. They seem a bit smaller than the other Boscov's in Deptford. There wasn't much in their shoe department. I didn't see any sneakers I could use for running errands and headed out. It didn't help that it was really busy too, including families with children and strollers that blocked aisles. 

I was going to take the bus home after that. I assumed the bus would pick up on the Voorhees Library side of the road, but...the 403 never came that way. There was some excitement while I was waiting. I couldn't see what happened - a sign and bushes blocked my view - but an older lady apparently had a nasty fall in the parking lot of the senior housing next to the library. On one hand, the poor older lady did not want to go. She kept yelling that she was fine, she didn't need help, she wanted to be left alone...even though if someone called cops and paramedics, she was obviously anything but fine! On the other hand, the police and paramedics were just trying to help an older lady and do their jobs. They did finally take her away on a stretcher. 

After all that, I gave up on waiting and went back into the library. This time, I checked out the adult fiction section downstairs. Their science fiction isn't much, but they have a wonderful mystery section! I saw all or most of the books in some of my favorite series and many individual historical thrillers. I didn't take anything out because I'm going on vacation and won't have the time to read them, but I will be coming back here later in the fall or winter.

I did finally catch the 4:03 bus home, on the right side this time. I should have been more careful and caught the earlier one. The bus stopped at every block to pick up workers on their way home from the stores and offices on the White Horse Pike. Between that and the traffic, a 15 minute trip turned into almost 40. 

When I did get home, I finished The Train to Impossible Places by P.G Bell while The Price Is Right played before switching to Match Game '76 during dinner. I have no idea why Buzzr kept skipping ahead. The first episode introduced George Kennedy to the show. The next two featured Bob Barker and Patty Duke. The last featured Gary Burghoff and debuted elegant Susan Sullivan.

Finished the night with game shows on PBS and Public broadcasting. The US Public Broadcasting System was late to game shows. They didn't really have the money, and they seemed to be contrary to their mission to educate and entertain. It wasn't until 1978 that they finally jumped into the fray with We Interrupt This Week. It's too bad they didn't start sooner and that there isn't more of this show existing. This hilarious panel show spoofs current events, and despite only lasting three months in two runs, what little is currently available is hilarious.

Before that, most local stations had their own quiz bowls for  high schools and colleges based on GE College Bowl. Some of them were so popular, they started in the 70's and continue to this day! One of those long-running quiz shows is Scholastic Scrimmage. High Schools from the Lehigh Valley area have been competing against each other on Pennsylvania PBS WPSU for 50 years. In fact, I have a recent episode from earlier this year.

One of the major events on PBS in 1982 was Top of the World. This British show featured Australian, American, and British competitors playing in England. The show played in all three countries via satellite. Despite it being a huge undertaking, and host Eamonn Andrews' promise that it would return, the show only lasted 4 months, and PBS never tried anything this ambitious with a game show ever again. Only the big finale exists today.

In fact, they wouldn't run another national game show until Where In the World Is Carmen Sandiego in 1991. Greg Lee was the enthusiastic host as three "gumshoes" tried to figure out where Carmen's oddball assortment of criminals took this week's improbable landmark. Actually, "The Purloined Pooch" is, for once, something someone could reasonably steal. In the pilot episode, seemingly sweet Patty Larceny made off with a lapso apsu from the East African Kennel Club's big dog show. As the Chief (Lynne Thigpen) points out in the beginning, the scoring may have been different, but it's still the same game...and still gives us the same wonderful lessons in geography at a time when the map of the globe was changing daily.

World was such a smash hit, Thigpen went right into a follow-up in 1997. Where In Time Is Carmen Sandiego, alas, only lasted a year. I think it's too bad. Learning about history is just as fun as learning about countries of the world, and the space theme is really fun and even scary. In the premiere, Jacqueline Hyde, who jumps rapidly between a sweet school girl and an insane criminal, stole P.T Barnum's famous "Greatest Show on Earth" slogan. This leads to questions on the history of advertising, from Barnum's ballyhoo in the 1870's to the debut of the Home Shopping Network in the 1980's. 

This was far from the last time PBS did game shows for children. Design Squad was a two-year hit on PBS Kids Go! in the late 2000's. It's very similar to Destroy Build Destroy on Cartoon Network, only here, the kids don't destroy their design. It's something that has to help their fellow kids or a local business. In this case, they help kids who love their pool make a water pump that will allow their pool slide to be wet and slippery. 

There were game shows for adults in the 90's, too. Think Twice from 1994 was PBS' first attempt at a quiz show since Top of the World. Two pairs answered questions, used their imaginations to create a story from words, and guessed a question from a list of answers ala Family Feud. Honestly, this was really fun, especially using worlds to make up a story, and I'm surprised it didn't last longer than 6 months.

This is PBS. Celebrate America's public broadcasting system with wacky criminals, tough-lady Chiefs, hopeful kid designers, and hilarious panelists!

We Interrupt This Week (1978)

Top of the World (1982)

Where In the World Is Carmen Sandiego Pilot (1992)

Think Twice (1994)

Where In Time Is Carmen Sandiego Premiere (1997)

Design Squad (2007)

Scholastic Scrimmage (2026)

On the Boardwalk In Atlantic City

Began the morning with breakfast and He-Man. "The Curse of the Spellstone" allows it to control the weather. Evil Lynn passes herself off as a peasant woman who stirs up the population against Man-at-Arms and his new weather machine. She unleashes "The Creeping Horlac," a dark void creature that consumes the castle while He-Man, Battle Cat, Stratos, and Ram Man search for the Spellstone.

Called Uber after the cartoon ended. It was much later than I planned on leaving, near quarter after 9. They arrived in 10 minutes and seemed to hit every red light on the way to the Lindenwald train station, but I did get there in time to buy tickets for the train. There were far fewer problems going home. The driver arrived in 5 minutes, and there was no traffic by quarter after 7. 

Thank heavens there was no trouble with the trains, either. The one going to Atlantic City was right on time, less than 10 minutes after I bought my tickets. They were quiet for 10 AM in the morning and not even remotely full. I must have missed the morning commuters. I watched the suburbs and scrub pine go by and listened to music on my cell phone.

When I arrived in Atlantic City, I saved time and spared my heel with a ride on the Jitney. These small green shuttle busses take tourists and locals from the hotels and casinos to points all over Atlantic City. The shuttle that goes from the train station to the casinos is free. Hopped right on the one going to Bally's, Caesar's, and the Claridge...and I'm glad I got there early, because it filled up pretty fast. There weren't many seats left when the driver headed off down Michigan Avenue.

The Jitney let me off at Brighton Park in front of the Claridge. Not only is the Claridge Hotel one of the few historic hotels left on the boardwalk, but the small park and vintage fountain give the Claridge the look of something out of an old romantic comedy. The park was a little messy, with some trash and old picnic tables, but it still looked like Clark Gable and Carole Lombard should have been staying there.

It was a gorgeous day for a stroll on the boardwalk. Blue sky, soft clouds, a wonderful breeze carrying that tangy sea air. It wasn't too busy around Brighton Park at 11 in the morning. Most people were working, on the beach, or sleeping off last night's debauchery. I even stood on a ramp looking over the beach at one point, watching families set up their blankets and blue umbrellas and take their children out to the bottle-green waves, remembering how my family spent almost every day at the Cape May beaches in the 80's. Homeless people sang sad songs (badly) on the benches behind the beach.

I finally just decided to have an early lunch at Landshark Bar and Grill first. It was the perfect day for eating outside. It was 11:30, so neither the beach nor the restaurant were too busy yet. I enjoyed my simple burger, pickle, and home-made chips while enjoying watching the families on the beach and listening to the few people around me chatter and enjoy each other's company.

My next stop was originally going to be Steel Pier, but I looked it up on my phone and discovered that it doesn't open until 2 PM on weekdays. Backtracked to the Central Pier Arcade instead. I had absolutely no luck whatsoever with their long rows of cranes, no matter how much I tried to win a stuffed pink female seagull with a bow on its head and a wavy French fry in its mouth. I did better with the Monopoly spin-the-dice game, skee ball, filling Icee cups as fast as I could, collect-the-ball games, and Doodle Bug (make a little green guy hop up through a sketchy themed world). 

I earned 745 tickets all together, thanks to hitting Park Place on Monopoly. Coupled with the tickets I had leftover from when Lauren visited in July and my solo trip last August, I had enough for another paper fan (green this time, with a pretty rose and bluebird print) and a small ladybug Squishmallow named Ladee with heart-print wings. Considering how much the kids at Thomas Sharp love to look for ladybugs in the mulch, it's rather appropriate that her tag says she's a first grade teacher who appreciates the value of nap time. 

Since it was only about 1 PM at that point, I returned to Steel Pier, but ducked into the arcade next-door. This one is much tinier than either Central Pier or Dave and Buster's. It consisted of a Yahtzee game, four cranes, two skee ball machines, two fishing-themed wheels, a Crusin' Blast machine (one half wasn't working), an Alien game, a Pac-Man/Galaga console, and several toss-the-ball-into-the-cup games. I tossed a lot of balls and made third on the working half of Crusin' Blast in a cherry-red Lamborghini running through the Death Valley course. I made 500 points and got a peculiar rubber fuzzy worm-thing that had a cheerful little face and lights up when you squeeze him.

Several families were waiting outside the gates to Steel Pier when I walked over. There were so many, they opened the gates a few minutes early. I wanted to ride the Observation Wheel, but it wasn't ready yet. I played a balloon toss game instead. I popped one balloon, enough to win a tiny pale aqua shark. She was such a little darling, with her big eyes and wide sweet smile, I couldn't bring myself to trade her up for something bigger. I named her Taffy (as in salt-water taffy) and returned to the Wheel instead.

The Wheel had opened by the time I got back there. I love the Observation Wheel. It's my favorite ride in Atlantic City. It's wonderful to glide in a wide, air-conditioned gondola over the city and see it the way a bird does! Atlantic City looks like Little People buildings from way up there. By that point, the beach was much busier too, a sea of dark-blue umbrellas that almost matched the Atlantic. There were a lot of people surfing or ducking the waves, cooling off on a warm, humid day.

After I got back on the ground, I tried my luck at a crane with Pokemon in it near the entrance to Steel Pier. When I came away with nothing, I decided it was time to start heading back. By this point, it was past 2 PM. The boardwalk was now teeming with people just out of lunch or the casinos and looking for excitement. Not to mention, even the breeze couldn't hide how humid it was. I was sweating bullets when I ducked into the smaller Fralinger's. They did have my favorite fruit slices this time. I bought two bags and a bottle of water.

I got off at Brighton Park and walked back to Michigan Avenue...but this time, I turned down Atlantic Avenue, passing Express and Ruth Chris Steakhouse to Dave & Buster's. The Atlantic City branch is smaller than the one at Blackwood and the pirate wheel was down, but it still has plenty of Pac Man skee ball, ring toss games, carnival-themed wheels, and ball toss games. I played Mario Kart here and came in second with Princess Peach on a Japanese-themed round that went underwater. Made just enough to get a Champ Bear with a little leftover for when I visit Lauren in late September-early October.

There was one last thing I wanted to do in Atlantic City before I headed to the train station. I stepped into Famous Footwear to see if they had Easy Spirits or something similar to run errands in. Nope. Not only were they busy with parents and college students looking for back to school shoes, but all they had were Reebox, Converses, and Nikes. I'm not a fan of any of them. Hit Starbucks for a quick Iced Orange Matcha Latte instead. At least they weren't busy this time. I walked in, got my drink, and walked out. Sat down on a bench, sipped my drink and watched a mother enjoy her own drinks with her two sons.

Considering all the trouble Lauren and I had getting home last month, I had no problems with the 4:59, either. It arrived on time and left about two minutes late, nothing to panic over. It did stop to let a train pass around Atco, but the delay wasn't much of a problem. This time, the train was busy with noisy, drunk college students who mentioned they were on their way to a concert. (I looked it up later and discovered they were likely going to a Foo Fighters show at Lincoln Financial Field.) I was originally going to take the PATCO to Collingswood or Westmont and pick up Uber from there, but there were so many drunk and loud college kids around the ticket kiosks when the train arrived, I thought I'd be safer elsewhere.

Ended up having breakfast for dinner at the Stratford Diner instead. I wanted to go here when Lauren came last month, but we got in so late, we went to Tim Horton's instead. I was able to enjoy my waffle with strawberries and scrambled eggs in peace, other than a fussy baby with his parents at the booth across from me.

Finished the night after I finally got home and took a shower with Let's Go Native on YouTube. I go further into this wacky 1930 comedy featuring Jeanette MacDonald and Jack Oakie as a broke costume designer and a cab driver stranded on a remote tropical island at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Let's Go Native

Night of the Mall Hospital

Began the morning with breakfast and Doc McStuffins. "The Doctor Will See You Now" takes Doc to her mother's office for her own checkup. She and her toys discover that kids aren't playing with the toys in the waiting room because they're covered in a strange, sticky, colorful substance. She has to explain to a Play Doh head that keeps shaking his clay hair about how easy it is to spread germs and messes around. Stuffed owl Professor Hootenburgh challenges Donny's learning toy Lil' Egghead to see who is the smarter toy, but "Lil' Egghead Fees the Heat" and starts giving wrong answers. Doc gets him out of the sun and reminds him that humans and electronics need to stay cool. 

Called Uber after the cartoon ended. Alas, the first driver going there canceled. By the time the second one got me to Moorestown, I was 10 minutes late. Getting home from Stacks On 38 was a lot easier. The driver arrived in less than a minute! Thank heavens, no traffic either way, not even on Route 38 in Pennsauken.

Oversleeping and being 10 minutes late was the worst thing that happened all day. They called for me about 5 minutes after I checked in, and the doctor came 5 minutes after the nurse checked my blood pressure. Dr. Gouda originally wanted me to wear a boot for three weeks. I can't do that. I called out of work enough in the winter when my knee was so stiff. We finally compromised on wearing a boot to bed and doing physical therapy. 

And if there's one good thing about all of these new hospitals and health care offices that have been opening everywhere, it's getting state-of-the-art health care. Everything in the hospital was new and modern, from the smooth gray wood floor to the comfortable tan, gray, and red furniture in the huge, spacious lobby. Even the chair in the doctor's room was comfortable and had padding instead of just papers laid on the vinyl.

Cooper University Health Care opens up into the Moorestown Mall. The only store open when I finished my appointment around 10 was Boscov's. I did need something there that I hadn't bought on vacation. My underwire bras were all bent out of shape and uncomfortable and needed to be replaced. The problem is, I don't like the padded ones that are more common now. I come with plenty of my own padding, thank you! I chose two from Vanity Fair that looked comfortable and one from Warners, all for 30 percent off.

After I bought them, I made my way around the Mall and across Route 38 to Stacks On 38 (just barely missing the huge lawn mower cutting the grass on the meridian). Stacks On 38 is a breakfast place situated on the edge of the Homegoods/Marshalls shopping center. They were busy when I arrived, not surprising since it was barely past 11, but I did get a table by the windows. Had three delicious crepes filled with apple compote and topped with whipped cream and powdered sugar. The turkey bacon was limp, but edible. Listened to four Cooper Health doctors and nurses doing work on their laptops at the table in front of me.

When I got home, I colored a picture of Strawberry leaving for Big Apple City in my vintage Strawberry Shortcake coloring book and watched Remember WENN. We open the second season with "Radio Silence." Jeff Singer survived the London bombings and is being sent home. Victor Comstock wasn't that lucky. Devastated that she never got to tell him how she felt about him, Betty goes into seclusion, writing scripts where nothing bad happens and insisting on a minute of silence for Victor every hour. Scott tries to tell the distraught young woman that you can't live your life drowning in grief, but it's Jeff who finally gets through to her when he returns.

Hilary's absolutely delighted that Jeff came home to her...maybe a little too much. They've gone from constantly bickering to reciting baby talk on their morning shows and making everyone at the station and in their audience nauseous. They finally say "I Now Pronounce You Man and Wife Again" when they get remarried in Mexico...and instantly regret it. Meanwhile, Scott convinces organist Eugenia Bremer to take over their new late night show. (Which will take her out of the remaining second season.)

Switched to Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood while I finished coloring. "Daniel Asks Before Touching Someone Else" is one of two brand-new episodes currently on the PBS Kids website. Daniel loves going to the playground with his little sister Margaret, but is baffled when she doesn't want a hug. Mrs. Tiger tells him he has to ask when touching someone, as they might be sensitive about it. Prince Wednesday asks Daniel when he wants a push on the swings. "Jodi Asks Before Touching Someone Else" when she wants to touch Miss Elania's new braids, and she doesn't appreciate that. Likewise, O the Owl isn't big on someone touching his back and asks to be the caboose in their kid train.

Went down for a nap after Daniel ended. I was up way too late last night and had that early appointment this morning. The boot was not the most comfortable thing to sleep in! I know my heel needs to be stretched, but it didn't feel great. Somehow or other, I managed to doze off until 4 PM.

Watched Summer School on Pluto TV after I finished reading a few chapters of Donna Parker: Mystery At Arawak. Physical education teacher Freddie Shoop (Mark Harmon) is not looking forward to teaching remedial English to a disparate group of high school kids, including a whiny geek who is the only underachiever in his family (Richard Horviz), a pregnant girl (Shawnee Smith), a surf-crazy girl who is living with her aunt and uncle (Courtney Thorne-Smith), and two best buddies who are the world's biggest fans of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Gary Riley and Dean Cameron). 

Shoop has no idea what to do with them. He first takes them on field trips, then promises to do things for them if they study. That ends when one of the horror fans ruins his car, their wild party destroys his couch, and the besotted surfer girl tries to move in. He has the obnoxious vice principal (Robin Thomas) breathing down his neck, even as he pursues the attractive history teacher (Kirstie Alley) who is in the room next to his. When the kids try to get more favors, he understandably blows a gasket. The kids bring him back and convince him that he's the only one who can help them show just how much they've learned.

On one hand, a lot of this is very typical of its era and movies of this type. Most of the kids are relatively bland, and a lot of the shenanigans seen here aren't all that different from other teen movies of this era like One Crazy Summer. There's also a few aspects that haven't dated well, notably Shoop's constant pursuit of Robin when she keeps saying "no" and the surfer girl living with Shoop briefly (even Robin calls him on that one). On the other hand, there's some surprisingly realistic touches. The pregnant girl's story is handled in a fairly realistic and sensitive manner. There's also the results of that final test. None of the kids suddenly turn into geniuses, but they do improve. Honestly, if you're a fan of Harmon or of the slobs vs snobs comedies of the 80's, this has enough pluses to be worth checking out on a hot summer day.

I decided to do something different for dinner after my heavy brunch. I dragged my food processor up from the basement, brought down a can of chickpeas and my peanut butter, added olive oil, salt, and pepper, and made hummus. Sliced celery, added a few Cherry tomatoes and PopCorners, and loaded them onto a plate. Not bad, considering I haven't made this in a long time. It was a quick, healthy dinner, anyway.

Ate dinner while watching Match Game '76. Most of the night finished out the week with Scoey Mitchelll and Susan Howard. By the time Gene was helping a woman who ran an egg-based restaurant with the Audience Match, they'd switched to Orson Bean, Betty White, and character actress Pat Delaney.

Finished the night back at Pluto TV with The Wild Wild West. It's "The Night of the Two-Legged Buffalo" when Jim and Artemis are supposed to protect a spoiled prince (Nick Adams) from a remote tropical island whose father wants to make a treaty with the US. The prince only cares about living the good life at fancy spas and lavish hunting lodges. The prince, however, is walking right into a den of assassins who definitely don't want that treaty to go through. Jim has Artie act as a decoy, at least until they realize who's really behind the assassination attempts. 

Let's Go to the Mall

Got a quick start this morning. I grabbed breakfast, then called Uber. I had a longer trip planned for us today. Fortunately, I had no trouble whatsoever getting a driver. The woman taking us to the Deptford Mall arrived in 10 minutes. The man going home came in 3! There was no traffic either way, not even on the highways. Everyone must be at the Shore. We got to the Round 1 at Deptford within 15 minutes

Wanted to get Round 1 in before we were hauling around a lot of packages. I had even more fun today than in Philly yesterday! I spent almost an hour and a half running from Bust-a-Move to skee ball to Centipede Chaos to giant Pac Man to ring toss. Got Princess Peach on Mario Kart and came in second on the Bowser's Castle course. No luck on the big cranes, but I did get a mini Pooh Tsum Tsum (cylindrical Disney character stuffed animal) from one of the small cranes. I got over 3,500 points, enough for a well-made denim tote bag with a smiling plush strawberry on the front pocket and another Beanie Baby, a fluffy pink cat named Lady. Lauren had more luck with the cranes and managed to get two (one for a co-worker), plus her own mini Tigger Tsum Tsum.

We briefly peeked at FYE on our way across the mall. Lauren didn't get anything this time. I grabbed a used copy of the complete series for the short-lived Bird of Prey TV show from 2002 for $5.99. I figured, I have the first two seasons of the Supergirl show. Why not give Batgirl equal time? 

Red Robin isn't far from FYE, so we had lunch there. They were pretty busy for just after 1 PM when we arrived. I had their new Crispy Fish Sandwich with pickles and cabbage slaw, fries, and a dirty coconut soda. Lauren had a berry lemonade with their new crispy chicken sandwich with hot sauce and broccoli. She said the chicken sandwich was really good, and the hot sauce added just the right zing. My fish sandwich was yummy. The fish was huge, and the cabbage slaw complimented it nicely. The coconut soda was really good, too, and I love their big salty steak fries.

We were in and out of stores for the next two hours. Lauren didn't find anything at Boscov's. I finally got a pair of Clarks' "Cloudsteppers" walking sandals there for $44. The pair I bought last year were falling apart (wearing them in torrential downpours twice last week didn't help). I got the exact same pair in beige, and they're just as comfortable this year. We both looked around Toys R' Us but didn't get anything. Lauren found a Harmony Bear Care Bear with her original triple-heart tummy symbol at Miniso. 

She got shirts at Macy's and used the bathroom at JC Penney. I didn't bother with Macy's (I rarely find anything there) and went to the bathroom at JC Penney's, then picked up a coral t-shirt and a pair of khaki shorts to replace the pair that's starting to go in the thighs. Lauren got three shirts and sweaters off BoxLunch's clearance rack, including a Garfield sweater I couldn't find in my size. I did get a cute Strawberry Shortcake/My Melody t-shirt and a Hello Kitty and Friends computer pad (my blue computer pad had drink rings and was curling at the edges) from the clearance rack for buy one, get one half-off, along with a Sailor Jupiter pen. 

After we finished at BoxLunch, we figured it was time to warm up a bit and headed across the street to Barnes and Noble, past Aldi's, the Tractor Supply Company, and the new breakfast restaurant. (They're still working on Nordstrom Rack.) Lauren went to Old Navy, but had no luck. I finally found the new Shady Hollow mystery Mockingbird Court by Juneau Black (I've been waiting for more Shady Hollow mysteries!) and two Disney soundtracks on record, Cars (in a nifty picture disc) and the brand-new live-action Moana. (I also picked up an adult version of Wizard of Oz called West of Wicked, but...um...paging through it later in the evening revealed that it's overly violent and a bit too adult for me. It'll go to Goodwill or one of the kiosks. Considering this is the second time in six months I grabbed what sounded like a romantic adult retelling of a classic story that got too adult, I really need to take a better look at these books before I buy them if I'm not familiar with the author.) 

I met Lauren around quarter of 6, and we went across the street to Red Lobster for dinner. I'm so glad the Red Lobsters in my area are still open! We had an absolutely delicious seafood dinner. I had shrimp scampi, shrimp Alfredo, and broccoli...and there was so much, I didn't finish the Alfredo. Lauren had scampi, Alfredo, fried popcorn shrimp, and fries, and she ate everything but the fries! Even with us having two cheddar biscuits each, we still had three to bring home for later in the week.

Took out the trash when I got home, then went straight in the shower. I finished the night watching American game shows that were adopted in Canada in honor of Family Feud Canada running on Buzzr. To be fair, most Canadian adaptations of American shows are pretty close to the originals. Those who are offended by the Steve Harvey Feud here in the US may prefer the Canadian version hosted by comedian Gary Dee, which has an identical set and somewhat less naughty questions. The 90's Canadian Supermarket Sweep also resembled its American counterpart, with a slightly different set, different-colored sweaters for the teams, and a much cuter host, Tino Monte (who also wore ugly ties). 

For some reason, the English-language Canadian version of Match Game in 2012 used the 1990-91 version, up to and including the Match-Up round (only one per show here) and Star Wheel, as its basis. Otherwise, it's just as funny as its American counterpart later in the decade, and only slightly less raunchy. Darrin Rose was the host. Caroline Rhea, who anchors the panel here, would later turn up in the 2016-2021 ABC show as well.

The Canadians have been adapting our shows since at least the 60's. Their Beat the Clock from 1970 originally featured American Jack Narz as the host, until he got tired of communing. Announcer Gene Wood took over from him, the only time he'd get to host a show. This is also the only version of Beat the Clock to have celebrities helping out with the stunts (rather than playing the game). Narz's little brother Tom Kennedy is the celebrity in the episode I have here. 

They occasionally adapted shows that didn't go over well north of the border. Pay Cards ran on syndication in 1968 and 1969, but it was never wildly popular. Canada tried it twice on their own version of syndication. It went over better in its original version from 1973 to 1975 than as the revamped Super Pay Cards! from 1981, which is what I have here. 

Monty Hall, himself Canadian, struck out with game shows in his native land. His 1980-1981 version of Let's Make a Deal ran into the same problem that the more lavish Pitfall with Alex Trebek did around the same time. The production company went belly up after a year, and he never did get paid. He did slightly better with a revival of Split Second. It too only ran a year, but at least there was no chicanery and everyone got their money and prizes. 

Take a summertime trip to visit our neighbors in the north with these delights from the land of hockey, comedy, and some pretty funny Feuds!

Beat the Clock (1970)

Let's Make a Deal (1981)

Super Pay Cards! (1981)

Split Second (1986)

Supermarket Sweep (1992)

Match Game (2012)

Family Feud Canada (2024)

Ain't No Stopping Us Now

Had breakfast around 11, then Lauren and I strolled down to the Collingswood PATCO. It wasn't a bad day for a walk around Old City Philadelphia. It remains sunny, breezy, and bright blue, if warmer and slightly more humid than yesterday. The PATCO is a far more efficient beast than the NJ Transit. The train to Philly arrived within two minutes of us buying tickets and hurrying upstairs. (Oh, and the remodeling is now focused outside. They've long finished the escalator and elevator.)

We got off at the Franklin Square station and went straight around the corner to Franklin Square. I've been wanting to show Lauren this beautiful park since I visited here last August. The Chinese Lantern Festival was even more beautiful this year than it was last year! Flowers were the theme. We were greeted by towering daisies, sunflowers, lily pads, and gorgeous purple fabric blooms. I saw a soccer and baseball-themed "Philly" display near one of the entrances, and fabric horses who looked real enough to jump over the fence.

The fountain wasn't running and none of the food booths were open at quarter of 12, but everything else was ready to go. We played the mini-golf course. It was a lot of fun! The obstacles are all based on Philadelphia landmarks, like Elfreth's Alley, the Ben Franklin Bridge, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art (they even have Rocky's footprints next to the course). Lauren got two holes in one, one of them right through the Chinatown Friendship Arch. There's even one with "records" representing hits from Philadelphia International Records, like "Me and Mrs. Jones" and "Ain't No Stopping Us Now." The last course has the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. Lauren won, but only by a few points. We were flanked on one side by two middle-aged gentlemen who gallantly allowed us to go on ahead of them, and three college students who laughed a lot and seemed to really enjoy themselves.

After we finished, we headed down Race Street to the Race Street Cafe for lunch. Despite its name, this small brick-and-wood-paneling watering hole is really more of a local bar. Lauren had tilapia tacos she said were delicious. I tried them when I ate there last year and found them to be too spicy for me. I went with a nice, simple grilled chicken sandwich and slender, salty fries.

The Race Street Cafe is just steps away from 2nd Street. Our first stop here was A Four Foot Prune, which specializes in Muppet memorabilia, character toys and media from the 50's through the 90's, and anything Liza Minnelli ever did. Lauren found two cute bags - one with Snoopy, one with a scene from The Monster at the End of This Book that matches a shirt she has - and some pins and patches. I found a small Dakin Bear dressed as a pilgrim girl, with a turkey on a ribbon, for only $2. I think the kids will love Jim Henson's Muppet Babies Big Book of Nursery Rhymes and Fairy Tales, with its adorable illustrations depicting Rolf as Humpty Dumpty, Skeeter and Scooter as Jack and Jill, Kermit as Wee Willie Winkie, and Piggy as Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella. I only dug up one record, but it was one of the Tale Spinners for Children series from England, Sinbad the Sailor.

We crossed 2nd Street to check out Brave New Worlds, a popular local comics book shop. This is a lot more organized than the book stores, a long, dark room with shelves and shelves of comic books, manga, and toys. I didn't get anything here. Lauren got a figure for a friend and Marvel Meow, with Marvel characters hilariously interacting with cats and other pets.

The Book Trader is two blocks down from Brave New Worlds. It's a wonderful used book store, with rickety shelves filled from floor to ceiling with books, records, CDs, DVDs, and videos. This time, Lauren didn't find anything. She spent the time relaxing by the fiction and foreign language sections on the second floor. I did dig out two cast album LPs:

The original Broadway cast of Little Me with Sid Caesar playing the seven loves of a Hollywood starlet

The original London cast of Salad Days...which I was kind of shocked to find. Though this charming small-scale musical was a huge hit on the West End in 1954, it played off-Broadway in 1958, didn't do well, and hasn't tried the US since. 

And four books:

Standing In the Rainbow and The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop by Fannie Flagg

Everything Was Possible: The Birth of the Musical Follies by Ted Chapin

The Fire Rose by Mercedes Lackey (I did take this one out of the Haddon Township Library about 15 years ago, but that copy is long gone.) 

Last year, I wandered around in Old City until I found my way back to Franklin Square...but that wasn't going to fly this time. For one thing, we were both carrying heavy bags with books, records, toys, and other items. For another, Lauren wanted to hit up Fashion District Mall. Not to mention, while not killer humid like it's supposed to be later in the week, it was much hotter than yesterday. I called an Uber driver, who arrived within 7 minutes and got us to Primark in less than 5.

Lauren briefly explored Primark, an Irish department store, when we arrived. They don't really carry my size, so I just waited in the main mall until she came out and admitted she didn't find anything she wanted. We walked around a bit and got sodas before going upstairs to Round 1 on the third floor. Even newer spaces in Philly can be deceptively small on the outside. Though this doesn't have some of the games seen at other arcades in South Jersey - no skee ball, no ring toss - it does have pinball. I ran from Star Wars pinball to The Munsters pinball (did really well with that one) to Bust-a-Move to Space Invaders. Came in second with a sweet cherry-red Lamborghini on Crusin' Blast. I earned over 2,500, but just decided to save most of it for when we go to Deptford tomorrow. I went with a darling white Beanie Baby kitten named Amelia. 

By that point, we were tired, hungry, and sore. Time to take the PATCO home. I got us turned around a bit, but we did manage to make it to the 8th Street Station by 5:30. We took a jammed-full rush hour train back to South Jersey, getting off at Westmont.

I thought we'd try something different for dinner. The Haddon Diner is just two blocks from the Westmont PATCO Station. I figured it would be less busy and closer to the station than the Collingswood restaurants. (Not to mention, a lot of them aren't open on Mondays.) They were busy, but not so much that we didn't quickly get one of the sweet stenciled wooden booths. Lauren had a BLT and a Yankee Bean Soup she loved. I had banana and pecan pancakes that were so fluffy and tasty and fat turkey sausages. 

I also thought it would be easier to pick up Uber here than in Collingswood...and I was right. It took me a while, but I finally got a driver who came in 15 minutes and got us home in less than 5. No traffic here or, thank heavens, in Philadelphia.

I took the recycling out and we put our laundry in the washing machine, then put on Match Game '75. I came in time for the first day of Carol Bartos' run. Dr. Joyce Brothers and Bill Daily got to match one of her more peculiar answers, one that had Gene wanting to drag Dr. Brothers to her own couch! The next week was Game Show Host Week, with Bob Barker, Arlene Francis, and (ironically) Fannie Flagg. 

Moved to Tubi for Hard Boiled Mahoney. Slip and Sach are at a private eye's office, trying to get the money he owes Sach, when Salina Webster (Betty Compson) comes in and mistakes them for the detective. She offers them $50 to find her lost sister. Slip trails the sister, only to see a man shot. Turns out the two women in question aren't related. Phony medium Armand (Dan Seymour) has incriminating letters that are blackmailing them. Slip, Sach, and their buddies have to dodge the police (who think Slip did it) to bring Armand to justice...but first, they have to get off Professor Quizard's (Bryan Foulger) radio show by driving him crazy!

Finished the night with more of Daredevils of the Red Circle. By the time of chapter 5, "The Ray of Death," former prisoner Harry Crowel (Charles Middleton) has gotten the idea that there's someone tipping off the trio of Daredevils. He intends to kill off anyone in the household he talks to regularly, starting with Granville's granddaughter Blanche (Carole Landis). The boys have to restore the electricity on an old mine and get Blanche and several workers out of there before it's flooded...and before Crowel's goons electrocute the entire lot of them. 

Summer Breeze

We got a really quick start this morning because we were leaving a bit earlier than we have. I called Uber at 9:50. It picked us up within 8 minutes. Even with hitting every red light from here to Lindenwald, we still made it to the train station there by 10:15. That left us plenty of time to buy tickets for the 10:34 NJ Transit train to Atlantic City. 

Thank heavens the train was right on time, because it was also full. We managed to get a seat in the back of the first car, near the door. At least the ride is only a little over an hour. I spent the time listening to music on my YouTube account. We pulled in on time, too, around 11:30.

We absolutely picked the right day to walk on the boardwalk in Atlantic City. The weather couldn't have been more perfect. It was sunny and breezy, but not hot or humid at all, probably in the upper 70's. The boardwalk was busy at quarter of 12, but not overwhelming. We headed straight down, passing Bally's and the Central Pier. (I also noticed that part of Peanut World, most of which burned down last winter, was opened, but not all of it. Several of the stores next to Peanut World were closed too, including the one Lauren bought her Atlantic City shirt from last year.)

Landshark Bar and Grill is on the beach near Steel Pier and across from Resorts and the Hard Rock Casino. I got to see what they were building on the beach when I visited Atlantic City on my own last August. It was a new Tiki bar intended to be an extension of Margaritaville across the way at Resorts. We had an absolutely wonderful lunch outside, watching the people on the beach under blue and yellow umbrellas. Lauren had a massive bacon barbecue burger. I had a basic cheeseburger. We both had salads - I had a house salad, she had Caesar. We were surprised when someone brought us a plate of fried pickles. We forgot to order them! Turns out the waiter was new and brought it to the wrong place...but we'd already started in on them. He got more for the other people, and we got free fried pickles.

Lauren and I split up briefly after lunch. She checked out the small arcade next to Steel Pier and bought a lemonade. I had to ride the giant Ferris Wheel on Steel Pier. That's my favorite ride in Atlantic City. I love seeing the world through those air-conditioned gondolas. It's like seeing a Little People version of Atlantic City. The beaches were so busy today! I'm surprised I saw a lot of people swimming. After all the storms, I would have thought the undertow was too strong for swimming. 

After I got back on the ground and found Lauren, we headed back towards the Central Pier Arcade. The main interest here is their two long rows of cranes. Lauren had no luck with the cranes whatsoever. I didn't, either, but I did better with the other games. I hit big jackpots on the Monopoly spin-the-dice game and the pirate wheel that netted me over 820 tickets, plus I had 140 tickets leftover from my solo trip last August. I finally chose a really cute small Funshine Bear dressed as a bee with glittery wings and a paper fan with a pretty yellow and red rose and bluebird print. 

By the time we left Central Pier, it was past 3 PM. The boardwalk was getting a lot more crowded and hot. Not to mention, we wanted to explore the Outlet Mall a bit before we caught our train home. We headed back down Michigan Avenue, past Bally's and the AtlantiCare Hospital to Arctic Avenue. We started at the Toy Company, a jammed full shop with stuffed animals, knock-off toys, and Atlantic City sweatshirts. After we got nothing there, I got a drink at Starbucks...but the line was so long and the three baristas were so busy (the girl who was supposed to be taking customers had to run and get ice), the iced blue coconut matcha latte wasn't worth it.

I met Lauren across the street at Old Navy and a small leggings-and-shorts store called Cozy. We poked around American Eagle next-door, then decided we'd try something different. Bambu specializes in dessert drinks with odd Asian ingredients. Lauren tried one with ice cream and said it was delicious. I stuck to tart passion fruit iced tea and three macarons (vanilla, strawberry shortcake, and mixed berry). 

It was time to head back to the train station. We had plenty of time to use the bathroom, buy tickets, and get in line. And then...we waited. And waited. And waited. The train didn't leave at 5:21. It still hadn't left at 6 PM. I was frantic and in tears when they finally canceled it. There was no way we were taking the bus back to Lindenwauld. It takes forever and runs through some really sketchy territory. We just waited at the station for the 7:13 to arrive. Thankfully, that was right on time. Other than slowing down for a train coming in the opposite direction, we had no problems. We were back in Lindenwald by quarter after 8. 

We were going to eat at the Stratford Diner, but it was closed by then. Tim Horton's was opened until 10, so we tried them. It was such a lovely evening, we even ate outside on their patio. I wish there were more of these in South Jersey! This Canadian franchise specializes in donuts, coffee and lemonade drinks, and sandwiches. I had a strawberry drink with coconut water and a turkey club sandwich. Lauren had a beef and cheese panini and a Diet Coke. Yum! They were so good with thick potato chips that tasted like movie popcorn. It was so nice to talk to Lauren while watching the sun set on the White Horse Pike!

When we finally got home, I took a shower, then watched the second Family Feud 50th anniversary marathon on YouTube. I came in just as the show's producer Mark Goodson crowned Richard King of daytime game shows. The show was at its height of popularity as the number-one daytime show in the late 70's. It was so popular, it not only moved into syndication, ABC also did a series of nighttime specials with some of the most popular shows of the time playing each other. This made for some strange bedfellows, like when the cops of Barney Miller played the wholesome Eight Is Enough cast, or nighttime soaps Knots Landing and Dynasty and daytime soaps All My Children and General Hospital played each other. Some of the celebrities could be even more nervous than regular contestants, even when they were right, like Connie Francis and Michelle Lee. Richard was happier when the Dallas Cowboys played their cheerleaders, and former Miss USA winners played former Miss Universes.

Let's keep playing the Feud with these classic looks back at some of its best moments!

Family Feud Sunday Classics - 50 Years Celebration Marathon Part 2 (Including Pilot and Final Episode)

Shelter From the Storm

I didn't sleep well last night. I spent the entire time tossing and turning. I didn't sleep until 8:30 in the morning, and then for only two hours. I'd already had my breakfast by the time I met Lauren in the front room. I had no trouble getting a ride to the Maple Shade Goodwill. The driver came in 8 minutes and dropped us off in 15 minutes. 

We did start off at the relatively small Goodwill about two blocks from the Moorestown Mall. Lauren didn't get anything here. I finally found something I've been looking for. I wanted a better drink bottle to bring to school and on my bike, but the thinner metal one I was using got dented in my basket, and the heavier ones tend to be ridiculously overpriced. I found a lovely white and green lilac print that was heavy metal and only cost me $3.99.

It was just starting to shower lightly when we made our way down Route 38 to the shopping centers surrounding the Moorestown Mall. We started off at their massive Old Navy. I didn't find anything here, but Lauren got a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles t-shirt, apparently the last they had in the store. She and a gentleman coming in admired each other's t-shirts as he told us about his class' project that used Mario characters. 

The showers picked up significantly as we put up our umbrellas and headed to Cava for lunch. This is basically "Mediterranean Chipolte." Lauren had a massive pita sandwich. I had a Create Your Own Bowl with "super" greens, grilled chicken, hummus, brown rice, cucumber, sumac slaw, and strawberry vinaigrette. The baked salted pita wedges that came with the meal were delicious, flaky and chewy. Half the fun of coming here is mixing and matching their sodas and juices. I made my own Blueberry Lavender Zero with their diet soda and blueberry lavender lemonade. 

By the time we made our way down the parking lot and across the street to Ross, the storms were out in full force. Our umbrellas were dripping when we finally arrived. I didn't find anything I wanted. Lauren ended up getting two more pairs of shorts. I suggested getting drinks at Shop Rite to wait out the storm, but...as Lauren discovered when she pulled up the radar on her phone, there was no "waiting out the storm." They'd be lingering for several hours. We just hiked back to the Moorestown Mall and got wet.

With construction on the new arcade over there having stalled, there isn't a whole lot to do at the Moorestown Mall proper. The new Cooper Hospital branch doesn't seem to have increased foot traffic or reversed the vacancy rate. We did look at Hot Topic, Go! Calendars and Games, Home Sense, and Boscov's. Lauren found a very pretty pair of workout shorts at Boscov's, but all I did was go to the bathroom. 

We finally decided that we'd just have dinner early. We both got slices from Brooklyn Pizza at the food court. She had pepperoni and mushroom. I had margarita (basil and mozzarella) and mushroom. While she used the bathroom, I got a wonderfully sweet coconut cream water ice from Rita's. 

Our last stop was the huge Barnes and Noble in the East Gate Shopping Center. Thank heavens the rain took a temporary leave of absence when we were walking over there, allowing us to arrive dry. Lauren didn't get anything, but I picked up Curiosity Thrilled the Cat by Sofie Kelly and three CDs, two on good sales:

The soundtrack from the 1989 Batman film

The Best of Bond...James Bond, a 2-disc collection of title songs up to No Time to Die (I do have a Bond CD set, but it only goes up to License To Kill. Oh, and all soundtrack CDs were 20 percent off.) 

Weird Al Yankovic - Dare to Be Stupid

I joined Lauren up front just as the storms returned in full force. Between the storms and it being 5:30 and rush hour, it took me so long to get an Uber driver, I canceled the first attempt, went to the bathroom, then tried again. It didn't cost me any less, but I did finally get us a ride who turned up in far less than the listed 16 minutes.

After we got in and put everything away, Lauren and I spent the next two hours playing dominoes and Pokemon Yahtzee. The dominoes is a typical black and white dot set I think I bought at a yard sale over a decade ago. Pokemon Yahtzee is an old family favorite. It originally belonged to Keefe. He, Mom, and I played it all the time in the late 90's-early 2000's. I walloped Lauren at dominoes 4 wins to 2. Lauren just beat me at Yahtzee.

Finished the night watching Girls! Girls! Girls! at Paramount Plus. I go further into the Elvis Presley vehicle that introduced "Return to Sender" at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Girls! Girls! Girls!

Straight from the Hart

Began the morning with breakfast and He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. "Teela's Quest" takes her to the Crystal Mountains in order to speak with an oracle who may know what happened to her real mother. He-Man follows her, and discovers he has good reason to be worried when Mer-Man attempts to use her as a sacrifice for an infamous sea creature. 

Called Uber around quarter of 11, soon as the show ended. Thankfully after the last few days, we had no trouble here whatsoever. The first driver, to my surprise, arrived in 4 minutes. The one going home came in 5. There was no difficulty on the road, no traffic anywhere.

We got off at the Gloucester Premium Outlets. Unlike the outlet mall in Atlantic City, which is spread out across busy streets, the one in Blackwood is entirely food traffic. It's more like the Washington Street Mall in Cape May. Hit pay dirt at our very first stop of the day. Go! Calendars and Toys had selected Beanie Babies and Squishmallows on deep discount. Lauren got a cute turquoise and pink mouse clip to hang on her backpack. I found a darling little ball-like hedgehog Beanie Baby named Hazel for $3 and a smaller orange and yellow striped Squishmallow fish named Lucienne for $5. After that, we both peeked at Famous Footwear and It's All Leggings, but didn't find anything.

Since Friendly's is around the corner from It's All Leggings and it was noon by that point, we had lunch. Friendly's was surprisingly not that busy. It was mainly families and older couples just coming in for lunch. Usually, Friendly's is packed at lunchtime. They're the only sit-down restaurant at the mall. Lauren had a burger, fries, and a Diet Coke. I had a tasty grilled chicken wrap, fries, and a Coconut Cream Soda - basically, a soda with coconut syrup and topped with cream. That was really good. Really tasted like coconut. You can't leave Friendly's without getting ice cream. Lauren had her favorite, black raspberry with peanut butter sauce. I had fluffernutter with Swiss chocolate sauce. They wound up being a perfect combination.

We were in and out of stores for the next two hours. Neither of us found anything at Express, Old Navy, the Gap, or Under Armour. I hit the jackpot at Lane Bryant. They were having a buy 3 items, get them 60 percent off sale. Picked up a pair of drawstring jean shorts and two shirts, one Peanuts, one Care Bears, two soft bras (their underwire bras all have padding, which I don't need), and five pairs of underwear. I got more underwear at Jockey. Lauren got underwear and leggings there.

After we finished at Jockey, we figured we'd done enough shopping. It was time to make our way across the street to Dave & Buster's. This huge arcade is basically the same idea as Round 1, with a sports bar instead of a bowling alley. I spent the next hour running from Centipede to giant Space Invaders to Lane Bowling to ring toss to Monopoly to Pac Man-themed skee ball. Got a sweet vintage red Corvette on Cruisin' Blast and came in second on the Death Valley course. Came in first with Princess Peach on the Princess Castle course in Mario Kart by a wide margin. Good wins on the pirate-themed wheel and the "gone fishing" spinning wheel brought me to over 6,500 points. I got a magnetic chess/checkers/backgammon board game and a fruit-scented stuffed Panda named Purdy.

When we got back in Oaklyn, we put everything away, then went right back out. Lauren loves Mexican food, so we had dinner at Jalapeno's. They were a little busier than usual, especially with South and Latin Americans watching the World Cup game between Columbia and Switzerland. I had my favorite shrimp quesadilla. Lauren had the fish tacos I tried two weeks ago, grilled plantains with raspberry sauce (she loves anything with raspberry), and a mojito in a small, thin glass. For once, I was too full for dessert! (Oh, and to the disappointment of the bar patrons, Switzerland won, 4-3. The Swiss apparently went absolutely bonkers over it. According to Fox, this is the first time they've been to the World Cup quarterfinals since 1954.) 

The other reason we ate at Jalapeno's is it's a block from WaWa. I just got money there, but Lauren bought a Wild Cherry Pepsi Zero and several bags of mixed nuts. We wanted to play with the kitties at the Calico Cat Cafe, but they wouldn't be available for an hour. I just got another dirty soda instead. (Oh, and the regular creamer did work better with the Dr. Pepper Zero. I had sprinkles in there this time, too.) 

At least the weather was decent for all the running around we did. It remains humid, but it's also cool, cloudy, and breezy. It was probably in the upper 70's, a little bit warmer than yesterday, but nowhere close to the 100 degree heat from last week!

I went straight into Match Game '75 when I got home while Lauren watched wrestling. I came in just in time for one of the episodes from the infamous week with Joan Collins. I don't think Collins was really all that happy about being there. Scoey Mitchelll would be happier if he could match the contestant a little more often.

Finished the night with Hart to Hart. It's a "Love Game" when Jonathan and Jennifer learn a tennis pro has been romancing wives of businessmen and funneling that information to a duplicitous stockbroker. When they learn he plans on doing the same to Jennifer, she gives him false information. Johnathan has to stall his game with real-life tennis pro Martina Navratilova until the stockbroker finds out that the information they planted is phony...but the stockbroker doesn't take it well and goes after Johnathan. 

Something In the Air

Awoke to more torrential rain and noisy storms. The rain was so heavy, East Clinton looked more like an extension of Newton Creek. It was just starting to slow down slightly as I ate breakfast. Watched Shirt Tales as I finished and Lauren got organized. Dinkel wants to dance at the cool new nightclub, but the Shirt Tales are more concerned about a DJ who uses his hypnotic music to keep people dancing, so he can rob them. Digger and Kip use Digger's love of classic music to stop these "Saturday Night Shirt Tales" from getting down so they can catch the crooks. "Dinkel's Buddy" is an archaeologist who has disappeared while investigating a supposedly cursed pyramid. Dinkel goes to rescue him...and the Shirt Tales follow to rescue both of them. 

By noon, the rain was just about gone, and the Uber prices were pretty close to normal. I figured it was safe to call for a ride. The driver arrived in 15 minutes, which wasn't bad, considering the weather. Good thing he was a really nice guy, because the roads were a mess. Half of Camden County was underwater. He had to turn around twice when spots on Route 38 was too heavily flooded to pass. He wasn't happy about it, and it took us almost 40 minutes to get to the Silver Diner, but...he may have done us a favor. I got to see a lot more of Cherry Hill, including a Dollar Tree that was set so far off the highway, I had no idea it was there, and a beautiful, green private golf course. 

The rain had long ended by the time we did get to the Silver Diner. I wanted breakfast after I had lunch there last week, so I kept things simple with waffles, scrambled eggs, and bacon. Lauren had a "smashburger" and a salad. The eggs were dry and the bacon was kind of limp, but the waffles were delicious, perfectly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Lauren had "Berry Brave" blueberry lemonade. I had "Strawberry Spangled," which came in a little mason jar with lots of strawberry pieces. I finally got to try that huge "Star Spangled Banner Explosion" mousse dome. Strawberry and blueberry mousse on yellow and chocolate cake covered in white frosting, surrounded by strawberries and whipped cream. Oh wow! So tasty, but sooo decadent. 

We headed over the pedestrian walkway to the Cherry Hill Mall after lunch. Since it's closest to the entrance, Lauren went to check out Nordstrom. I don't like their prices, and I never find my size there. I peeked around Levi's and found nothing. Wanted to check out Soma Intimates, but not only were they having technical problems and closed early, but just a glance told me their prices were outrageous. Bought a tropical iced tea at Nordstrom's eBar instead. Lauren got a pomegranate iced tea and joined me at the wrought-iron tables outside of Nordstrom's, having had no luck either.

Spent the next several hours going in and out of stores. Macy's up escalator was broken. I had such a hard time finding their elevator, I never really did get to look around there. We took quick looks at Go! Calenders and Toys, Hot Topic, FYE, Old Navy, Famous Footwear, and the just-reopened and expanded Spencer's. (Trivia - the Spencer's at the Cherry Hill Mall is their first store, opened in 1963.) I was the only one who bought anything besides food today. I picked up dark Gloria Vanderbilt jean shorts and a long-sleeved burgundy t-shirt. The latter was on the clearance rack, marked down to $4.49. 

After we finished at FYE, we finally returned to the first level and had dinner early. Unfortunately, Saladworks had closed. They're my usual choice when I eat at Cherry Hill's food court. Their replacement, a kebobs booth, had not yet opened. I just ended up joining Lauren at Charley's Cheesesteaks. She had "The Italiano" (looked like vegetables and salami to me), cheese fries, and a Diet Coke. I went with half of a tasty chicken cheese steak, salty regular skin-on fries, and a sweet peach lemonade.

That pretty much exausted our plans for the Cherry Hill Mall. It was time to go home. We had far more luck with Uber. The driver arrived in 8 minutes, not bad for rush hour in Cherry Hill. By 5:30, it was just partly sunny, windy, and cool, barely in the 70's. The floodwaters had long since subsided. We got back to Oaklyn in 20 minutes with no incidents.

When we got in, Lauren went upstairs, changed, and puttered around. We took our laundry downstairs, and I took out the recycling and took a shower. When I got upstairs after switching the laundry to the dryer, I watched the second hour of Match Game '75. Bill Macy was still appearing on Maude as the title character's hubby when these episodes originally ran. I really wish he came back, because this week was hilarious. Brett and Betty White sniped at each other all week, culminating in everyone's hilarious answers on who would play the beast to Betty's beauty. 

Spent the rest of the night after we got the laundry upstairs honoring the 50th anniversary of Family Feud on Sunday. Feud actually began as a spin-off of the Audience Match on Match Game. Mark Goodson still liked the idea of people guessing survey questions, but instead of contestants and celebrity panelists, we have families playing. Richard Dawson was also carried over from Match Game as the show's first host. 

The show was a huge hit right out of the gate on ABC in 1976. Richard Dawson got so invested in it, he brought his older son and his wife on and started his own feud with producer Howard Felscher. We have the one of the pilots here (and a glimpse of how different the set looked before they expanded it) and a typical Dawson episode from 1981. 

The original Dawson daytime and nighttime versions finally succumbed to heavy competition in 1985. The show returned on CBS in 1988, this time with comedian Ray Combs as the host. I used to love the Combs show! I have fond memories of watching it and The Price Is Right back-to-back on Channel 10 in the late 80's and early 90's. I'm actually kind of grateful that Mom had the cable turned off before they started the notoriously weird Family Feud Challenge with the "bullseye" opening. Richard Dawson replaced Combs in 1994, but Richard was noticeably aged, and it just wasn't the same. The network show finally ended in 1994.

Feud shifted permanently to syndication in 1999. Baby-faced comedian Louie Anderson was the first host of the revived Feud. Though he does have his fans, I found him grating and the set of his version butt-ugly. Apparently, so did the producers. He was let go in 2002 and replaced by Richard Karn of Home Improvement. Though Karn had a better set, he otherwise had the opposite problem from Anderson. Where Anderson tried too hard to be funny and hip, Karn tended to fade into the woodwork. He worked out well enough to stay on until 2006. John O'Hurley came in after him, but he got fed up with the sexual nature of many of the questions and left in 2010. Comedian Steve Harvey, whose humor could occasionally border on the crass, had no trouble with entendres of every stripe. He took over the show in 2010 and has hosted it ever since.

Let's see how the Feud began 50 years ago and the men who kept the families feuding in these classic episodes!

Family Feud Pilot (1976)

Richard Dawson (1981)

Ray Combs Premiere (1988)

Richard Dawson Return Premiere (1994)

Louie Anderson (1999)

Richard Karn Premiere (2002)

John O'Hurley Premiere (2006)

Steve Harvey Premiere (2010)