Farmstead Matches

Began the morning with breakfast and Shirt Tales. The Shirt Tales must "Save the Park" from a miserly old man who wants to build a skyscraper there. It turns into a non-holiday Christmas Carol when they show him his past, the present at the park, and his future if he doesn't leave the park alone. Pammy opens "Pam-Dora's Box" when she visits a fellow panda at the zoo who turns out to be a cyborg sent by a foreign government to send secret information. The other Shirt Tales save her when he locks her up at the zoo, then each other after he captures them as well.

Hurried out to the Collingswood Farm Market after the cartoon ended, but I lingered too long. By the time I got there, they had apples, but I couldn't find any strawberries. All of the food booths were starting to close, too. I had hoped to buy a sandwich or empanada, but there weren't any to be found. By 11:30, they'd all stopped cooking. The damage to the spring crops shows in a few of them being missing. They have radishes, asparagus, onions, and hearty greens, but the apples were the only fruit. 

I thought I'd get a sandwich and strawberries in Collingswood, but no luck. Every sandwich shop in town, from Haddon Culinary to Kismet Bagels, had a long line. It took me long enough to find Sara's Produce. They moved to the small building in the back of the new pocket park that used to be a garage. Their only strawberries were moldy and mealy. The lady at the counter said they'd get more around 1 PM, but I wasn't waiting that long. I stopped at A&A Pretzels on the White Horse Pike and got two regular pretzels and a cheesesteak-stuffed pretzel instead.

Had lunch at home while watching Paw Patrol. The pups have found a meteor that gives them super powers...but Mayor Humdinger's bratty nephew Harold Humdinger dug up a fragment of it. Not only does he get the power to create anything, but the Kitty Catastrophe Crew receive their own superpowers. They wreck havoc in Adventure Bay in "Mighty Pups, Super Paws: When Super Kitties Attack." It's a distraction from Harold's real plan - to cut Adventure Bay into his own island for him to rule! The Pups have to use their own powers to stop Harold and distract the kitties, before he cuts Adventure Bay into bits.

Called Uber after lunch. The driver going to Barclay Farmstead took 15 minutes to arrive and cost a bundle. The one going home took 13 minutes and cost slightly less. There was a little traffic going there, but nothing horrible going home.

I read about the Barclay Farmstead Museum online this winter, but I couldn't get to the park area around it until now. The the old brick 1810's-era house is only open for tours on Wednesdays and the first Sunday of every month, but it's surrounded by woodland trails, a large playground, and gardens farmed by local residents. I read about the history of the farm on signs around the perimeter of the house, then strolled through the woods. I first went closer to the main road, past a murky pond and river. I felt like Alice In Wonderland in the dark green woods. I half-expected to see a white rabbit wailing about being late and a mad tea party, or the Queen of Hearts playing croquet on the Barclay Farmstead lawn. It was lovely and peaceful. 

Since I had to go to the bathroom, I strolled out of the park and down less historic suburban streets to Aqua Road. I saw cheery red and white umbrellas and a bit of a bright blue pool peeking out behind the woods when I was walking the trails. Yes, it was the Barclay Farms area's swim club. Thankfully, they didn't mind me using their restrooms. 

I wanted to either see if I could find condos or the Barclay Farms Shopping Center next, but...I couldn't find much of anything. I kept getting lost and turned around. I did stroll over a charming little covered bridge, but that was about the only interesting thing I saw for the next hour and a half. Everything else was typical 60's tract houses with smooth emerald lawns, kids riding bikes, and old folks pushing grandchildren in strollers. I had to look up where I was online, and I still got turned around. I left the Swim Club around 3, and it was past 4:30 when I finally made it to the Barclay Farms Shopping Center.

To be honest, I probably could have picked up Uber somewhere in Barclay Farms, but...not only would I be easier to find on the Marlton Pike, I needed a drink badly. It had been cloudy this morning in Collingswood, but by 4:30, it was sunny, warm, and very windy. Manhattan Bagel was closed by then, but there was a Dollar Tree on the other side of the shopping center. I got more of the puffcorn I had at the movies last month, a bottle of Diet Pepsi, a fan printed with the US flag on it, and 4th of July cardboard cut-outs.

(Ironically, I finally saw condo buildings rising up across the Pike from the shopping center when I made it there, but...wherever I end up in Cherry Hill, it won't be Barclay Farms. The Farmstead is lovely, but the surrounding area is too twisty, confusing, and not really oriented towards singles looking for a condo.) 

Watched Snow White and Rose Red when I got home. This 1955 version of one of my favorite fairy tales comes from West Germany, which seems to have been a great place to make fairy tale films in the mid-20th century. It's honestly a pretty accurate adaptation of the story, only Snow White and Rose Red are older, probably in their 20's, the dwarf is a bit wilder-looking than he usually is in this story, and the princes are accompanied by their loyal knight Knitwit who claims to be a great bear hunter but is really terrified of them. Other than the rather bad bear costume, this one was really sweet and adorable.

Stayed at YouTube to finish the night with today's Match Game marathon. Character actress Mary Wickes was in movies and on TV from the 40's through the early 90's, and is probably best known today for playing the tart-tongued housekeeper in White Christmas and the nun who led the choir before Whoopi Goldberg took over in Sister Act. She was playing a nurse on the short-lived drama Doc when she first turned up on Match Game in 1976. 

Mary appeared sporadically on the show through 1978, always in the 4th or 6th seats. She was always ready with a funny line or quip, as with her assessment of one of Gene's infamous plaid coats - "Somewhere a horse is mighty chilly." There was also the day the Star Wheel debuted. It stopped on Richard Dawson the first time it was spun...when it had been designed to give other celebrities besides Richard a chance to play the Head-to-Head. The entire panel but Scoey Mitchelll walked off (including Richard himself). "Do you know how much that thing cost us?" Mary grumped when the panelists came back. "And it's right back to Richard!" There was also the time she and Joyce Bulifant welcomed new kid on the block Gary Crosby with some very big kisses, or when she gave Gene a strong "new kid on the block" kiss on her first day. 

She had one last blaze of glory on a week in 1990, by which time she was a regular on The Father Dowling Mysteries. Mary was just as dry and funny dealing with Ross Schafer as she was with Tom Bosley or Gene Rayburn. She especially had a field day making jokes about Jimmie Walker's crush on a very pretty young female contestant.

Match wits with one of the coolest old ladies around in this hilarious marathon that you won't want to walk away from.

Match Game Saturday Classics - Mary Wickes (Showcase of Match Game episodes - 70's and 90's)

Goodbye Friend, Hello Friend

Lauren and I started off the morning of her last day here with a walk to the Collingswood Farm Market. It was hot again, but there was a nice breeze, and it was much drier than earlier in the week. The Farm Market was packed when we got in, including another demonstration next to the first booth. I bought strawberries, cheddar cheese, celery, carrots, and asparagus for me. Lauren and I bought snap peas and first-of-the-season cherries to split when we got home.

We strolled across Collingswood and down Newton River Park. Took in three yard sales, but didn't find anything we liked. After we left the park, we stopped at CVS to get a drink, then went home. We made a quick stop at Dad's to tell him we wanted to leave around 1:15. Turns out he had other errands to run today and wanted to leave even earlier, at 1, which was fine too.

We spent Lauren's last few hours here inside, watching cartoons and eating leftovers out of the fridge for lunch. Dad did pick us up on-time; we were at Cherry Hill by quarter after 1.

The train ride to Philadelphia went fine. The train was ten minutes late, but Lauren had an hour-long layover at the 30th Street Station. We saw traffic going into the city and I figured my friend Jen would be stuck in that, poor dear. Lauren ran into trouble when we saw the departure/arrival board and saw that her train was delayed more than a half-hour! She only had a half-hour to get to her train in Penn Station! I left her in line at the Amtrak customer service booth, trying to find out if she could transfer to the next train to New York.

Turned out I was right. Poor Jen DID run into traffic. She finally picked me up in front of the 30th Street Station around quarter of 3. Jen Payne is an online friend of mine from Seattle who is touring the eastern US, seeing Revolutionary War sites and Naval stations. Her goal is to eventually see all 50 states.

We had no better luck with traffic going to Valley Forge in eastern Pennsylvania. We didn't get into Valley Forge State Park until almost 4. Valley Forge State Park is a gorgeous park, with recreated cabins and real Revolutionary War-era buildings set against the green rolling hills of Pennsylvania. This was George Washington and the Continental Army's winter encampment in 1777, and the place where the Continental Army was whipped into shape to become real soldiers.

Alas, many of the long, winding trails weren't really marked properly. We had a hard time finding our way around. We never did get into the visitor's center, though we did see George Washington's house, the currently-being-remodeled Valley Forge Railroad Station, and one of the re-built iron forges that gave Valley Forge its name. George Washington's House was probably busier than it's been since the days of the Army's occupation. In addition to random tourists like us, a large troop of schoolboys and their teachers were on a tour at the same time. (I keep running into school kids at historical sites this week.) We all squeezed into the house to see the offices, bedrooms, and kitchen. (I liked George Washington's bedroom. The blue canopy bed reminded me of a blue version of Felicity's bed and bedding from the American Girls series.)

We didn't have much luck with traffic getting home, either. We hit a few rather nasty patches going over several rivers and into Northern Philadelphia. Thankfully, by the time we were passing Citizen's Bank Park, where the Phillies play (and getting a better view of the stadium than many people watching the game), the traffic had thinned out considerably.

Ironically, we came out right on the Black Horse Pike, across from the Acme where I work...so Jen got to see the outside of where I work and the mall it's in front of. We ate at the Arby's next to the Acme for dinner. I had the All-American Roast Beef Burger. Jen had a Roast Beef Gyro. (I thought of getting a gyro, but I more-or-less had one in Philly on Thursday.)

After we arrived at my place, we strolled through Veteran's Park next door. Jen was ooh-ing and ahh-ing over the gorgeous scenery in the park when we saw something I'd never seen on the tree at the edge of the park, near the river - a huge black turtle! We stood back and got some pictures of him before he turned chicken and waddled off. We also took pictures of each other with the river in back of us.

Spent the rest of the night at my house. We watched That's Entertainment together. Jen had never seen it, and she loved watching all those fabulous, huge MGM musical numbers! Jen enjoyed some of the magnificent cherries and strawberries I picked up at the Farm Market this morning. I had Banana French Vanilla Mousse Pie.

As for Lauren, she called while we were stuck in traffic on our way back from Valley Forge. She had arrived in New York 15 minutes before her train was due to depart and barely managed to catch it...but catch it she did! She was just on her way home when she called, and is probably at home with her parents now or on her way there.

Alas, that's the end of my vacation. I go back to work tomorrow. Jen moves on to Baltimore to visit another online friend of ours, Rodney Walker.

Here's Jen's perspective on this afternoon...

Jen's Trip Blog

Nothing Like the City

The weather did not look promising this morning. In fact, it was downright ugly. Weather or no weather, I still wanted to meet my friends Linda and James Young from Georgia in Philadelphia to see some of the historic sites. I did have a very good omen right before I left. I use an old purse as a camera case. I was looking for the pocket that was for money and coins. When I found it, that pocket contained nine dollars and at least a dollar-fifty in change. Combined with the 35 I earned raking for Miss Ellie, the 7 dollar rebate check from X-Men Origins: Wolverine back in September, and my own money leftover from my paycheck last week, I had 60 dollars to play with today.

After my stop at the bank to cash the afore-mentioned check, I rode over to Collingswood and jumped on the PATCO train to the 8th and Market stop. It was still raining when I finally met Linda and James at the National Convention Center, which turned out to be two blocks from the 8th and Market Gallery Mall PATCO stop. I was glad to see both of them. They looked as lovely as ever. I haven't seen them since the WENN convention we all went to in Queens in June 2001.

It turned out we had a little time before the 11:20 Independence Hall tour. We walked through the Liberty Bell's home. For a day with such lousy weather, the entire area was bustling. There were several groups of schoolchildren on field day trip to see history, in ages from middle elementary to high school. It was especially busy in the Liberty Bell building. We saw the story of the Bell, from it's creation in England in the 1770s to the last time it was rung, in George Washington's birthday, in 1846...when the crack got so bad, they couldn't ring it again or they'd risk breaking it in half. James said it was outside when he last visited Philadelphia in 1976, but it had been moved into it's own building in the 90s.

Our next stop was Independence Hall...once we got past a long security line. There was one at the Liberty Bell, too. James said the last time he came to Independence Hall, people just walked right in. Not in post-9/11 America. I thought they were a little rude, but I imagine sitting in a cold tent poking in people's stuff all day couldn't have been a picnic.

The tour was surprisingly short...and there was a fairly large crowd despite the weather. We were herded into one plain, yellow-and-white room first with nothing but chairs and a painting of the Signing of the Founding Fathers. After the man gave us an entertaining lecture on the signing of the Declaration of Independence and afterwards, he took us upstairs to Independence Hall. We saw the room where the Founding Fathers met to argue the Declaration of Independence, and later the Constitution and the laws that would govern the new country. The room for court and judge was on the other side. It all had excellent reproduction furniture and huge marble fireplaces and a beautiful glass chandelier in the discussion room.

We headed back to Market Street and down to South Philly to meet a friend of Linda and James', John Baxidine, for lunch at a little restaraunt in South Philly. John has worked with Rupert Holmes, the creator and head writer of Remember WENN, on several of his shows. It was wonderful to hear him talk about the shows he's orchestrated (he's an orchestrator) and about Rupert's many projects. James and I got to trade stories of fast cars, crazy dads, and long car rides while we ate cheese steaks. Linda had her favorite chicken soup.

After we finished lunch and left John, we headed right over the bridge and into Penn's Landing. Penn's Landing is Philly's restored waterfront area, filled with boat-museums and lovely parks. At least, on days when it's not cold, windy, and raining like crazy. The wind was awful going over the bridge. Even so, we took in the large Seaport Museum, exploring Philadelphia's maritime past, from trading with China to immigration to ship-building.

In addition to the land based museum, Penn's Landing is home to two ship-museums. The first, the Beuna, is a submarine. It was really nerve-wracking getting down into that ship. The stairs were narrow and very slippery! It wasn't as bad once we were actually in the sub, but it was a bit of a tough tour, thanks to the narrow conditions. It was facinating to see all the real items they used aboard the sub, though, and learn things from from Navy-history-loving James, like how the men used to sleep next to the torpedoes.

There was somewhat more space on the older Olympia. Olympia is the oldest war ship still afloat at 117, and it looks something like a Cape May home on the water, with lots of wood and antique tools and furniture. It was slightly easier to get onboard, too. This being a larger ship, there were more rooms...and more to see, including a dentist's office, a laundry room, an infirmary, and a captain quarters that was more than triple the size of the one in the sub.

It was getting darker when we finally got off the Olympia. The rain had stopped by then, but it was getting colder and windier by the minute. We stopped back in the Seaport Museum right before they closed. Linda and James bought books on Naval history and ships. I didn't see anything I liked. A SEPTA bus driver was nice enough to drive us over the bridge after we explained that we wanted to get around the windy bridge to the nearest subway.

I walked with James and Linda as far as the Walgreens on 8th Street. The rain was gone, and the wind was far less where there were 600 buildings to block it, but it was still cold. James was thirsty, so we stopped at Walgreens to buy water. It was really busy, but I found the open cosmetics counter when I was looking for WebKinz, so we could all get out quick. (I never did find WebKinz.)

We parted ways outside of Walgreens. James and Linda wanted to find the subway and head back to their hotel. I browsed the Gallery Mall for about an hour or so. I finally found the Planes, Trains, and Automobiles "Those Aren't Pillows!" edition I was looking for last week and a very cheap used copy of the public-domain Road To... movies Road to Rio and Road to Bali. I've had them on video since high school, but it'll be nice to get them on DVD. (The DVDs turned out to be scratched, but they worked when I put them in the DVD player.)

I took a very, very full rush-hour PATCO train home to Collingswood. Unfortunately, the rain had returned by that point. I had a long, windy, rainy ride home. I called Linda when I got in to reassure that I had gotten home fine. I ate leftover enchalada casserole and watched Sailor Moon Super S episodes while warming up.

Thanks again, Linda, James, and John for a lovely day! :)