Calling All Angels

Once again, we began the day with a trip down the Mass Pike. Instead of continuing to Springfield, we turned off at Holyoke to check out the huge mall there. Once again, we had no trouble on the road, no traffic anywhere. It was gorgeous and sunny when we came out, if chilly, but clouds began to move in even as Lauren pulled into the parking lot of the shopping center next-door to the mall. 

Barnes and Noble was the only store open at 9:30, so we started there. I love that store. It's huge, two stories with a mostly-full music and video section. We both found things here. Lauren dug a movie out of the music and video section. I picked up the next book in that teddy bear mystery series, Bear a Wee Grudge, and two CDs: 

Miles Davis - Birth of the Cool

Little Richard - The Very Best of Little Richard

Since my purchase came with a coupon for a dollar off iced tea, I bought a green iced tea while waiting for Lauren and checking out my new book. It was earthy and not sweet at all. Just wet enough after the car ride.

Went across the street next to TJMaxx, the only other store open that interested us. I used the bathroom, but otherwise didn't find anything. When Lauren didn't see anything she wanted either, we headed out.

We were the first ones at the door of Red Robin promptly at 11 AM. Far from the only ones, though. Shortly after we came in, several other couples arrived as well. Lauren had the Red's Double Tavern (smaller) Burger. I had the California Chicken Sandwich. The waitress brought fries out right away, and we had to order the usual towering onion rings. Lauren had a sparkling lemonade. I ordered a mint mojito...before I realized that the waitress hadn't heard my request for it to be non-alcoholic. I took a few sips, tasted rum (yuck), and didn't finish it.

After lunch, we jumped back in the car, and Lauren drove us to the main Holyoke Mall. She parked at the JCPenney entrance, which isn't far from Round 1. We wanted to start there, before we had a lot of packages to carry around and the kids got off of school. I spent the next hour running from Bust-a-Move to giant Pac Man to Nerf Arcade to Lane Master bowling to skee ball. Practiced my pinball skills for the Vermont pinball parlor on Friday with games based on Guardians of the Galaxy, Star Wars, and Deadpool. Played Mario Kart Deluxe and came in first with Yoshi. 

I eventually amassed over 2,200 points, not bad for an hour. I liked the dragon Kai that I picked up in June so much, I went for a smaller stuffed animal from the same line who was even prettier. Haru is a red and white fox fire spirit ("kitsune") with three tails like Tails the Fox, a bell on her collar, and a mischievous embroidered expression. I think she's an absolute darling, and one of the loveliest from that line. Lauren forgot her original card and didn't have the points, so she just got candy.

We were in and out of stores for the next few hours. Lauren did best at the two Stateline Used Video Games, picking up five Nintendo 64 games to try between the two stores. She also bought a dress that resembled Sally's in The Nightmare Before Christmas from Hot Topic and a Sarah Sanderson from Hocus Pocus costume from Spirit Halloween. (Apparently, she and the women at the bank where she works will be dressing as the Sanderson Sisters this year.) She bought a dress at Macy's. I just used the bathroom. We browsed in Build-a-Bear, but didn't buy anything. She bought pants for her father and for her at JCPenney. I found a sea blue short-sleeved t-shirt on the clearance rack for $6 and Fila sneakers on sale for $44 to replace the Reebox that never really fit right and were already looking shoddy.

I did the best at FYE. The FYE at Holyoke has a far larger selection of CDs and DVDs than most of their stores nowadays. They were having a buy two used items, get a third for $1 sale. I really hit the jackpot with cast albums on CD in particular. I eventually came up with:

The Who - Magic Bus: The Who On Tour

The soundtrack from That Thing You Do! (I have this on cassette, but not only are my cassettes in storage, I'm trying to phase out all cassettes but the ones containing old-time radio shows I've never seen anywhere else.) 

The original cast albums for the Broadway Little Women from a decade ago, Liza Minnelli's first show Flora the Red Menace, Kinky Boots, and the Bette Midler Hello Dolly! revival. (Dolly ended up being the dollar item. I forgot that the Who was a new CD I grabbed from the bin up front.) 

Our plans hit a snag when dinnertime came around. We were going to eat at the 99 Restaurant there, like we did last year...but it would seem that they've closed since then. The only other sit-down restaurant was the expensive 110 Grill. We eventually ended up downstairs at the food court. Lauren had a pepperoni stromboli and salad from Sbarro's that she claimed was excellent. I had two street tacos with cilantro, tomatoes, and taco meat and a Diet Coke from El Burrito. The taco meat was a little dry, but I liked the soft corn tortillas they used. It also came with a bag of chips and container of salsa that were so huge, Lauren and I agreed to have them for a snack later instead.

It was past 5:30 when we made our way back to JCPenney and the parking lot. Once again, no trouble getting home. It had clouded over considerably since this morning, but otherwise wasn't bad. No traffic anywhere, on the Mass Pike or in Lee and Lennox. Lauren's brand-new van allowed her to speak her comic texts to a guy friend on his way back from work and still focus on the road. 

When we got in, we showed our finds to Mr. and Mrs. Miller, and then I took a shower. After my shower, I joined Lauren downstairs to try those new games. The only one we could play together was a WCW Wrestling game...but that honestly ended up being a lot of fun. We did a tag-team (two on two) game. It took forever for us to figure out which buttons did what, let alone pin a guy! It was 9 PM before my Randy Savage managed to get Lauren's Kevin Nash down. (We also had Sting - who wore black and white makeup like a KISS reject - and Booker T.) 

Finished the night with Charlie's Angels at The Roku Channel. "Angels On the Run" help a singer newly hired by a nightclub to find her husband when he doesn't turn up for her show. Turns out the guy was a dump truck driver who left his truck and a pile of dirt with his farmer girlfriend (Elaine Joyce)...along with a fortune in diamonds a group of crooks stashed in his truck. Kelly poses as the singer to get the goods on the thieves...and the other Angels and Bosley go after her when she's kidnapped as well. 

Our State Fair

Lauren and I were off a little earlier today, around 9:30. We headed back to the Springfield area, but this time got off the Mass Pike slightly earlier for the Big E, aka the New England State Fair. Unlike the last time we went to the Big E in 2008, we came on a gorgeous day. It was sunny and breezy when we headed out, with only a few clouds in the brilliant blue late summer sky. We parked in a large field with many other vehicles; it took us less than a minute to hike to the gates.

Getting into the gates was slightly more complicated than last time. Lauren bought tickets ahead of time, so we didn't have to get into the line to buy them. We did have to go through a metal detector, but I left my jewelry at home and we both brought small purses, so that could have been worse.

The Big E is mostly your typical state fair. The huge area has tons of bright-colored booths advertising every food that can possibly be fried (including Kool-Aid), animal exhibits (I saw one with camels and another with an elephant, as well as a horse show), a petting zoo, a pony ride, the world's largest pig, a midway with kiddie rides and two Ferris wheels, and buildings featuring displays of the wares of farms and various local companies. There's two arenas for musical performances, the smaller Court of Honor Stage near the main gate and the larger Xfinity Arena. We caught a bit of a Tony Orlando concert going on at the Court of Honor as we went by there later in the afternoon. (He was really getting into "Knock Three Times.")

(Incidentally, Micky Dolenz would be happy to know that the formerly outdoor Court of Honor Stage has now been covered with a large tent.)

Our first stop of the day was at one of the smaller trailers for lunch, near a display for Harley-Davidson bikes. The Granville Country Store sells variations on grilled cheese, including a grilled mac-and-cheese sandwich. Evidently, Mr. Miller heard about them on the news and told his daughter about them. Lauren got the mac and cheese sandwich, but it sounded a little decadent for my taste. Besides, I wanted some vegetables with my lunch. I ordered the feta cheese sandwich with bacon and tomato. Yum! I love feta cheese, but it's so expensive, I rarely buy it. It paired nicely with the real bacon bits and thick slices of tomato. We enjoyed our outdoor meal on benches in a quiet corner across from the trailer.

We strolled around in the Better Life Building next, since we were right there. This is where local businesses display everything from hot tubs to leather goods to sports T-shirts to rare DVDs. (The TVs at the DVD area were showing They Live, the cult horror film starring Lauren's favorite wrestler "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, to her delight. It was even the scene with the famous "bubble gum" line.) We went to the bathroom, but otherwise just browsed here.

The streets outside the main buildings are lined with shops selling appliances, crafts, leather goods, toys, face-painting, and airbrushing for t-shirts. Lauren stopped by one such shop with a wide assortment of mostly political t-shirts. I joined her to browse. She found a really nice backpack with a vinyl drawstring and a pretty lavender, teal, and black floral pattern. I don't want another drawstring bag after the string came out of my last one within weeks of buying it, and the only zippered bag they had looked kind of cheap.

Next up was the Avenue of the States. Each New England state touts its well-known wares in a recreation of its capitol building. Lauren bought fudge for her parents at New Hampshire. She and I picked up plaid flannel scrunchies at Vermont, and I saw booths selling Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream and big blocks of Cabot cheese. People stood in a long line to buy loaded baked potatoes, blueberry pie, and bottles of Poland Spring water in Maine. Children clamored for Pez dispensers in Connecticut. A booth in Massachusetts sold golden and red raspberries - we both had little containers of them. I saw a Del's Lemonade stand in Rhode Island. This is apparently a popular Ocean State institution often mentioned by my older friend Linda Young in her essays on growing up there.

The New England Grange Building mostly showed off crafts and jams and jellies made by folks across New England. She admired knitted outfits, small quilts, sweaters, and a fall display in the back. I'm afraid that while I appreciate the effort and artistry that went into their work, I can make many of the items sold myself for far cheaper.

By the time we did a second go-around at the Avenue of the States, I was worn out. Lauren had originally suggested having an early dinner at the Big E, but it was only about 2:30 when she bought the fudge. She'd checked several food locations, including the Food Court, but everything was too expensive or junky. After a last peek at the stuffed animals, knitted and wool goods, and jellies and condiments sold at the Eastern States Farmers Market, we finally just decided to head out early.

Lauren took a different way going back, one that gave me a quick glimpse of a bustling downtown Springfield before we headed back to the Mass Pike. Unlike the trouble getting to Holyoke on Saturday, this time there was no problems. The only traffic was near the Big E, and even that could have been worse.

We finally ended up having dinner at Athena's Restaurant and Pizzeria, just off the Mass Pike entrance in Lee. They were a lovely little building on the edge of downtown Lee, with wooden booths and tables and an outside area. Lauren had a buttery scrod, mixed carrots and green beans, and a salad that she said was delicious. I had an incredible chicken gyro with lots of seasoning and tzaziki sauce.

The clouds were starting to gather as early as our ride by Springfield, though the sun tried to peek out briefly when we were at Athena's. When we got in, we gave Mr. and Mrs. Miller the fudge, and I took a shower. We finished the night playing Captain Toad's Treasure Tracker and watching WWE Raw on the USA Network.

Tomorrow, we'll dodge the heavy rain that's supposed to hit New England and return to Albany to check out two large area malls, the Crossroads and the Colonie Center.

Beautiful Sunday

It was absolutely gorgeous when Lauren and I headed out this morning around 10. Perfect weather to check out a local flea market, just over the border in New York. We went here last year, too. I did pick up peaches here from a small farm stand for the rest of the week. Otherwise, unlike our trip last year, we made no finds.

We first drove to the Berkshire Mall in Lanesborough next and spent an hour walking through their huge Target. I considered some more Our Generation Retro outfits, but decided to save my money for later in the week. Otherwise, there wasn't much to see here. The Berkshire Mall is dying hard, a victim of too-high rents and poor management. Even The Garden restaurant that we had dinner at in 2016 is gone.

Next stop was Dalton for lunch. Lauren introduced me to her favorite outpost of a local chain, Hot Harry's Burritos. They were a small hole-in-the-wall fast food Mexican joint that had apparently just been remodeled last year, according to Lauren. She had two soft-shell tacos wrapped around hard-shell tacos. I went simpler with a chicken and black bean burrito. Yum. My burrito was really tasty, with lots of savory chicken pieces and guacamole. We both had house-made tortilla chips with our lunch and sodas.

Hit up two shopping centers across from each other after we ate. Lauren picked up the new Nintendo Switch version of Captain Toad's Treasure Tracker at a Game Stop at Allendale. I saw a sweater I liked at TJ Maxx across the street, but it was white. Considering all the running around I do, white is probably not a good idea for something I wear constantly. Lauren did better, picking up plaid shirt and another good blouse for work.

Thankfully, the mini golf course a few minutes down the street from the mall is still around. We've been playing each other here for years. It's your standard family course, with fiberglass bears to block shots and small wooden houses and mills for balls to get stuck under. Lauren's purple ball wound up in a small pool of water at one point. My red ball got stuck under the metal loop-the-loop in another. I accidentally hit Lauren's ball in the hole once! Lauren ended up winning, but only by a few points, 52 to 56.

Headed back towards downtown Pittsfield around 3. We wanted to eat at Lauren's favorite restaurant the Highland, but they don't open until 4 on Sunday. After a quick stop at a bank to use their ATM machine (we tried using Lauren's branch of the Co-Op earlier, but their ATM doesn't always work well, according to her), we went for a long stroll down North and Suth Streets. It was actually rather pleasant. The streets were relatively quiet, giving us a chance to enjoy being together and play tourist. I even got to take pictures of the stegosaurus statue standing outside of the Berkshire Museum for my nephew and his friends.

Most stores downtown were closed on Sunday, but we did find two to explore. The consignment shop we went to last year was not only open, but had recently expanded into the next building. Lauren picked up an orange and black striped Ralph Lauren polo shirt for her dad and a yellow blouse for her mom. I found a really pretty blouse in brilliant shades of orange, turquoise, red, and black.

Museum Facsimile sells prints of old movie posters, cartoon posters, comics covers, maps, and advertisements for the Berkshires, locally-made crafts, colorful socks, Berkshires merchandise, and soaps and perfumes, among other items. The gentleman who owned the store was trying to hang lights around the windows when we came in; I couldn't help giggling at his efforts. Most things were too expensive for me, but Lauren bought a mug for her dad and socks for her and her mom.

We strolled to the Highland minutes after it opened. The Highland is another hole-in-the-wall, this one a bar serving basic American fare like turkey and mashed potatoes. Lauren had a meatball sandwich; I had a veal cutlet sandwich. Both came on thick white "Viennese" bread. A basket of this bread was also brought to our table. I'd already had a slice of bread, so I took half my sandwich off the bun. Dessert was slices of their tasty coconut custard pie.

Went straight home after dinner. Lauren and I showed her parents our purchases, then went downstairs to play Captain Toad for a half-hour before wrestling started. The Millers are all big WWE fans. Tonight's even was called Hell In a Cell. It began and ended with no-holds-barred matches in a red steel cage, though the other matches were regular ones. I can't really tell you much about the matches, since I don't know the athletes or their personas well. I know Lauren likes "Rowdy" Ronda Rousey, a tough female wrestler who successfully defended her Women's title against the rather bimbo-ish Alex Bliss, a blond in some of the worst eye makeup this side of an 80's model.

(And the guy in the KISS makeup in the beginning tried swinging off the top of the cage and made a 20-foot drop onto a table...but the wrestler he was supposed to be landing on had the sense to move. He ended up doing some major damage to himself instead and had to be carried out in a stretcher.)

Tomorrow, it's back to Springfield, this time to check out New England's version of a state fair, the Big E.

The Eye of the Tiger

We both got going around 8:30-9 this morning to run errands. Lauren hasn't seen She-Ra in years, so I put on an episode of that while we got going. "Duel at Devlan" has She-Ra helping a small town that's being bullied by members of the Horde. They're counting on the townspeople being too frightened to help her, but when they see her going against the soldiers alone, they realize how important it is for them to fight back.

The weather had changed completely overnight. It was raining when we awoke. By 10:30, the rain was long gone, but the damp clouds and chilly wind remained. It was so cold, we both needed jackets for the first time since Lauren arrived. Despite the temperatures, the Collingswood Farm Market was elbow-to-elbow busy. I was afraid of squishing strawberries and blueberries, and they tend to be pricey. I ended up buying green beans, plus bananas and grapefruit from the fruit wholesaler.

I wanted to look at the record store, but despite the sign on their window saying they opened at 11, the door was still locked tight when we arrived. We strolled a few doors down to Frugili Consignment instead. I didn't get anything, but Lauren bought two pairs of shorts for herself and a sweater for her mother.

Had lunch at Cafe Antonio's, a couple of blocks down Haddon Avenue. Like Tu Se Bella, they make gourmet pizza with unique toppings (and slightly better prices). Lauren had a teriyaki tomato. I had broccoli-tomato-white. We both had "Chicken Parmesan," cheese and breaded chicken, and Wild Cherry Pepsi. Yum. The Chicken Parmesan was especially amazing.

The record store was open when we were passing after lunch. Lauren checked out the candy store while I browsed. Ended up with two fairly rare Broadway cast albums, the 1959 hit Fanny and the 1960 flop Greenwillow, along with the soundtrack from the film version of The Music Man (replacing the cassette copy I've had since high school).

Headed back around 1. We still had other things to do. Rested and put everything away, then headed back out. Lauren needed to wash clothes for the week, and I had new clothes that needed to be cleaned. The laundromat was fairly busy when we arrived...which made it all the more embarrassing when the Tide I meant to pour into the washing machine spilled and went all over my hand and the top of the machine instead. Good thing I had towels from the kitchen in there. I was also out of money, and while I was able to pay for the washing machine, Lauren and I ended up splitting the drier.

Spent an hour playing video games when we got in. We finished the first part of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in Lego Indiana Jones 2 in record time, once I figured out I had to use Indy's whip to get the cranes to drop down. Since we didn't have much time left, we went back and did another bonus round instead of moving on.

I made a tasty dinner of Sloppy Joes (from Julie's Cooking Studio) and green beans, mainly to use those free hamburger rolls I got with the Monopoly coupons. We watched more She-Ra as we ate and I did the dishes. Bow is jealous of "The Red Knight" when the mysterious warrior bests him in a race, but he learns how important he is when his archery skills save the Knight and Queen Angelica. "The Missing Ax" was lost by two little boys who were playing instead of keeping an eye on it. They lie and tell their father it was stolen. When Bow hears this, he goes into a Horde-controlled town after it and is captured. She-Ra has to get the truth from the kids, then rescue Bow.

Jessa picked us up around quarter after 6. She and Joe just moved into a slightly larger condo above their old one. They got to show us around (and gave me three stuffed Sailor Moon dolls, part of the things they were trying to get rid of at a yard sale today) before we all headed to a local community center to see the wrestling show.

The ECWA is East Coast wrestling, not huge, but certainly noisy enough! I'm not a wresting fan and can't really tell you much about what happened, other than there were at least two no-holds-barred free-for-alls, including in the end after the previous champ had beaten the favorite. Oh, and Jessa won the 50-50 raffle.

We were so tired, we came home and went straight online. Given all the hiking around we've been doing, it may be just as well that we're mostly just going to be doing Rose's baby shower tomorrow. (I do need to hit WaWa at some point for money and milk.)