Wanna Have an 80's Movie Party?

Just stop by the local thrift store to pick up your supplies. 

If you eat too many Bagel Bites and handfuls of Mr. T Cereal, you can always work out with Richard Simmons with the TV volume turned down and the Footloose soundtrack turned up.
 

Don't Forget This New Travel Essential

I'm writing this post because we won't be traveling again for some time, and I want to remember something.

The first thing we did this summer when we crossed the border into Canada was to stop by a grocery store to buy supplies. It's our tradition to get a jar of peanut butter. Peanut butter toast sure takes the edge off in the morning before we leave for the day. It's the breakfast before breakfast and/or a great late night snack. Just don't expect to bring the jar back into the USA. 

This time we bought the generic brand, No Name, which is ironic because that is their name. 

It is good peanut butter, but it is also kind of strange. No matter how unevenly you spread it on your toast, in a minute or two it will have flowed on its own to the edges of the bread to create a beautiful, even layer. 

I'll look for another jar on next years' trip. But No Name peanut butter is not why I'm writing this. This is why I'm writing this:

We created a Google document with an itinerary for our Canada vacation. Here's part of the entry for our third day.

Day 3: St. Andrews - July 11 Tues

A.    Whale Watching – Fundy Tide Runners 10 am to noon – show up at 9:15 am

We went to sleep on the second night to the sounds of thunder, and the rain and fog had not subsided in the morning. We do not have cell phone service in Canada, so we drove to town to see if the whale watching tour was still on. We were told it was a go at 8:55. Then the weather changed and our tour was called off. We were moving on the next morning, so we couldn't reschedule. They gave us a full refund, but it was still a huge disappointment.

Most of the businesses in St. Andrews were not open, so we killed some time in the Canadian version of Dollar General. That's where I bought the 12' extension cord. Why? Well, the rain didn't look like it was stopping anytime soon, and there were only so many stores and restaurants in St. Andrews. We would be going "home" earlier than expected, and we'd be spending a lot of time inside this Camping Luxury Dome.

The place was really cool. There's a full kitchen, a 3/4 bathroom, a loft with a bed for Char, a bedroom for us, hanging hammock chairs, and a hot tub and a grill on the wraparound deck. 

What it didn't have was Wi-Fi or a TV. The doom's location was too secluded for reception for either. It also didn't have an outlet anywhere near the main room's couch. That's why I bought the extension cord.

(You can see the rain running down on the plastic window.) I pulled that round table between the white chairs in front of the couch. I set my MacBook Pro on the table, and ran the extension cord to the Mac's power cord. It wasn't long before Char was tucked into a blanket on the couch enjoying The Lego Movie. We played board games in-between movies, and eventually the rain stopped, and we were able to use the hot tub. Char watched a Scooby Doo movie after dinner.

In Moncton, Char's bedroom outlet wasn't easily accessible, so we ran the extension cord from outside of her room, under her door, and onto the bed so she could use and charge her phone at the same time. 

In Halifax, I was plugging in the cord for the same purpose when I said to Daphne, "I can't believe how handy it is to have one of these on vacation." Daphne agreed.

So, yeah, this is not a great story, but I don't think I will travel without an extension cord again. I can see using it at the airport when only one outlet is available, or in an AirB&B where you can't get the fan where you want it. Even if you didn't use the cord, it wouldn't take up much room. Mine is still in my backpack. I had forgotten about it until this morning.

See, that's why I'm writing this post. I don't want to forget about this handy cord.

Family Entertainment?

  Sometimes I don't even have to play a thrift store record for it to be entertaining. 

There's no way the person who wrote "Music of the Stripper and other fun songs for the family" did so with a straight face. 

"C'mon kids! Let's go to the living room. Dad's got a show to put on!"

Our Rick Steves Moment

Daphne and I became big fans of  Rick Steves somewhere between 2020 and 2021. The borders to most countries were closed at that time, but we could vicariously travel the world by watching Rick Steves's Europe. It was fun to watch him experience other cultures, and we picked up a lot of Rick's travel tips along the way. 

One of my favorite travel lessons from Rick is to always listen to the locals. We got our chance to do this on our summer vacation in Canada. 

Here's our itinerary for the day we drove from St. Andrew's to Moncton: 

We found the Reversing Falls Rapids first.

Here's my picture of the Reversing Falls Rapids in action.

The sun was really bright, and I couldn't see my phone's screen. I didn't know I was in "selfie" mode until later. The rapids weren't the only ones reversed. 

It took us a while, but eventually we found the St. John City Market where we shared a nice, but unphotogenic salmon burger. Char ate the fries.

Our leftover cash from a previous trip included two Canadian $100 bills. A lot the vendors would not accept bills that large, so we were having trouble using our cash. Daphne had the idea to try to break them at a local bank. The Abc Royal Bank wasn't very helpful, but a teller at the National Bank of Canada was great.

He asked Daphne what we were doing in St. John as he was counting out twenties. She explained that we were on vacation and told him where we were headed. 

"Might I offer an alternate route?" was his response. Daphne quickly agreed. He grabbed a voucher and flipped it over to write on it. 

As an alternative to driving to Fredericton, he suggested we visit the village of St. Martins where they have excellent ice cream and sea caves to explore. From there it is a short drive to the Funday Trail Parkway. He warned us that it would cost money to enter the Funday Trail, but the Parkway was worth it. He also offered the Funday National Park as a free alternative. Alma is a village that is on this route, and they have an excellent bakery. 

He also explained that he grew up in St. Martins, and he drives from there each day to work. I think Daphne wanted to hug him, but there was a counter in the way and her husband standing by. We all thanked him instead.  Daphne consulted Google maps while we walked to the car. We were rerouting.

The ice cream at Octopus was very good, but the waffle cones made from scratch were amazing. I've been in bakeries that didn't smell this good on the inside. We didn't have time for the sea caves.

We crossed a covered bridge and headed to the Funday Trail Parkway. This is from their website:

"The Fundy Trail is a 2,559 hectare/6,323 acre park featuring a 30 km/19 mile parkway hugging the southern coast of New Brunswick. With stunning views of the world-renowned Bay of Fundy, the park has been carved out of the Fundy escarpment, one of the last remaining coastal wilderness areas between Florida and Labrador.

Visitors can drive the paved parkway that hugs the 250 m (820 ft) coastal cliffs, explore trails that connect to paths or stairways leading to pristine beaches and river estuaries, cross an 84 m (275 ft) suspension footbridge, see tumbling waterfalls and Precambrian rocks or stop by the interpretive centre and discover the rich history of a once thriving lumber industry."

We were greeted with beautiful views.

These are the cable steps that take you down to the tumbling Fuller Falls. You have to be careful because some steps move a bit.

Fuller Falls comprises three different types of waterfalls: first there are Plunge Falls, followed by Chute Falls, and then Cascading Falls. Here's a short video: 

Our next stop took us to a path that lead to...

the suspension footbridge! These bridges make you think you have to watch your step because the bridge can move, but you're fine. 

After crossing the bridge, we walked to a beach covered with these rock formations.

Char had to create a small formation for herself.

We also walked a trail that finished at... 

a lookout platform!

I think we were pretty high up. I didn't lean over the railing to find out for sure.

There were several other stops we could have made on the Funday Trail, but we ran out of time. Still, look at all the unplanned things we did. 

I said to Daphne when we were back in the car, "I can't believe how lucky we were to have met that guy at the bank. He really knew what he was talking about. What a nice guy."

She replied, "I know! This was all very Rick Steves."

I laughed and agreed, "You're right. I hadn't thought of it, but yes, today was very Rick Steves."

(Wouldn't it be cool if your name becomes an adjective for having a good time?)

Random Access Memories

I bought my wife a Roku Streaming Stick and an Amazon Fire Stick for Christmas in 2020. I purchased both because I am not tech savvy, and I had no idea which one would work with a gift subscription to BritBox. I also threw in a sound bar to complete the television theme.

We tried the Roku Stick first, and BritBox looked great, so the Roku was what we went with. I have no idea what happened to the Fire Stick. We were so impressed with the Roku in our living room that we canceled our cable service a month later. 

I bought a duplicate Streaming Stick for the basement TV. Eventually, of course, I bought a Roku from a thrift store.  

This is the SE Model that I picked up. Initially, I had assumed that all Roku models were created equal. 

I was wrong. When I bought this Roku in 2021, the SE was listed on the Roku website as a model that was no longer being manufactured, but it could still run the latest Roku operating system. 

The SE has now become a "legacy" model that has been discontinued. It cannot run a newer Roku OS version, and cannot be used to run IDK apps. I Don't Know what an IDK app is (dad joke). On the surface, the SE model still works fine.

The home screen looks normal.

The scrolling screensaver looks good, too. (Am I the only one who was disappointed when they added ads to the screensaver?)

But this Roku model has a weird quirk. Netflix is stuck in time. 

Netflix changed their logo back in 2014, but my Roku didn't get the memo. It still thinks that the year is 2013. This is what Netflix looks like upstairs:

Here's the Netflix's home screen:

There are no individual profiles to pick from. The app defaults to the primary account holder. Searching for a movie or a program requires you to select each letter of the complete title. The loading time is slow. You also need two remotes because the Roku remote cannot control the TV.  

So, this is what streaming was like back in the day?

Yes. And I think that's cool. 

Sure, I could invest in a new Roku streamer. But that would not give me the same clunky experience. This makes me laugh.

Another benefit of using a Roku SE is the feeling of time travel. To get the full effect, I turn down the lights and manually search for a show like The Blacklist which was new in 2013.

Not only do I get a great show, it feels like I went back ten years in time to watch it.

Too bad Netflix doesn't show commercials for Pepsi Next or Doritos Jacked.

I end up being vintage even when I try to be modern. I guess I'm just a "legacy" kind of a guy.

Sounds like a Broken Record

Sometimes I get too excited when I find something cool at a thrift store. I forget to do a detailed inspection.

That's what happened with this 2 LP set Gold & Platinum by the Lynyrd Skynyrd Band. The album was just sitting there waiting for me in the front of a box full of records. I couldn't believe my luck. The sleeve was in such nice shape. I pulled each LP halfway out and then slid them back in confidence that they were also in great condition.

I realized that I had made a rookie mistake when I got home and pulled out LP #1 to clean it... this guy had been dropped on his edge.

Dang it! Why didn't I see that?! 

My heart sank and my temper rose. My instinct was to take Gold & Platinum to the garage and break it more by throwing it into the recycling bin. I shoved the record back into the sleeve and turned for the stairs. 

Then I slowed down and considered the situation. What was the big deal? I had only paid $1.50 for this. That wouldn't even get me a pop at a rest stop. Time to reevaluate.

The second LP was just fine. That's eight songs right there. So what if I couldn't play the first track on either side of the damaged record? That still leaves me with six more songs. 

I looked at the damage more closely and realized that the bite was only taken out of the beaded rim. There was still enough lead-in groove to play the LP before the music kicked in. 

I have to be careful, but I've played this record several times without a problem.  

Okay, I feel better now. 

I'm glad I didn't let my anger get the better of me. The LPs cleaned up nicely, and they sound great... especially the damaged LP. It is silent between the tracks. I suppose that makes sense. Most broken records don't get played that often. 

Looking back, I'm sure the damage was why Gold & Platinum was sitting in the front of the record box. I bet several people more thorough than me picked up the album and then put it right back down. These records would have eventually died in the dumpster out back. 

I was the only one dumb enough to take them home and actually play them.

I guess they were waiting for me. 

Thrift Store Show and Tell: Summer of '23 Edition pt.2

My summer thrift store show and tell continues with movies, books, and clothes.

Movies

Why would anyone buy a DVD today? 

Razvan Mihaila did a nice job of summarizing his article about the DVD's place in 2023: "While DVDs can’t match streaming platforms’ level of convenience, there are plenty of reasons to still watch DVDs in the age of streaming. Besides better audio and video quality, bonus content, or reliability, DVDs allow you to cut the cord from the streaming platform and build your own movie collection." (Mihaila).

We're not getting rid of Netflix or BritBox anytime soon. But it does make me feel better when people say DVDs and Blu-rays look better than streaming movies. I don't feel like such a fossil. Also, sharing a movie with a friend is a lot easier if you have it on a disc.

Another reason I like DVDs is that I take my old MacBook Pro with me when we travel. I prefer the 13' screen over my phone's screen, and as bonus the Mac can play DVDs (but not Blu-rays). That can be pretty handy if the AirBnB guest Wi-Fi isn't working.

Having a case of ten DVDs in my backpack wasn't a problem flying to Portland, ME, but I did get pulled over by security when flying back. The guard asked me what the discs were that they had scanned. I told him they were DVDs, and he patted my shoulder and said, "You're just like me. I like to know where my movies are. I don't want to depend on streaming." Couldn't agree more. 

I hadn't seen The Last Boy Scout since it came out in 1991. As far as being an action/ buddy picture, it still works. I had forgot all about the opening football scene. That had to surprise some people.

These "4 Film Favorites" DVDs are cool. They don't take up much shelf space and you get a lot bang for your buck (dad joke).

Charlotte attended a sleepover a few of weeks ago, and Daphne and I had a date night. We went out for appetizers, and then decided to watch a movie at home. When I explained the plot for The Punisher, Daphne replied, "So it's going to be like John Wick? Let's watch that!" We both had a good time, and I think it would have been fun to see Thomas Jane appear in another Marvel film.

Charlotte and I are now in the habit of watching movies together in the basement on Sunday nights. Char just turned 13, so that has opened up a lot more movies for us to watch. She has been wanting to see something scary with me, so I researched "horror movies for beginners." Several lists included The Sixth Sense. I thought that might be too bloody, so I opted to show her Signs. Same director; less blood. Daphne agreed, but Char did not. It wasn't for her. Not. At. ALL.

We stopped the film, but before I lost her to the great upstairs, I switched to Billy Madison. I had recently bought the DVD on a whim.  It was a HUGE hit. Man, did she ever laugh. I did, too. Char has declared that Billy Madison will now be the movie she shows her friends when they come to visit. High praise indeed. Char has seen the movie twice so far, and last night we watched the DVD's outtakes and deleted scenes - something you can't do with streaming. 

We watched  Happy Gilmore and Tommy Boy last weekend. Char gives both movies a 9 out of 10, but Bill Madison still rules (like the O'Doyles) at a perfect 10 for her. 

I'll buy a Blu-ray for myself over a DVD any day. They look better than DVDs and are more durable. This is why I picked up The Shining, Big Trouble in Little China, and It. I already owned the first two films on DVD, but unopened copies on Blu-Ray were an easy upgrade to make. Two for $4.98 is pretty cheap, but I found It at the dollar store. Even the clerk was surprised, "We have that here?"

Books

I'm a big fan of paperback novelizations of movies. I've collected quite a few over the years. It started when I was in 4th grade, and the original Halloween was a new movie. While my mom shopped on the other side of Kmart, I stood by the book racks and quickly read the last few pages of the novelization. Here are excerpts from the last page:

I thought, Oh No! He's not dead? He's still out there? The sun had gone down by the time we left the store. I kept looking behind us in the parking lot to make sure "The Shape" wasn't following us. When we got in the car, I asked Mom to lock the doors. I didn't tell her why, though.

Sly Stallone and James Cameron wrote Rambo: First Blood Part II's screenplay together? If the internet is to be believed, Cameron wrote the first draft, and Stallone made changes like removing the comic relief sidekick. 

Seven is one of those movies that is "one-and-done" for me. I won't watch that film again, and I won't even open this book. Still, this title will look good in the group on the shelf.

Amityville: The Horror Returns has a pretty weird plot. The family escapes to California to get away from the Amityville house in New York. After a business trip, the parents return to find that the house in California has transformed into the Amityville house and their kids inside are in danger. That reminds me of Jaws: The Revenge where the shark travels all the way from New England to the Bahamas to continue to attack members of the Brody family. I bought this because the back of the book states "Soon to be an NBC movie," but that didn't happen. I guess this isn't a novelization after all.

But Bonnie Hill did tape this sweet lable inside the front cover of her Amityville book. This must have inspired Prince's album artwork (previous post).

I think the person on the cover of Maniac (1987) looks a lot like Brendan Fraser. The only reason I bought this book was to write that sentence.

I think I saw You Might Be from Canada If... by Michael de Adder in every Canadian gift shopped we walked through on vacation. The book is really well done, and if you don't get the joke because you are not from Canada, then there's a reference section in the back.

Example page: You Might Be from Canada If...

Clothes (and food)

Our trip to Canada was originally planned back in '19 and '20. Those plans changed, of course. But no matter how they changed, the plans always included stopping by the The Holy Donut in Portland, Maine. When we finally got inside, I had the urge to tell the cashier that we've been waiting over three years to visit them, but that felt awkward. Daphne told me in the car that she almost said the same thing.

Here's the mural on the side of the building. What's in the box that Daphne's holding? There were half a dozen potato donuts, but one escaped before I could take a picture. I was mildly disappointed when I realized I had ordered a gluten free donut by mistake. Turns out that was one of the best donuts I have ever eaten.   

I was pretty excited to find a Holy Donut tee at a thrift store in Nova Scotia. 

Agreed.

When we first visited Charlottetown in 2016, I found some great stuff at their Value Village thrift store. I requested a return trip to VV when we went back to P.E.I for one night.  I found this SureWood Skateboards tee. Local rock bands, dive bars, restaurants, breweries, and businesses all make great subjects for thrift store t-shirts. For me the idea is to score something that can't be found back home. 

I saw several of these Molson tees for sale. I believe they were part of a give-away promotion in 2019, and there were a few different designs. I went with the lighthouse to remind myself how much fun we had climbing the rocks at Peggy's Cove. Again, these tees might be common sights in Canadian stores, but they make a unique souvenir to wear back home. 

PickWorld is a family run business located in New Castle, Delaware. They print their guitar picks in house, so if you have a need for custom picks, hit them up. This isn't a rock band shirt, but it gives off that vibe.

Okay, that's it for summer thrift. Let's see what fall brings.