Reporting from New Berlin, WI
Mindy wanted to spend an extra day with Kathy, which left my schedule open to hang around the area.
I really wanted to see “Coyote vs. Acme” during its first weekend, but we were too busy prepping for the trip. So this was a perfect opportunity, with a theater just down the street at Brookfield Mall.
Like most malls in ‘Murica, it is very much in decline. Most of the storefronts are empty, and there’s one remaining anchor--a JCPenney (remember them?). Probably 80% of the remaining traditional mall chains are clustered at one end--several of which are in the midst of a final closeout.
Malls have turned to non-traditional ways to fill the storefronts. There was a self-service bodega with vending machines and bags of snacks. I couldn’t figure out how they don’t get robbed blind. Several stores were taken over by “Secret Market”, a store with an admission price only open on the weekends. They are filled with pop culture and other junk, with some sort of giveaways and special events. The woman who did the voice of Lucy in the Peanut cartoons was coming later in the month.
There was also a toy store that had a line running through the otherwise shuttered food court. Some sort of collectible was involved.
Anyway, over to the theater--a Marcus location with reclining seats and food delivered to you. They had decent quesadillas, and the film was EXCELLENT. Probably the best animation-related film since Roger Rabbit. Seriously, go see it.
Finally, I headed a bit north of town to a place called the Garcade--one of those flat rate classic arcades. $20 gets you in the door for free play all day. I’ve been sneaking over here since they opened 9 years ago. They have a wonderful selection of classic arcade and pinball games, but I was there to make what may be my final run at Gauntlet: Dark Legacy. This D&D-esque button-masher actually remembers your progress. I have probably put 20-30 hours in so far, and still haven’t finished it.
With Kathy moving out of state soon, there won’t be a lot of reasons to come up here soon, so this may be the end of the Gauntlet run. Oh well.
I headed back to Kathy’s for pizza. Tomorrow will be the normal boring run to Ohio, so that wraps things up. I doubt we’ll get another major trip in this year.
I just posted an episode of “From the Pop Culture Bunker” with a travelogue of the trip with additional content, if you’re interested. Thanks for reading!
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