Road Trip!

 

A coworker, who knew I was in to toys and comics, told me about a comic shop in Annapolis, Maryland that was wall to wall comic books, toys, games and records. He told me it was "THE" place he and his girlfriend went for their comic book needs, and felt that the place was right up my alley.

I reached out to George of G.I. Jigsaw, and asked him if it would be something he would be interested in checking out, but due to a personal matter, he wasn't able to do so. A few months went by, I forgot about the place. On Friday morning, he was passing by my office, and asked if I'd stopped by the place yet. I told him I had not, and that due to the time that had elapsed since we last talked about it, I had completely forgotten what it was even called.

With a reminder of store and name in my mind, I fired a text off to George that same morning to see if he wanted to check it out this weekend. Long story short, with coffee in hand, I swung by his place on Saturday morning, picked him up, and off we went.

From the outside, the place gives off a somewhat skater vibe. At least it did for me. Stepping inside, we we took in an awe inspiring site of toys and comics that went back so far it was jaw dropping.

Don't let this image fool you. The shelf of Pop's on the right had side is blocking the remaining fifty (plus) percent of the store. The place was alive with people, both customers and employees, and music pumping through unseen speakers.

Walking in, we were immediately greeted by employee Trish, who asked us if there was anything she could help us find. Telling her it was our first time there, she immediately followed up with, "Let me give you a tour." She then ushered us around the store pointing out T-shirts, current comics, back issues, toys, and more. As we walked, she informed us that if we were interest in games and records, they had  a second location two doors down at Third Eye Games.

I considered picking up a McFarlane Spider-Man number one shirt (you can see it at the top right of the above photo), but ultimately decided that I wouldn't. I couldn't find any prices on them, and didn't feel like going through the motions of getting a price check.

I really dug these cookbooks. In particular the Street Fighter and Ramen ones.

George hipped me to the below MotU book a month or so ago, and to date, I haven't gotten around to picking it up. My girlfriend likes to get me a toy encyclopedia every year for Christmas, so I may have to put this one on her list.

That Slimer atop the rack was epic.

Seeing these retro style Marvel figures made me think of Big Tone over at 2 Minute Toy Break, but I didn't have his phone number to text him. If I did, I would have seen if there were any he wanted.

For being a comic book store, Third Eye Comics' back issue selection was pretty pathetic. Take what you see below, and mirror it for the opposite side, and that was it. Everything else was graphic novels and new releases.

I tried to get a lot of photos of the toys, but due to people coming and going in and out of the place with every passing minute, it was a little difficult to capture isles with nobody standing in them.

I briefly considered getting a pack of Kool-Aid Cotton Candy, but passed because I hadn't eaten anything yet for the day, and didn't want to start with candy.

When I saw the Origins figures below, I immediately thought of Jerry from Action Figure Barbecue and fired him off a text to see if there were any he was looking for. Naturally, the two he wanted they didn't have.

This is the most G.I. Joe Classified I've ever seen in the wild.

Boglins? Awesome.

Though I only own the Toy Biz toys, I really like seeing merchandise based on the Tim Burton / Michael Keaton Batman films. Batman Returns remains my favorite Batman movie of all time.

Leaving Third Eye Comics, we popped a couple doors down to check out Third Eye Games.

Though this place was just as busy as the previous store, I didn't snap as many photos here because I didn't see too much I was personally interested in.

Much like Third Eye Comics, we were greeted at the door, and when we told the employee, Sim, that it was our first time there, he immediately insisted on giving us a tour.

My co-worker really hyped me up for the record selection at this place, and I was a bit disappointed when I actually saw it. Maybe I misunderstood him, but I was expecting to see a vast array of used albums. I want to say that he told me, "They have a lot of old albums," which to me equated to used vinyls. Not so much the case. Overall, a good selection, very unique, but not for me.

If I didn't despise building things with every fiber in my being, this Cup (O) Noodle would have come home with me. I even considered picking it up as a gag gift for someone I know who is always eating Ramen packets. Though I ultimately ended up leaving it behind.

Though I didn't end up buying anything from either store, what I really liked the most these two locations was the vibe / energy I got from the place, and the overall friendliness of the employees. Whether it was the people working there, or the customers shopping, everyone seemed excited to be there. It was wonderful.

Heading out from there, we had one more stop in mind. However, before we proceeded on, our stomachs were beckoning to be satisfied. George looked up places near us, and upon reminding me that he knew my *rules of eating out, a location was selected.

*Rules of Eating Out: When out of town, I will not eat at a chain restaurant or a restaurant that I can get in my own area.

Double T Diner was a happening place when we arrived. The parking lot was crammed full of cars, and there was a twenty to twenty-five minute wait. We decided to stick it out, and I'm really glad we did.

Stepping inside, we were greeted by three massive display cases of freshly prepared desserts. They set the tone of a great meal to come. Though I intended on grabbing a few items to got on my way out, I was so full by the end of my meal that I simply didn't want to think of any more food.

In hindsight, passing this up may have been a bad idea.

Look at those massive size turnovers!

You have to respect a diner that stands by its coffee to the point that it sells it in tins to take home.
 

Double T Breakfast Special was right up my alley.

As we waited for our food, both George and I laughed at the place mats on the table that advertised Third Eye Comics.

No, my plate didn't come this way. I just have a habit of mixing all my food together.

I barely dented the pile of eggs, potatoes, sausage and pancakes before getting stuffed. I even commented that I needed our server to come and take my plate from me because I kept eating. It was so delicious.

With our bellies full, it was time to move on.

Some what deviating from our route home, but only a half hour away from our current location was our last road trip stop.

I'd been to Lost In Time Toys a couple times in the past, and while my last visit was memorable for all the wrong reasons, I had felt enough time had passed to give them another shot.

Though it's better organized than it was before, the place is still incredibly cluttered. With tight isles, and a consistent flow of people coming and going, it made getting around a bit difficult. I didn't end up photographing about fifty percent of the store, but this was more so because I didn't want to snap shots of the more recent era items or any of the trading cards.

You don't see an Eternia playset often, let alone one that's still sealed in the box.

Look at all those sets of Presto Magix Return of the Jedi rub ons! If I hadn't found what I left with, I would have purchased one of each of these sealed sets.

I don't think I've seen this many carded Return of the Jedi figures since 1983 / 84.

Lost In Time Toys has had this Tytus figure for a long time, and considering the price, they're going to have it for a lot longer.

The G.I. Joe section was pretty sparse, considering the massive amounts of Star Wars figures they had. This only backs up my prior article about prices rising on Joes that G.I. Joe and Masters of the Universe are hot, hot, hot right now.

Seeing the individual packs of Presto Magix Return of the Jedi only solidified more that I wanted to grab these. In hindsight, I wish I still had.

Much like G.I. Joe, they had some good Masters stuff, but not much.

That Burger King Star Wars glass display would look great with my set, but I didn't bother asking what the price was. Displays like this are usually ridiculously high. Especially when they're in mint condition, such as this one was.

I wanted to look through their records, but coupled with stuff stacked on top of them, and not being in any particular order, I ended up ignoring them.

So, I didn't get my Presto Magix, but I didn't walk away empty handed. Complete in box...well, sort of...Super Nintendo and Super Scope 6! The SNES didn't end up having the game inside, but everything else was wrapped in its original bags and twist ties. For such great condition, I'm fine with grabbing a copy of Super Mario World for less than twenty dollars any number of places. Even the boxes are pristine.

I didn't really want the Super Scope 6, but it was still tough choosing between it and the Presto Magix. It came down to it being just too good to pass up. Much like the SNES, everything was in the original bags, and the owner gave me two copies of the game to go with it.

With that, we headed home, calling it a day on our road trip just before the break of evening. Overall, not a terrible day. Despite the rain, it was great to get out, do something, see stuff, and come home with a couple great items for my collection. Not a bad way to start a three day weekend.

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