Winchester, Virginia is a unique area to do some shopping. With a vast array of shops, there's something for pretty much everyone. However, this does come with an interesting twist. That being the specific shop owners who keep very "interesting" hours. Many shops don't open until late in the morning / early afternoon, and others stay closed during certain days of the week. It's because of this, that timing a visit to multiple locations can be a little inconvenient. Especially if you don't want to get caught up in the weekend crowds. Additionally, many of these shops don't tend to update their websites, so showing up prior to calling may also lead to hit or miss.
Today was supposed to be a fun filled day, but coupled with the issues noted above things were pretty hit or miss.
My day started standing outside the closed doors of Time Travelers Toys, who weren't open on a Wednesday. Looking through the store windows only made this fact all the more disheartening, because the place looks like not only a good time, but a place I could have spent quite a few dollars at.
This was a little disappointing, but considering I didn't come to Winchester specifically for this location, it wasn't a major setback. As I said above, many of these places keep odd hours.
Rather than worry about is, I moved a couple doors down to the store I had come to Winchester for. Back To The Media.
This place is closed on Monday and Tuesday, but opens at 11:00 AM on Wednesday...Or at least it was supposed to. As I waited outside the locked shop for the owner who finally decided to show up ten minutes later, I found myself getting angry. Your hours on your door are to tell people when they can expect the store to be open. So if you're going to post them, be there!
Mind you, I wasn't the only person waiting for them to open. I was so angry at the owner's lack of a meaningful apology that I almost didn't buy anything. He basically said, "Some days I get here on time and nobody comes for another thirty minutes or more." Okay, so what? That's not an excuse to show up late.
I was so annoyed that I didn't even take any pictures inside, because like I said, I didn't think I was going to buy anything.
As you can see from the photo, I grabbed a few NES games, as well as a copy of Meat Loaf's Bat Out Of Hell. The store's shtick is retro games, CD's, LP's, and of course, Funko Pops. I was hoping they would have had Mega Man V and VI, which were shown in their photos on the internet, but they didn't.
From there, it was off to Ear Food.
I know...Pretty gross name, but it's actually not a place that sells food. It's a used records / CD / cassette store. I'd never been here, but was excited to find the place. That is, until I went inside.
This place was a cluttered mess. CD's were piled from floor to ceiling, so low that you had to get on all fours, and so high you had to crane your neck and stand on tiptoes. Nothing was organized, which only added to the difficulty of finding anything.
If that wasn't bad enough, the majority of what I saw at this place was fifty cent / dollar bin fodder, but priced around four to five dollars. To put it bluntly, junk. I initially was going to buy around fifteen CD's, but as I grew more and more frustrated with the store's lack of organization, this only served to give me time to think about the prices being asked for what was in my hands.
I ended up putting back 2/3 of what I originally picked up. In hindsight, it's ridiculous that these five CD's were $46.00. I definitely won't be back here.
If I'm being honest, this day was starting to really frustrate me. I know that thrill of the hunt is supposed to be about what you find in the wild, but I was getting so annoyed at the lack of worth while things. I don't know what I expected, but it was more than this.
The day was somewhat elevated by an amazing lunch at Antojitos Mexicanas. This joint is legit Mexican fair, and I wish I could show you photos of everything that ended up being brought to the table.
I did manage to snap a photo of part of the steak torta before it got destroyed.
The last trip for the day was to Four Color Fantasies, a comic shop in the area.
This is by no means a large comic shop, and as a result, their back issues are pretty limited. However, they have their regulars, and seem to sell a lot of current books to subscription holders. People kept rolling in when I was there. As for me, I found nothing that I was interested in.
That wrapped up the day, and while I didn't necessarily find much I was interested in, it was nice to get out for the day...I suppose it wasn't a total loss.
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