Venturing into the Big City

I’ll be absent from the Internet most of tomorrow as wife, son, and I will be venturing out from the pastoral beauty of our rural community and hitting the mean streets of Indianapolis. One of our dear friends has given birth and we’re treking south to see the baby, to be followed by visits to Toys R Us, Half Price Books, and an as yet to be determined eatery…

This is an extreme rarity for us and looks to be a fun filled day, especially for Connor as this will be his first true jaunt to a store devoted to his obsessions…

We’ve already promised him something from Cartoon Network’s new Secret Saturdays toyline, so his excitement level is near off the charts.

Kim and I are, of course, chomping at the bit to browse the shelves in Half Price Books. There’s always some long lost treasure to be found there. I’ll be looking to add to my Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and Three Investigators collections, and maybe nabbing a few other gems (such as Koontz’ Odd Hours in hardcover).

I truly despise cities… the traffic, the smell, the teeming masses of humanity… I always view a trip into the city like a viking eyeing a monastery. In and out like a violent storm, ready to leave bloody remains in my wake as I sail back home with plunder and a song on my lips.

The Hardy Boys: The Secret Warning

Culled from the trenches of warfare known more commonly as eBay, this little gem will soon be in my possession. The Secret Warning, seventeenth in The Hardy Boys series,  was a favorite of mine as a kid, dealing as it did with an ancient Egyptian artifact and the mysterious sinking of the freighter carrying it off the coast of Whalebone Island. The seller was unsure, but this appears to be the 1939 first edition. I’ll know better once I receive it… Needless to say, I’m thrilled.