PixlBit

It used to be my friend Mark and I would go on road trips almost every week. We'd hit a favorite flea market, pawn shop and game store; buy a bunch of cheap old games and consoles, and then have lunch at a Chinese buffet. Since the internet ruined flea market bargains, and Mark became more wheelchair bound, we haven't gone on a road trip in quite a while. Well, health improvements and my discovery of several excellent local independent game stores have led to yesterday's road trip of old. Here's the story. 

First stop: Classic Game Junkie in Glenside, PA (just outside Philly). This is a small store and difficult for Mark to get around in his scooter, but it was worth it because they have what seems like everything imaginable, both common and super rare. I got a copy of Final Fantasy IX (PS1), a boxed copy of Activision's Atari game Stampede, and Super Mario Galaxy for Wii. Mark was buying boxed Intellivision games to go with the Intellivision II console he got a few weeks ago at a convention. 

I took some pictures inside the store of stuff I hadn't noticed before. There were video game themed energy drinks, a standup ad for Yar's Revenge and numerous art pieces installed in the ceiling by a local artist. 

Very cool art done on ceiling tiles. I want a stained glass window of that Zelda art pronto. 

Second stop: Complete in Box located in Ephrata, PA. This is Amish country not far from Lancaster and Reading, PA. 

This store has more than just video games. There are board games, comics, action figures, anime, and a slew of game related collectibles. They even have a mini free-play arcade with a bunch of cabinets and several gaming stations with NES and other systems hooked up. 

Left to right is: House of the Dead, Double Dragon, Tetris, Captain America and the Avengers, Donkey Kong jr. (damn! I didn't look closely enough and should've played this), Simpsons, NeoGeo multi-game console, Smash TV, Multicade with Mappy showing, Soul Calibur II, Punch Out, and a NES station using a Retron console. 

I got a copy of Super Mario Bros 3 for NES and a few Disney Infinity figures I didn't already have. Mark got himself a few original Battlestar Gallactica comics and another boxed Intellivision game. Here's the complete swag I came away with from both stores. 

Afterwards we hit a farm produce store and then had lunch at Burger King. We later stopped at Arby's for a snack while visiting the location of the old flea market, pawn shop and chinese buffet we used to go to. Fun stuff. Games were later played, but that's for another blog.