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Pokemon Day

They said, "Yeah, we've got a bunch."

That made me almost want to go there right away, but I had some other things I wanted to do and I knew I needed to look at the map more carefully. I asked, "Do you think you'd still have some later today or tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I think so," they said.

It sounded like people actually weren't buying too many of them here. I hoped that was true.

I copied the directions from Google Maps into a notebook, and also sent them to my phone. I wanted to make sure it was a route that avoided highways, which my GPS usually tries to send me on. I wound up leaving on Sunday afternoon, so I called again before I left and asked, "Do you still have the Neopets boxes?"

"Yes."

"Okay, thank you," I said. "Then I'm going to come there soon. See you soon."

"Okay," they said. It sounded like they wanted to get back to work, so I hung up.

The first part of the trip was exactly the same as my route to work. But instead of taking the turn I always take to go to work, I would have to continue on the road for another 20-30 minutes.

After about 15 minutes, my GPS told me to take a turn onto a small rural road. The instructions i'd written down said to stay on the big main road for 5-15 more minutes. If I strayed from the directions I'd written down, I might get lost. Smaller roads meant more turns where it was easier to make a misstep.

But I also wanted a break from driving down a big street. It's a little more comfortable to drive on smaller roads. I hesitated and decided I felt like I could trust the GPS, and turned off onto the smaller road.

I went through coastal towns lined with low buildings with patches of snow on the peaked roofs. The blue shadows of mountains rose up against the sky, spattered with snow above the white expanse of the frozen river. A crowd of seagulls floated above the blanket of snow on top of the ice.

Wow!!! I'm having an adventure!!! 😭 I'm seeing the world!!! 😭😭😭

Just like on a Pokemon journey! I'm so glad I took that turn!! 🥺

Just before I got to the plaza where Gong Cha was located, I had to make a left turn across a large intersection. As I was turning, there was suddenly a traffic light in front of me. The light was red. I felt a flash of panic and momentarily tried to stop in the middle of the road. It didn't make any sense for there to be a traffic light where it was. I was right in the middle of the street. I couldn't stop here, so I kept going, feeling like I was running a red light but I didn't know what else I could do. I was terrified that I was somehow turning into the wrong lane and might be going towards oncoming traffic.

Now that I think about it, I think it must have been the light for traffic across the street, but where it was positioned made it look like it was facing me as I turned.

I wound up on a slow road leading to a small parking lot. I parked in the only space available, in front of a sign that said to scan the QR code on it to pay for parking. It said this was Strictly Enforced.

My phone is old and doesn't scan QR codes. I went into Gong Cha and before I could think about anything else, I had to go up to the counter and ask nervously, "Is there a way to pay for parking inside?"

They shook their heads. I went outside again and looked nervously at my car and then came back in and decided I would be quick.

There was a Neopets standee in the corner. Just like the character standees they have for collabs in Japan!! I did it! I'm having the experience!!

And there was a Bruce plushie hanging from the counter! I asked at the counter if there were a limit on how many boxes I could buy, and they said no.

From what I was reading on the internet, the lack of limit was causing problems at other stores. I had planned to get just one, since I read that some people weren't getting them at all. But it seemed like not many people were buying them here.

I decided to buy one, open it, and then come back and buy one more depending on what I got.

I wanted the Shoyru because Shoyrus are one of my favorite Neopets, and the first one I created for myself. But I also really liked the design of the Aisha and Bruce plushies. There were four possible designs, and I would have been excited to get any of them.

I was so worried about my car that I took the box and opened it outside so that I could look at my car while I did it. The box the plushie came in was very cute, with drawings of the Neopets looking like babies on it.

I opened it, and... it was a Kacheek! It was really cute in person, with a fluffy, floppy tail.

But I wanted to try again for one of my favorite designs. I'd read about people buying 10 boxes and getting 10 Kacheeks, and I thought to myself that I'd stop after 2 boxes. If it were another Kacheek, I'd give up and trade for anything else, rather than possibly buying more Kacheeks. And if it were anything else, I'd be happy.

I went back in and bought another box, and then went outside again.

I opened the box and saw the top of a Shoyru's head.

I got a Shoyru!!! This was totally worth it!!!🥺

I tipped the people at Gong Cha 20% for putting up with me calling them about Neopets on the phone over and over.

I was admittedly really tempted to get more since it seemed like people here weren't buying many of these, and I didn't want to drive this far again. But I felt like I had already gotten one extra, and I didn't want to stop anyone else from getting one. I could give or trade my Kacheek to someone else, maybe.

I had wanted to try to talk to people there, but I was so worried about my car that I just went in and left. (Well, and then came right back and bought another box and left again.) It was a small store and people didn't really seem to be there for the promotion. I had to be grateful for this, since it was probably why I was able to get these.

I was only parked for about 5 minutes. I discovered afterwards that there was a big parking lot with free parking just across the street. So I could go there if I ever wanted to stay longer another time.

On the way back, my GPS tried to direct me to the highway, but I successfully ignored its directions until I got back to the main road and returned safely just before dark. It took around 3 hours in total.

The Shoyru has little tiny wings on its back, which is super cute! Unlike the Kacheek, its tail is sewn to its back in a sideways position.