Race Against Time

When I got back and track and found my way over to Colonial Bowling and Entertainment in Lawrenceville, NJ I felt like I was in a bit of a race against time because I wanted to detour over to a favorite shop over in Red Bank before they closed, but geographically it made better sense for me to play here first. I pulled in right behind two big buses full of students from Princeton. Although this boded well for a good experience inside, I felt myself starting to worry as I watched the clock while waiting for the buses to let everyone off. Once inside I rushed up to the front counter to purchase my game and was told that if I hurried they were just letting a game in now. I raced over to the laser tag area to find the doors closed and sighed thinking that I had missed my window, but the front desk must have notified the game master who let me in a couple of minutes later. Whew!

The arena was small with an apocalyptic theme going on inside.

Huge barrels designed to look like vats of waste sludge marked the locations of the bases (which were turned off) and there was a glowing structure in the middle.

I threw on a Rift pack and played a light game with a family group. It was enjoyable, but showcasing what the arena looks like now is not going to be of much benefit to anyone visiting in the future because I understand from game manager Jenny that they will be getting a new look for this arena in about three weeks time.

I would have loved to see their Jurassic Quest look, but I guess this just gives me a reason to return. Meanwhile, still watching the clock I didn’t even look back to the scoreboard before hopping back in my car and making the drive to one of my favorite locations in New Jersey, Kevin Smith’s comic book store called Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash in Red Bank. Many people will recognize this shop because it was the location for the AMC television series Comic Book Men. I have been fortunate to meet the stars of the show every time I visit (either by chance or design, I’m pretty sure part of their gig now is to make sure there’s always a cast member in the store for fan-types like me) and this time was no exception. The first time I visited I actually met Kevin Smith himself just chatting by the counter. The last time I was there previously I met Walt and this time I got to visit with Mike Zapcic. :)

So, although it meant a hurried game of tag, I did get to the store before closing because I would have hated to get all the way down to New Jersey and miss a chance to do some shopping here!