Dino Drac Visits Keansburg, NJ!
I made a vow to return to my old Jersey shore haunts this year. It’s been way too long. First on my list was the Keansburg Amusement Park, a fairly small beachside attraction filled with rides, games and fried clams.
Last year’s hurricane hit Keansburg hard, and several “relic attractions” bit the dust in its wake. Between that and the fact that the 2013 season has only barely begun, Keansburg wasn’t exactly in full swing. Still, there was more than enough for a good trip report. Below are the highlights! Read More…
Dinosaur Dracula’s 1st Birthday!
One year ago today, Dinosaur Dracula hatched. It’s my baby’s birthday!
Let’s party.
I guess I should start with the obvious. As you can tell by the site’s new look, Dino Drac’s birthday coincides with the launch of its SUMMER SEASON — a three-month spread of the usual mixed with the unusual, and, I promise, at least two Jersey shore trip reports. We are going to have A TIME, my friends.
(Psst: I even resurrected the Summer Jukebox. See it?)
I’m very excited about what’s coming later, but even with my muddied brain – a byproduct of my SUPER IRONICALLY TIMED head cold – I know better than to jump the gun. First, let’s let the dino have his day: Read More…
I wish Fruity Freaks was real.
You’ve all heard of Count Chocula, Franken Berry and Boo Berry. The “Monster Cereals.” Many of us grew up on them. Those who didn’t can at least count on ‘em to turn up every Halloween season, in progressively smaller boxes at progressively higher prices.
But among the trio’s fans are a more dedicated group of super fans. People who don’t just “like” Count Chocula, but need to buy several Count Chocula bobbleheads. I’m one of those people. People like us enjoy the cereals much like anyone else would, but we’re even bigger on the lore. The history.
For starters, there’s a pair of extinct monster cereals.
Fruit Brute debuted in 1974. It was a colorful blend of fruit-flavored cereal, fronted by a werewolf who wore rainbow-striped overalls. I guess there was too much competition from Trix and Froot Loops, because the cereal lasted less than a decade.
But General Mills is a stubborn beast. By 1988, they were ready for Round 2. Fruity Yummy Mummy was basically the same as Fruit Brute, except for the mascot: A mummy wrapped in multicolored bandages. Fruity Yummy Mummy was not a major success, and by 1993, General Mills finally gave up on a “generically fruity” Monster Cereal.
Empty boxes of Fruit Brute and Fruity Yummy Mummy cost small fortunes on the collectors’ market, which drives me nuts, as I distinctly remember a shady local deli selling Fruity Yummy Mummy well into the late ‘90s. (Shady delis do not always abide by expiration dates. I found cans of early ‘80s Pac-Man Pasta at one, and that was in May of 2000.)
I should’ve stockpiled some of that cereal. Damn.
Now, nothing I’ve written so far will come as a surprise if you know anything about Monster Cereals. For uncommon people, this is common knowledge. But what if I told you that there was actually a SIXTH Monster Cereal, so rare that I could only find one single photo of it online? Read More…
The Popsicle Parade – Part 2!
It’s time for the second edition of The Popsicle Parade!
In Part 1, I beat you over the head with ten different historically significant desserts. This time, I’ll be gentler to us both and only cover five. Moving forward with #11-15!
#11: Screwball!
If you’ve never heard of this, you haven’t spent much time pawing at ice cream truck windows. There are many variations to the Screwball, with the only consistent trait being an inedible, conical cup. But the kind shown above is the true classic.
That Screwball was/is a cone filled with super sugary water ice, usually flavored like raspberry or cherry. (Raspberry more often; cherry when the gods were smiling upon you.) Absolutely delicious. Like an Italian ice, but a bit softer and way sweeter.
The real attraction was the gumball. At the very bottom of the plastic cone, a frigid gumball waited for its excavation. Trapped under ice for God knows how long, these gumballs developed a mouthfeel completely apart from their room temperature cousins.
They were like indestructible snowballs, imbued with artificial flavors. Yeah, those flavors were frost-paled and never lasted long, but by that point, you’d already eaten a whole cone of syrupy water ice. Really, you were only chewing the gum because the whole point of a Screwball was to find the gum.
These victories netted no trophies, but we were still proud. Read More…