Then there was that day we went to Bass Pro Shops.

We had a really great day yesterday. We're starting to experiment with weaning Clark off his afternoon nap, and some weekends are naturally better than others. Yesterday was one of the good ones.

He slept in, which is a good sign that we'll be able to pull off a napless day. We had a coupon for a largely unfamiliar local comic store. Comix Connection is not our usual comic shop, but since we moved a little northward it's now within our shopping sphere. We breezed through there back on Free Comic Book Day when they were giving out 20% off coupons. So Clark and I performed a sortie through the store eager to use the coupon.

They have a sweet life-size Silver Surfer statue in the back of the store, of which we were instantly enamored. I don't know why we didn't take a picture of it. Comix Connection isn't as good with the gaming stock as Comic Store West (not even close), but they have a spiffier website.

We walked out of there with a Teen Titans manga-sized trade and an issue of CN Action Pack for Clark, while I picked up volume 3 of Showcase Presents Justice League (yay stupid Silver Age!) and a Minimate two-pack of Deadman and the Spectre that was half off before we used the coupon.

Then we went to Target, where I again caved to unseen pressure and bought another discount Pirates box for $4. I cannot say no to those, even though I keep buying the same one over and over again. After taking stock at home, I realized that I have bought the Fire and Steel boxed set that comes with the HMS Resolution a stunning four times since the $4 fire sale went into effect.

I keep buying Fire and Steel because I'm chasing those cool rare ships with the switchblade pincers and the other cool rare ships with the huge flaming cannonball launchers. Li'l Spectre says I should know better.

After the Target trip, Rhonda and I gauged if Clark could handle skipping nap. He was very well behaved so far, so we ventured east to a mall we rarely get to, the Harrisburg Mall. Clark likes escalators and elevators, so this two-story mall was an easy sell for him.

The other interesting bit about this mall is that it has a massive Bass Pro Shops that has engulfed one entire end of the mall.

I don't know if you have one of these near you, but they are monstrous. Being non-hunting vegetarians, this isn't exactly the place for us (although we have been there for general camping supplies). But we knew Clark would be fascinated by the taxidermy tableaus and the aquariums. There's a deer versus bear diorama inside the mall with a very male deer in it, showcasing what is probably the most photographed furry testicles in the south central Pennsylvania region.

You have to give Bass Pro points for theming. Even being sort of morally affronted by what they traffic in (hey, now I know where to go to buy a crossbow), I'm impressed by the almost-Disney-level of decor. Seriously, this place has more stuffed bears in it than employees. And it has a huge light gun shooting gallery.

If every Bass Pro Shop nationwide is as full of dead bears as this one, that's a lot of dead bears.

We happened to stumble in on some kind of free family fishing/hunting/camping/killing festival, where they had kiddie activity stations set up around the store. Over in the gigantic boat sales arena, they were letting kids "fish" with a kids' rod and reel. I'm sure I don't need to tell you that I have no idea how to fish, much less Clark. The store was letting kids onto one of the showroom boats to toss the line over the side into a bucket that was painted as part of a big fish. I guess, a bass.

Clark stepped right up and listened to the instructions on how to use the pink plastic fishing rod, and with Rhonda's help, he swung the bait into the bucket. There was some kind of button holding the line back, and you had to let go of the button at the right point in the swing to get the bait to sail... Rhonda was helping with the swing (underhand, we're in a store aiming across maybe six feet), but Clark was in charge of the button! For his success, he got to spin a wheel and pick a prize. He chose a little blue dinosaur that reminds me of Gon.

Then we hit a nearby Toys R Us, which happens to be directly beside a prison.

This one is quickly becoming a TRU that time forgot. It still opens with the old switchback entrance, where you walk through the vestibule, end up at the customer service counter, and then have to make a sharp left through more doors to actually enter the store. It also still has a Kids R Us clothing section... and absolutely no R'Zone. Yes, the video games are still all sold via flip-tags! This was like a museum piece of what our York store looked like during the PS1 to PS2 eras.

By the time we got home, it was time to eat, and nap had been successfully skipped.