I'm a TRU Kid

When I was a kid back in the 70's and 80's... Toys R Us was the greatest retail store in (my) existence.  I only got the opportunity to go there a few times a year on special occasions like finding a birthday present for a friend.  But when it happened, it was like thirty minutes of pure happiness.  Action figures, video games, and model kits were my favorite sections, but I'd make sure to spend time in the Lego, board game, and bicycle areas as well.

By the late 80's and early 90's, they also became a source of sports cards.  They collaborated with Topps to produce their popular Baseball Rookies boxed set from 1987 to 1991.

1993 Topps Toys R Us Factory Set

Then in 1993, they teamed up with Topps again and produced a special Stadium Club set featuring young baseball stars from the era.  That year I had walked away from the hobby to focus on college, so I had zero interest in purchasing this set at the time.

However fast forward thirty-three years and I found myself purchasing this set at the De Anza Flea Market for five bucks.  The key to this purchase was the set of 5x7 Master Photos that was included in the box:

1993 Topps Toys R US Master Set #NNO

Scan of Card Back

1993 Topps Toys R US Master Set #NNO

I feel like these twelve oversized cards are worth the five bucks alone.  But Toys R Us also included a 100 card box set as a bonus.  Here's a peek at some of the bigger names from that set:

In an era where blaster boxes containing seventy-two cards will set you back $25 at Target, I feel like boxed sets from the 90's like this one are a better bargain.  But that's just my two cents.

Don't worry... I'm not hating on current sets.  Heck I'm building a bunch of Topps sets from the past few years.

One of them is the 2023 Topps flagship baseball set.  John over at Johnny's Trading Spot recently sent me over 200 cards for my set build:

I originally scanned a few nine-pocket pages with highlights, but I've misplaced them or accidentally deleted them.  Anyways... this huge lot left me with only needing ten cards (which I'll just grab off of Sportlots) to complete the Series 1, 2, and Update sets.

Thank you John!

Greg over at Night Owl Cards also sent me some set help:

These four cards completed my 2025 Topps Holiday base set:

Greg also passed along some A's and Padres cards that John had originally intended for me:

I'm guessing they were originally intended for the huge care package that John sent me a few months ago that included the above 2023 Topps cards.  I'm still in the process of sorting it, but as soon as I'm finished I'll be showing off some of the goodies from that box.

Thank you Greg and John for helping me out with these set builds!  And thank you to all of you who took the time to read this post.

Today's question of the day:

Were you a Toys R Us kid?

Do you have any fond memories of shopping there when you were a kid?

If so, please share them down in the comment section below.  I promise to read and respond to all of them.

Until then...

Happy Sunday and sayonara!

Road Trip Recap

Back in December, my best friend surprised me with a trip down to Pismo.  Well we went back down again, only this time it was more of a planned vacation.

However before I dive into our trip, here's your obligatory baseball card:

2017 Topps Archives Fan Favorites Autograph #FFA-RK

Rusty is arguably known best for having one of the greatest names in hobby history.  But today he's featured in this post, because he grew up in a Central Coast town called Paso Robles, which happened to be our first stop on our road trip.

After taking a potty break, walking Tashi, and grabbing a refreshing acai bowl at The Neighborhood, we continued south on 101 to Pismo.

We stayed at the SeaCrest Oceanfront Hotel which offers some amazing coastal views of the Pacific Ocean.

The next day we woke up and headed about an hour southeast down to a little town in the Santa Ynez Valley called Solvang, which is known as the Danish Capital of America.

Wallet Card @ Ostrichland USA

We stopped off at Ostrichland USA to see and feed the ostriches.  I didn't realize how tall and cute they are in person.

Afterwards we headed into town to eat aebleskivers:

Wallet Card @ Solvang

The trip was filled with delicious food, gorgeous scenery, great company, and perfect weather.  Temperatures ranged from the low 70's during the day to high 50's in the early evening.

Here's the view from our patio:

That's me lounging with my computer catching up and commenting on all of your blog posts.  Life truly doesn't get much better than this.  Unfortunately that was only about an hour before we packed up and headed back home.

Thank you Jen for inviting me along with you, your mom, and Tashi!

My Spring Break has been non-stop since Saturday.  One of the first things I did was walk around the De Anza Flea Market, where I found a set of cards that I have wanted for decades.  I'm hoping to write a recap of my finds either today or tomorrow, but we'll have to see.

I have a pair of lunch dates, a few chores that need to be taken care of, and taxes that need to be filed.  Plus I'm suppose to meet my buddy's son-in-law to sell my car this evening, but I have to get it smogged before.  Today and tomorrow are going to be a little crazy.

Until I write again...

Happy Thursday and sayonara!

Saturday Morning Cardtoons

When you think of Saturday mornings... what's the first thing that you think of?  Nine out of ten times, I'll probably say the flea market.  But back when I was a kid, Saturday mornings were reserved for cartoons.

I don't have any cartoon related cards to show off this morning, but Stuart over at S.R. '75 Cards sent me a package this week that included three singles from the 1993 Cardtoons set.  I'd figure I'd share them and a recent eBay purchase that's semi-related.

Cardtoons was a product that makes fun of MLB players from that era.  Although the players aren't actually named on the cards, based on the ones I've seen... it's pretty easy to figure out who they were parodying. 

Let's start off with Tony Twynn:

1993 Cardtoons #76

Or should I say Mr. Pea Pods?

Cardtoons targeted Gwynn's weight, but at least mentioned that he had already won a batting title in his career.

Stuart also included cards of Rickey Henderson and Mark McGwire too:

1993 Cardtoons #35

1993 Cardtoons #44

Up until a few years ago, I didn't take this product seriously.  I thought it was a silly oddball issue that I could live without.  But I'm hoping to one day find a cheap set or unopened box at the flea market to tear into.

Next up is a deck of cards I recently purchased on eBay:

2004 The Real Deal John Kerry Presidential Deck

I stumbled across this deck of cards a while back, while searching for a card of Barack Obama who happens to be included:

Even though I didn't see eye to eye with everything President Obama did during his two terms, I admire the way he carries himself as a leader.  That's why I quietly collect his (and Ronald Reagan's) cards.  Technically this isn't a trading card, but it's still a cool collectible.

Here are a few other notables in Kerry's deck:

I even found a new addition to my Japanese PC:

Matsui was a congressman for California's 5th congressional district which is located in the northern San Joaquin Valley.  Unfortunately he passed away in 2005 after being reelected for the 7th time in 2004.

Sorry... let's focus on happy stuff since Saturday mornings are supposed to be bright and chippy.

What were some of your favorite Saturday morning cartoons?

I was actually more into the live action shows like Land of the Lost and The Baseball Bunch, but I do remember looking forward to watching Super Friends.

Well that's it for today.  By the time you're reading this, I'll be walking around the De Anza Flea Market.  It's a holiday weekend, so I'm not sure if there will be a lot of vendors set up.  I'll write up a post if I find anything cool.  Until then...

Happy Saturday and sayonara!

North of the Border

Toronto swept the A's to open up the 2026 season.  It stung, but they're the defending American League champions.  Can't say I'm surprised.  In fact, if the A's aren't in the running in October... I'd be okay with the Blue Jays getting another shot at the Dodgers or whoever ends up representing the National League.

Today I'll be celebrating our neighbors to the north again as I update a recent project and show off some Canadian collectibles.

Let's start with my Dave Stieb O-Pee-Chee base card run that was kicked off a few weeks ago when Angus sent me four of Stieb's thirteen cards.

I found a seller on Sportlots who had five more for 20¢ each:

1987 O-Pee-Chee #90

1985 O-Pee-Chee #240

1984 O-Pee-Chee #134

1983 O-Pee-Chee #130

1982 O-Pee-Chee #380

With these in hand, I'm down to needing only his 1989 to 1992 O-Pee-Chee singles (which I purchased on Sportlots earlier today).

I'm debating on whether or not to complete Stieb's entire Topps base card run, which is identical to his O-Pee-Chee except for the addition of a 1993 Topps single.

Speaking of Angus, I wanted to highlight the final pieces of his December care package.  Let's start off with another Stieb:

1985 O-Pee-Chee Poster #22

These posters were inserted into packs of 1985 O-Pee-Chee baseball and are slightly smaller than a 5x7 print.

Next up is an 80's postcard featuring Youppi:

1988 Montreal Expos Photocards #NNO

There's no date printed on this postcard, but I found this image on TCDB.  Youppi was the official mascot of the Montreal Expos from 1979 to 2004.  When the Expos packed up and moved to DC, Youppi switched sports and became the Montreal Canadians mascot.

The final item he gave me is this really cool stamp booklet:

2019 Canadian Stamp Book

This is the view of the back and cover.  Here's a look at the stamps:

These are flippin' awesome.  Back in the Summer of 2013, my parents and I took a two week trip up to Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia.  Vancouver left a great impression on me and my father.  We had talked a few times about going back up, but it never happened.  This stamp booklet is a nice reminder of one of my favorite travel destinations.  I'll be adding it to my small, yet sentimental stamp collection.

Last, but not least is a single O-Pee-Chee Empire Strikes Back card from John over at Johnny's Trading Spot:

1981 O-Pee-Chee Star Wars ESB #74

The Empire Strikes Back is my favorite movie from the original trilogy and this card captures one of the best scenes.  

I'm a big fan of Vader's bounty hunters... especially Boba Fett.

Like Angus... John has inspired me to track down more of my favorite singles from this set.  I haven't actually pulled the trigger and won any cards, but when I do... I'm sure it'll end up in a post.

Thank you Angus and John!

Here is today's question of the day:

Have you ever vacationed in Canada?  If so, do you have a favorite vacation spot north of the border?

If you live in Canada, have you ever vacationed in the United States?  Do you have a favorite vacation spot south of the border?

I look forward to reading and responding to your comments.

Happy Monday and sayonara!