Remember how, in a previous post, I wrote about the lack of souvenir keychains in gift shops? Well apparently, there's at least one place where souvenir keychains can still be found in abundance, and that's Ocean City, New Jersey. My best friend and I took an 'extended weekend' trip there near the end of July, and I came back with over half a dozen keychains for my collection.
My best friend bought this first keychain for me as a gift. I was eyeing it at one of the shops on the Boardwalk. But because it was the first day of the trip, I was trying to decide whether I should just buy it then or wait and see if I could find it cheaper elsewhere. My friend must've gotten tired of waiting for me to make up my mind, because she offered to buy it for me. The turtle itself is made from wood and has the words "Ocean City" painted on the underside.
This next group of keychains came from a shop on Asbury Avenue called Hoy's 5&10.
I first learned about 5&10, or five-and-dime, stores in my grade school social studies textbook. I don't know whether the store in Ocean City actually dates back to the 'golden age' of five-and-dimes. But I did realize that, due to inflation, there wouldn't be anything in the store for five or ten cents at the store. However, because there's a chain of stores in my area called Five Below (where everything for sale is five dollars or less) I thought that maybe the 5&10 in the name had been updated to mean five and ten dollars. I was wrong in that assumption. There were a number of things for sale at Hoy's 5&10 that were over ten dollars. Actually, this lot of three keychains ended up costing me over ten dollars. But honestly, where was I ever going to find that noodle bowl keychain again in the United States. And as the previous keychain featured in this post demonstrates, I have a real fondness for turtle design keychains. The black shell with the rainbow-colored floral design is actually a coin purse, made from two shells that had been painted black and stitched to a zipper.
This record player keychain, or 'turntable' as it's called on the packaging, is from the World's Coolest line by Super Impulse. Record players, like typewriters and VHS tapes, are 'old school' technology, and have received renewed attention in recent years. The resurgence of these items in popular culture has genuinely piqued my interest, since I fondly remember such things from my childhood. In my keychain collection, I categorize these and similar items as 'retro tech', the word retro meaning inspired by or imitating the recent past. I plan on devoting a blog post to the subject at some point.
I was looking at the 'turntable' keychain in a store called Kay Jay's Doll Shoppe, but I put it back because I thought the price was a little high for one keychain. I was also feeling guilty for spending over ten dollars on keychains at Hoy's 5&10. My best friend bought the record player for me when I wasn't looking, then handed me the bag after we left the store. I replaced the original metal clip on the keychain with a split ring after getting home from vacation, because I'm nitpicky like that.
I found this seashell keychain for sale at a candy shop on the Boardwalk. Now, the thing I've noticed about seashells is that they can be fragile. Shells with thinner walls can easily crack or crush. So when I looked through the basket of shell keychains at the store, I made sure to pick one that not only looked interesting, but also had decently thick walls. Hopefully this will make it more durable.
This dolphin keychain came from a 'dollar store', also located on the Boardwalk. The store had a similar keychain with a sea turtle design that I was considering buying. However, the sea turtle seemed to have a rather unpleasant expression, while the dolphins looked much more cheerful. And I do have the same soft spot for dolphins that I have for turtles.
I think I was drawn to this last keychain because it's made to be three collectibles in one. First off, it's a souvenir keychain. Secondly, it's a collectable souvenir spoon. And thirdly, it can function as a bottle opener, thanks to the way the back is shaped. Not only that, but there's a 'spinner' element at the top as well.
In spite of the impressive number of keychains that I brought home, there were a few I saw that I'm wishing I'd picked up. Hoy's 5&10 had a clearance priced keychain showing the Ocean City Music Pier. The Music Pier happened to be right near the Boardwalk entrance that my friend and I always used, because it was the entrance closest to our hotel. There was also another keychain I saw at one of the Boardwalk shops that had a quote on it about how the sand and the salt water would wash away but the memories would last forever, or something like that. I really should have bought it, since I liked it so much and since it wasn't that expensive. But I was feeling guilty again for already buying so many keychains on the trip.
Of course, collectors often think about 'the ones that got away'. It's one of the factors that drives them to keep collecting. I hope that you enjoyed seeing what I got on my trip. And to any other keychain collectors out there, I wish you luck on your own collecting journeys.
Signed, Treesa
I found this seashell keychain for sale at a candy shop on the Boardwalk. Now, the thing I've noticed about seashells is that they can be fragile. Shells with thinner walls can easily crack or crush. So when I looked through the basket of shell keychains at the store, I made sure to pick one that not only looked interesting, but also had decently thick walls. Hopefully this will make it more durable.
This dolphin keychain came from a 'dollar store', also located on the Boardwalk. The store had a similar keychain with a sea turtle design that I was considering buying. However, the sea turtle seemed to have a rather unpleasant expression, while the dolphins looked much more cheerful. And I do have the same soft spot for dolphins that I have for turtles.
I think I was drawn to this last keychain because it's made to be three collectibles in one. First off, it's a souvenir keychain. Secondly, it's a collectable souvenir spoon. And thirdly, it can function as a bottle opener, thanks to the way the back is shaped. Not only that, but there's a 'spinner' element at the top as well.
In spite of the impressive number of keychains that I brought home, there were a few I saw that I'm wishing I'd picked up. Hoy's 5&10 had a clearance priced keychain showing the Ocean City Music Pier. The Music Pier happened to be right near the Boardwalk entrance that my friend and I always used, because it was the entrance closest to our hotel. There was also another keychain I saw at one of the Boardwalk shops that had a quote on it about how the sand and the salt water would wash away but the memories would last forever, or something like that. I really should have bought it, since I liked it so much and since it wasn't that expensive. But I was feeling guilty again for already buying so many keychains on the trip.
Of course, collectors often think about 'the ones that got away'. It's one of the factors that drives them to keep collecting. I hope that you enjoyed seeing what I got on my trip. And to any other keychain collectors out there, I wish you luck on your own collecting journeys.
Signed, Treesa
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