Sesame Place Souvenir Keychains (A Story Post)

 Before my in person meet-up with keychain collecting, email pen pal Heathersmoo in July of 2022, which I previously wrote about on this blog, I’d only ever been to Sesame Place once in my life. Though, no doubt like countless other children of my generation, I was practically raised on PBS, Sesame Street and Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood in particular. I made my first ever visit to Sesame Place on a Girl Scout trip, and though my memories of the excursion are pretty hazy, there’s one detail that still stands out in my mind. I was standing on the edge of the ball pit, preparing to jump in, when the employee in charge ordered me to take off my shoes first. Being a sensitive child, I thought the employee was angry and was yelling at me, and I got scared. Crying, I ran back to my dad, who was acting as my chaperone on the trip. I didn’t tell him what was wrong however. I guess I was afraid that he would be mad at me too, if I told him that the person in charge of the ball pit was angry at me. I did refuse to go back to the ball pit though. Since that’s my clearest memory from the trip, I’m guessing the rest of the day wasn’t all that memorable in comparison.

I didn’t get any keychains on that particular outing. I was still rather young at the time, and I don’t think I was actively collecting yet.

You may therefore be wondering how I ended up with several Sesame Place keychains in my collection, especially since that time I went in my childhood was so traumatic for me. I think I bought the first one in an attempt to let go of the memory and put the experience behind me. I guess I wanted to prove to myself that I’d gotten over it. I bought the second keychain, I believe, because I’d forgotten that I’d already picked up a Sesame Place keychain for my collection.

As for the Sesame Place nail clippers keychain, I bought that at a flea market because I was amused by what I saw as an odd combination of elements. Sesame Place is a locale typically associated with young children, while nail clippers are more commonly perceived as something for adults. So to be honest, I’m not really sure why this keychain exists. I don’t know what the attached little keys were originally for either. They just came with the keychain.

Anyway, as far as Sesame Place goes, I guess this Story Post sort of serves to close a chapter for me. Given the cost of park tickets, and the fact that there are far fewer attractions at Sesame Place that can accommodate older guests (unlike at the Disney theme parks), I'm not planning on revisiting by myself anytime soon. Even though I love theme park gift shops with exclusive, licensed merchandise more than I probably should.

Signed, Treesa

Package From Heathersmoo: Mothman and Buc-ee

 I mentioned in “Part 2” of my “In Person Meet-Up With Heathersmoo” post that Heather promised to send me a souvenir keychain from the Mothman Museum in Point Pleasant. I originally planned to upload a follow-up post, showing off the Mothman keychain I received, long before now. Unfortunately, time got away from me, and my Key Chains Advent Calendar opening ended up taking over my posting schedule. Sorry, Heather. I really am grateful to you for thinking of me. Anyway, here’s the Mothman keychain that Heather sent.

Not only did Heather make a point of asking me what type of Mothman keychain I would like, but she also sent me a link to the Mothman Museum website, so that I could browse their inventory. I told Heather that, if possible, I would prefer a keychain with the actual name of the museum on it. As you can see, Heather didn’t fail to deliver.

Heather also sent me a Buc-ee’s keychain in the same package. I’d never heard of the Buc-ee’s store chain before meeting Heather, which isn’t that surprising considering the chain was founded in Texas and doesn’t seem to have much of a foothold in the northern United States. However, when Heather attempted to describe the awesomeness of Buc-ee’s to me, the impression I got was of a convenience store and an old-fashioned soda counter and a tacky tourist shop all rolled into one.

The last thing in Heather’s package was this ‘lucky penny’. We made a stop at Sesame Place the day of our in person meet-up, and as we were walking around I happened to find a penny on the ground that someone must’ve dropped. Over time, I’ve developed a pretty good eye for spotting dropped change. Anyway, I gave the penny to Heather, telling her that maybe it would bring her good luck. Apparently she wanted to return the favor, and according to her note she had a friend help her scout around for a lost penny to send to me.

I want to apologize to Heather, again, for getting this post up so late. I also haven’t forgotten that I still owe you a few other posts, and I want you to know that I am working on them. Better late than never, right?

Signed, Treesa

Key Chains Advent Calendar, Day 24 (2022)

Christmastime is here, and we’re wrapping up my “Key Chains Advent Calendar” opening with Day 24’s contribution…

…another avocado. Although similar to the avocado keychain received on Day 4, there are enough differences to tell the two apart. For example, today’s avocado has arms as well as legs. It also lacks the pink under-eyes/cheeks that Day 4’s avocado had, not to mention there’s a color difference in the ‘flesh’ area around the pit.

Signed, Treesa

Key Chains Advent Calendar, Day 23 (2022)

With my “Key Chains Advent Calendar” opening soon coming to a close, Day 23 gifts us with…

…a sitting duck. Seriously, it’s just a plain, generic duck, but cute.

Signed, Treesa

Key Chains Advent Calendar, Day 22 (2022)

 It’s Day 22 of my “Key Chains Advent Calendar” opening, and the countdown to Christmas is in full swing. Today’s keychain is…

…a teddy bear ice cream cone. I’m guessing it’s a chocolate bear.

Signed, Treesa

Key Chains Advent Calendar, Day 21 (2022)

 My “Key Chains Advent Calendar” opening is the gift that keeps on giving, and the gift for Day 21 is…

…another dinosaur keychain. The design is a little different from the dinosaur I received on Day 10, and the color scheme is also noticeably different. But the spikes running down the back and tail were similar enough that I had to visually check if this was a duplicate or not.

Signed, Treesa

Key Chains Advent Calendar, Day 20 (2022)

 Coming into the home stretch now, it’s Day 20 of my “Key Chains Advent Calendar” opening. And behind door number 20 we have…

…a hamburger with lettuce, cheese and tomato on a sesame seed bun, and no face. It’s become rare to get a food item keychain in this calendar that doesn’t have an odd, cartoon face on it.

Signed, Treesa