Awesome Stuff I Miss

I miss Cinnaburst Gum

Cinnaburst gum had these flavor crystals that made your gum crunch. It sounds gross but it wasn't. Cinnaburst was awesome. It had a milder sweeter cinnamon flavor than big red. Big red is OK but Cinnaburst was awesome. One day I stopped seeing it stores. Years afterward I occasionally would see it in gas stations on road trips and always stock up even though I suspected it was probably really old. Cinnaburst also had a mint version called mint a burst. It was also pretty good. Whoever made this gum needs to bring it back already!

I miss Peanut Butter Candy Crunch at Baskin Robbins

Back in the day Baskin Robbins had this seasonal ice cream called Peanut Butter Candy Crunch and my Mom loved it so much she would buy pints of it. Whenever it was around we got ice cream more. I usually ordered it too because it was goo-oo-ood! It had ribbons of peanut butter and candy pieces. Sadly one day it just vanished and has yet to come back, while vastly inferior flavors stuck around. I am talking to you Daiquiri Ice. Daiquiri Ice What the ... is that! It's been like 25 years but I am still holding a torch for the Peanut Butter Candy Crunch. Bring it on back! Oh and speaking of Ice Cream,

I miss Ice cream Parlors that are Destinations

I miss those old fashioned ice cream parlors where you could have a full on birthday party. They would have drums coming out of the walls or trains singing a birthday song and a pink and green color scheme with dark wood paneling and wire chairs shaped to look like hearts. The one I remember had a huge candy section with gigantic swirly lollipops and jars full of gumballs and stuff. I have heard these were making a comeback but not near me. I can't imagine being a kid today and having a party at some boring frozen yogurt to go place with 2 mismatched wobbly tables smooshed together. Weaksauce!

I miss Big Wheels

Nowadays every time you turn on the news they talk about childhood obesity and the fattening of America. I don't remember ever hearing about this growing up and it's not like 80's children never ever consumed any sugar. (See all of the above stuff I miss) The whole childhood obesity epidemic came directly after one thing. The introduction of those powered wheel cars where kids would just sit in them and they would drive you around. Back in the day you had to actually pedal your big wheel and burn calories. I can't believe I am the only person who has ever made this correlation. Maybe someone should give me a Nobel Prize for this observation or something, because that would look good on my resume and I need all the help I can get. I guess the big evil toy corporations are trying to keep their secret from getting out.

I miss Sit'n'Spins

I don't have any kids yet so I don't know if these are still around but I haven't seen any at Target or anything. Anyway the sit'n'spin was pretty much the best toy made ever in the history of the world. The whole goal was to get on and spin until you got sick or tired of spinning. I never got sick. You were the one who actually spun using your arms again burning calories. The faster you moved them the faster you went the goal being to fall over or try and get your sit'n'spin to magically hover somehow. If they made sit'n'spns today they would probably put some lame motor in them and make them go really slow so no one would ever get sick, fall over, or have any actual fun. That way the big corporate toy company wouldn't get sued.

I miss hippity hops

I never had one of these; I only occasionally rode my friends. I miss them though. Are they still made? My kids are going to have awesome toys. That's all I'm saying.

I miss Chicken Littles

I have waxed nostalgic about these on another lens but that won't stop me from doing it here as well. Chicken Littles were these mini sandwiches that Kentucky Fried Chicken had around 1987. The double down sandwich probably has nothing on how addicting they were. They were drenched in mayo with no bothersome veggies to get in the way, Plus they were small so you would eat like 6 or maybe 47 at a time. There was just something super addicting about these that make me crave them to this day.

I miss the old school Taco Bells

I miss the old school brick mission style taco bells with a bell on top of the building and those funky 60's looking umbrella tables out front. I don't know why I just do. You still see the buildings around but they are never actually a taco bell. They are always an Indian restaurant or something.

I miss the old Kentucky Fried Chicken Signs

Remember when they were a bucket on a pole. How come you hardly ever see that anymore?

I miss the goofy side of the county fair

I miss the goofy side of the county fair where they had stuff like world's smallest horse or world's largest pig. I don't miss human sideshows because they are mean and my fair never had them, but I do miss the corny animal ones because they were fun to mock. I remember standing around as kids saying "who goes to these and I bet they are totally fake" then getting bored and paying the money to actually see the world's smallest horse. I also miss the days when the rides would play classic rock. I forever associate the song slow ride with getting smushed on the Petersburger Sleigh Ride. Everytime I rode that it would be playing without fail. Nowadays the music they play sucks. Songs about owning and renting out women just don't do it for me.

I miss smaller movie theatres

Remember back in the days when you and your friends would go to the movies and you would always see your other friends waiting in line for the same movie? and remember when their was actual parking near the theatre and you didn't have to get their an hour early just to be able to get popcorn and a halfway decent seat, and when the stuff on the screen wasn't some obvious commercial with an obnoxious fake star you have never heard of before (Named like Demi Lobotomy or something) but instead was a slideshow of really easy trivia and factoids about some guy who wrote an entire novel without using the letter e? Remember when the theatre wasn't filled with random kids running and screaming all over the lobby, making you wonder when exactly your small town turned into Los Angeles? Yeah that was awesome.

I miss comedies with heart

Raunchy movies are funny and all but whatever happened to those comedies that made you care about the characters and feel good afterwards. When did those kind of movies disappear? Movies lately are of the either super depressing I want an oscar variety or some crappy horror movie like saw 29 or raunchy or full of explosions and not plot. I miss fun movies and comedies with heart.

I miss Flaky Flix

Flaky Flix were the best variety of Mother's cookie brand cookies and I never see them anymore. They were delicious chocolate wafers with corn flakes on them. You can have those overrated pink frosted circus animal cookies I want my Flaky Flix!

I miss the old Wendy's table tops

I remember going to Wendy's as a kid and the tables were covered in these reproductions of old sears catalogs with goofy products like Penny Farthing Bicycles and hoop skirt enlargers, and mustache grooming kits. Even though I had seen them before reading them was a fun way to spend the time while you waited for your mom to bring you your food.

I miss Mervyn's and Long's Drugs

I hate it when the stores I grew up with close down. It makes me feel old. Plus Mervyns always had a good clearance section.

I miss Trader Joes Blintzes

Trader Joes used to have these Trader Joe brand blintzes that were so good. They stopped carrying them a few years ago and now all they have are these nasty diet ones. I keep hoping they will come back but they never do. Bring Back my Blintzes Trader Joes!

I miss Oreo Big Stuff

They were giant oreos. You could pack one with lunch and be satisfied. The jingle was sung along to the 60's some Mr. Big Stuff. Now I can't hear that song without craving a giant oreo. The only thing more awesome would have been an oreo big stuff with doublestuff!

I miss defunct Amusement Park Rides

I miss The Edge at Great America and those weird rotating bird cage things. I miss Disneyland's sky buckets, the pirate ship, the Mike Fink Keel Boats, Tom saywers non pirate island, Adventure thru Innerspace and the Country Bear Jamboree. I also miss the stuff I never had a chance to ride experience like The Carousel of Progress, America Sings and the Original Golden Horseshoe Review.

I miss Bob's Big Boy

I know these are making a comeback in L.A., but I never go there anymore. They need to come back to Northern California already, and bring back the goofy comic book. The Big Boy Comics were the only ones I ever read because they were free. I thing somebody needs to make Big Boy Comics the movie already!

There is still More stuff I miss so check below!

New York Seltzers

I miss drinking these circa 1988 and peeling the styrafoam label. The object was to get the label to peel off in the longest stripe possible. I saw them again a year or so ago at Big Lots, bought a ton for the nostalgia factor and have yet to see them again. Stupid Big Lots getting my hopes up.

Nut Tree

The Nut Tree was an overpriced restaurant/tourist trap everyone stopped at on the way to Tahoe. It had an airport, a train, a playground, and of course an overpriced gift shop. It was one of those places my parents would call a tourist trap and rip off but still totally take us to so we could run around. Now it's a boring shopping center with a Bed Bath and Beyond that looks like every other boring shopping center across America. Ooh a Barnes and Noble next to a Walmart next to a Taco Bell. What a totally unique roadside experience, I'm so glad we drove this far.

When the Muppets were awesome

I am a fan of the Muppets from the first few movies, the original Muppet show and Sesame Street when Sesame Street was cool. (Though I always found Big Bird patronizing, even as a kid. Shut up bird don't tell me what to do I am going to go hang out with Oscar the grouch.) Now you never hear about the count or Statler and Waldorf, Oscar the Grouch, Grover, Janis, or Rizzo the Rat. All you hear about is Elmo. I hate Elmo. He's screechy and annoying and his only message for kids seems to be. Yes the world revolves around you! How many times when I was a kid did I hear the words The world does not revolve around you, life is not fair now go clean your room. When did exactly did these sayings become extinct?

Pogoball

It was a Saturn looking ball you jumped on that was all the rage in 1988. It was a good way to burn off all that junk food energy you had stored up from your diet of Oreo Bigstuffs and Chicken Littles washed down with a New York Seltzer or some 7up Gold.

Tabletop Arcade Games

All of the rich kids had one of these circa 1983 and they would bring them to school to gloat. I never had one and I still want one but they are crazy expensive on ebay. My parents should have bought me one. It would have been an investment!

Scratch N Sniff Stickers

Do they still make these? I especially remember the little round ones and the ones that were fake products.

Trapper Keepers

They do make a newer version of these but I want the old school 80's version with like a kitten and unicorn sitting in a hot air balloon on the outside. I would cover parts of it with vintage scratch and sniff and puffy stickers then I would totally take it on job interviews and pull my resume from it. If they don't hire me then I would be better off because who wants to work at a place that doesn't appreciate the awesomeness of a trapper keeper. These are also expensive on ebay. I should have kept all of mine.

The gift Bags at Sanrio Stores

Yes there are still Sanrio stores but now they are crazy expensive places with Hello Kitty purses for 80 bucks. What? Back in the day they had these gift bags for 5$ and if you were lucky you would get some erasers, a puffy pencil box, some pens, some shoelaces, some hair barettes and a purse. All in one bag. There were also boy versions of the bags but I don't remember what was in them. I think they were full of Tuxedo Sam erasers because Tuxedo Sam was supposed to be the Sanrio character for the boys.

Sassy Magazine

The best teen magazine ever magazine actually told teenage girls that we were worth something. It's a wonder it lasted as long as it did.

Bakers Square

What I miss most about Baker's Square are the pies. Especially the candy cane pie. Last Christmas was my first one without it and the substitute we got was weak. Please someone somewhere put the real recipe up on the internet!

When Roller rinks played good music

I've been having foot problems so I can't go skate right now but the last time I went skating all they played was rap. It wasn't even the type of rap where they at least stole from a song that had a melody, this was the rap with no melody, harmony, or resemblance to music. You cannot skate to rap. If you own a roller rink maybe have an adult night that plays 80's. Then you will make money.

Loco Stix

These were these awesome giant cheesy taquito things that Costco had for one week when I was in college. I bought some loved them went back for more but they were gone. I never saw them again.

Icee Juicy

Frozen Triangles of fruity awesomeness, I originally became aware of these when they were the dessert portion of my school lunch. Right after the Hot Diggity Dog or Poor Boy Sandwhich. (Why yes I did have a lunch ticket and a Mom who wasn't that into packing me a lunch everyday, why do you ask?)

Goldrush Bars

These were chocolate covered ice cream bars with caramel inside. They were so good. Another good ice cream treat were the smaller chocolate covered rondos.

The Old Disney Channel

From time to time we would get the Disney Channel for free and Back in the Day it actually had Disney stuff on it. As in actual Disney movies, old Disney TV Shows and the original Disney Cartoons. Sometimes that stuff would even actually feature this guy named Walt. How crazy is that? Why would you want to have someone with the last name Disney be on the Disney Channel when you could show nothing but reruns of really bad kids TV shows featuring the annoying daughter of an annoying one hit wonder mulleted country music star. Bring back Mousterpiece Theatre and Donald Duck Presents!

When Flying was cool

Remember when they gave you a deck of cards when you flew and if it was your first time you went up to the cockpit and got a pin with wings on them. Me neither, but I do remember my sister would come to visit and she got pins with wings on them and cards that said Western Airlines or TWA on them. I was so jealous. I wish I could go back in time and live in the Catch Me if You Can era.

Bianca

Do they still make this minty spray for smokers? Circa 1988 It was really popular with non smoking 13 year olds who wore bright purple Zinka on their noses, to match their checkered fake ray ban sunglasses.

Winchells donuts

I have never lived near a Krispy Kreme or a Dunkin Donuts. The only donut chain I remember is Winchell's, with it's big yellow rounded triangle signs. Are there any left? Not near me.

Showbiz Pizza and Bullwinkle's

Showbiz pizza I liked better than Chuck E. Cheese. I only went to a Bullwinkle's once but that was fun too.

Pudding Pops
He ate tons of these back in the day. I always thought they were a little overrated because they had weird skin on them and I would only eat them when we had no other frozen treats around.

Push up pops

He also loved these, but they were too fruity and yogurty for me.

Defunct Sodas

He loved Crystal Pepsi, Surge, 7up Gold and every other soda that lasted about five minutes.

Jack N The Box Cheesesteaks

Don't ask me. Ask him.

Abba Zabba Chocolate flavor.

These were nasty but regular white Abba Zabbas are awesome.

The McLean Deluxe
I am not sure I ever actually tried one but I don't miss these. Also the Arch deluxe or McArch or whatever. Then again I am really not a big McDonalds fan. When I was a kid I tried some chicken McNuggets on a car trip and later got sick. I didn't eat them for another 8 years.

Howard Johnson's
I have seen a lot of those nostalgia shows on the travel channel where people go on and on about how they used to get ice cream on road trips at Howard Johnsons. I don't think I have ever seen a Howard Johnson's with an orange roof and a restaurant. In fact I have never seen a Howard Johnson's that wasn't a motel. I am sorry Travel Channel people not everyone's trip to Grandma memories involve a boring hotel chain. Often they involve eating at Andersen's and getting some split pea soup and a green crayon.

The whole trend of wearing your backpack with only one strap

Maybe this is why my back hurts, though I don't care one way or he other if the wearing overalls with one strap unbuckled comes back or not.

Pogs
I never collected pogs. I think I was a little old for them. I did however have a ton of Grabage pail kids back in the day.