Top 5 Things For Sale at Corpus Christi in the 80s

Previously:

Sam Houston Statue Gift Shop

Texas Treasures Store  - -  Alamo Gift Shop

The Legend of Billie Jean was a teenage rebel movie that was smack dab in the 80s.  It was released in 1985 and takes place (and was filmed in) in the Corpus Christi/Padre Island area.  Helen Slater stars as a well meaning teen who (after an unfortunate chain of events) has taken just about as much crap as she's gonna take and goes on the run from the law with her friends and kid brother.

According to IMDb, the entire film was shot on existing practical locations so you get a good look at that area of Texas in the 80s.  And since the kids always need provisions, you also get a good look at some of the old products that were on the shelves at the time.

So instead of the usual gift shop browsing I thought I'd take a look at what I thought were the Top Five Things For Sale in the movie...or rather the Top 5 Things For Sale Corpus Christi in the 80s.

5.  Gasoline

Any rebellious road trip requires frequent fuel stops.  Movies like these can be snapshots into the culture of the time and one of the things I always keep an eye out for is gas prices.  In the movie gas clocks in at $1.05 per gallon, which seems a little high for '85 but South Padre is a tourist spot so things can get a little pricey.

4.  Almost Home Cookies

Like a lot of discontinued food items, Almost Home Cookies have a bit of an online following.  They were billed as a "homemade" style cookies and were one of the first "soft baked" cookies on the market.  A lot of people forget about the stranglehold that crispy cookies used to have on the market and these were meant to push back against that crunchy agenda.

3.  G.I. Joe Solid State Deluxe Walkie Talkies

This must have been product placement because these babies get a nice close up.  The gang needed to communicate with each other and in 1985 you needed a wheelbarrow to carry around what passed for a cell phone so walkies were the next best thing.  Like most kids of that era, they came in handy when outwitting authority figures.  Another great character touch in the film is the I.O.Us the gang left behind when they needed to "acquire" supplies...so, ya know...they mean well.
 
 2.  LaserDisc Players

The Lasers Disc format came and went in what seemed like a hurry.  People will swear that they were only around for a year or two but they actually hung on for several years and made an appearance in the movie.  Billie Jean and friends essentially invent social media by recording messages on a "Betamovie" camera and sending them to the media, thereby gaining "followers" of their exploits.  So maybe Laser Discs and Beta tapes weren't particularly prophetic but people's reactions and the cultural influence of self-created media definitely was. 

1.  Matchbox City Garage  

I guess Matchbox didn't have deep pockets like Hasbro because these things were stuck in the background.  For a young boy in the mid 80s there was nothing better than rolling your toy cars around a beauty like this.  Hot Wheels had a similar model but the City Garage has a little more charm if you ask me.

Honorable Mention:  These Wig Holders

These things caught my eye and while they're not technically for sale (the wigs are though) I thought I'd give them a participation trophy.  Mainly because they reminded my of the neck work done by stretchy superheroes like Plastic Man and Mr. Fantastic from the Fantastic Four.  I've seen plastic heads that hold wigs before but never the stretchy neck variety.  And now you've seen them too.

So that's a lot of nice finds for a movie I had never heard of until a few months ago.  Surprises are nice but surprises involving laser discs, G.I. Joe and cheap gas are the best.

Bug Bites

The Houston Museum of Natural Science has everything you want in a natural history museum.  Fossils, rocks, interactive displays, rotating exhibits...and all the dinosaurs you stare at.

But it was when I was on my way out that I discovered something truly unique.  Near the gift shop is this unassuming vending machine:

Sure, it looks like the average treat dispenser but if you take a closer look you'll see a menu of science specific snacks and borderline gross grub.  Let's start with some of the more traditional fare.  And what's more at home at a museum than dinosaurs?

Gummi bears are replaced with Gummi Dinosaurs but the real find here is the top row.  Choc-o-saurus is a combination of two museum staples: dinosaurs and freeze dried ice cream!  It's chocolate with chocolate chips and, while eating it, you have the option to pretend like you're an astronaut or a extinct predator who loves dehydrated food.

Larvets!  Wondering if these things are what they look like?  Well, here's the explanation directly from their website: "Real larva, deliciously seasoned. Offered in three flavors: BBQ, Cheddar Cheese, or Mexican Spice."  And that's not enough bugs to satisfy your appetite, then good news...

Here we've got "Crick-ettes." which are, you guessed it, real crickets.  These are Bacon & Cheese flavor but they also come in Salt N' Vinegar and Sour Cream & Onion.  And if you're still hungry for bugs, you can also grab some Ant Wafers!  It's essentially what it sounds like: "Real ants in chocolate flavored round wafers."

Have you ever eaten hard candy and thought to yourself, "I wish this had ants in it."  Then you should have picked #56 or #57 from this vending machine.  You get the option of either Cherry or Apple flavor, both with Black Ants of course.

For our final selections we head to outer space for Alien Ice Cream.  This another freeze dried ice cream and is your standard Neapolitan flavor but it's either made by or eaten by Aliens.  Or maybe there's just one on the package.  Or you can have a Moon Pie!  Get it?  "Moon"

So the next time you head out to the museum, bring some change and an adventurous appetite.

Top 5 Items for Sale at the Alamo Gift Shop

When you visit the Texas Holy Land you're going to want a keepsake to take home with you.  "Remember the Alamo" isn't a request, it's an order.  And to do that you'll need to hit the gift shop.  Don't worry though, like all gift shops, the Alamo shop is easy to find.

 
While perusing the merchandise you might have difficulty acquiring just the right tchotchke for your mantle or cubicle.  After all, you're probably all jacked up on Texas while on the premises.  To make it easier, we've picked out a few items that stood out on a recent visit.

Top 10 lists are too hard so here are the Top 5 Items for Sale at the Alamo Gift Shop:

5.  These Metal Mug Type Things:

I don't know if there is a specific name for this type of old timey metal mugs and I'm not sure why they appeal to me so much but...just look at them!  I want to hold one by a camp fire and drink mead out of it.  Or coffee.  Or Kool Aid.  Anything really.  The only downside is that they were about $40 a pop.  For that amount of dough I'll probably take my mead in a paper cup.

4.  Frontier Rifle Pen:

If this doesn't just scream "ALAMO" then I don't know what does.  We don't like to admit that most gift shops have items that can be found in any other gift shop at any other attraction in the country.  But this pen BELONGS in the Alamo gift shop.  It just flat out belongs there!  Plus it's functional:  you can write stuff with it and whatnot. 

3.  "Come and Take It" Needlepoint

The "Come and Take It" slogan may have started with the American Revolution but it also has a strong association with the Texas Revolution.  Add in the DIY needlepoint aspect and you end up with something not just distinctly American but also uniquely Texan. 

2.  Cartridge Candy

Keeping within the firearm genre (this is Texas after all), we have what may be the only historically educational candy that I've ever seen:  Cartridge Candy!  Kids can fill their musket mouths the old fashioned way.  The only thing I'm cautious about is the ambiguity of whether you get a "gum ball" or "candy ball."  Either way, it's fine but surely you'd like to know exactly what you're getting into snack-wise.

1.  Coonskin Caps

If, after a visit to the Alamo, you don't want to buy a coonskin cap and wear it around the River Walk for the rest of the day then I don't want to know you.