Haddonfield: A Treasure Trove of Champions and Dinosaurs

As we rode the PATCO line back to Philly, Kerri and I flicked through our pictures and thought back to what had just happened. I rifled through my adventure bag, marveling at all the cool gear I had come to possess. "That place was for champions. It was a town where champions live," I realized. She agreed, "That place was a treasure trove." We were both right....But, I'm getting ahead of myself. Maybe I'll just start at the beginning and, when I get to the end, stop.

Kerri had enlisted me a day or two before. She is a photographer and had made plans to meet up with another photographer to help out with a shoot. Kerri informed me that this girl would be picking us up from the train station and there was a good chance we would be kidnapped. I informed her that "Might Get Kidnapped" was my middle name. I was on board.

As Andrew mentioned before: the adventure starts with the gear. Here's how I do things:



Checklist: Wallet (Dragon), Water Bottle (Dragons/Samurai), Book (Good), Notepad (Decoy), Notepad (Real), Keys, Gum, Adventure Journal (Dragon), Kit (Survival [Closed]), Kit (Survival [Open]), Chapstick, Kit (Mending), Bones (Crazy), Sack (Hackey), Charger, Pod (i), Threads (to the 9's), Cursory glance at Nephew (Dragon) and Calendar (Dragon being attacked with Hammer--good omen).

All of this gets stuffed into the Dedicated Adventure Bag. Yea, I'm an Edgar Allen Poe Historical Site junior ranger; don't worry about it. (How did I get so much dragon stuff? I promise, most of those things are gifts. I go to Drexel. It's gonna happen.)

So, the day begins like any other. Kerri and I almost drown on the way into the city to catch the PATCO line to Haddonfield. Our intention had been to walk down to 16th and hop on the train, but by 30th it was abundantly clear that the rain was just not having that scheme. In the time it had taken us to walk the four blocks to the El, we had become soaked to the bone. We ducked into Slainte, the Irish pub across the street from the train station, got change for a 20, purchased a few tokens, and traveled the rest of the way on the subterranean transit system.

When we got off, the sky had chilled the eff out and the sun was starting to burn through the clouds. Needless to say, we were like "Yes." As we cut down Broad to find the PATCO stop, I saw something attached to a newsstand.


It appeared to be a crazy awesome wind chime. But, it was much more than that. There was a note attached that was pleased to inform me that I had found a Ben's Bell. I read the note:

"You have found a Ben's Bell.
Take it home, hang it in your yard, and remember to spread kindness throughout our world."

Nice. Ben's Bell get. So yea, I gain like 70 XP and we move along. We run into some construction that looks fun and sounds scary, and then we cruise over to Jersey.

When we arrive, we are promptly kidnapped and taken to Pennypacker Park. Carly, the photographer we are meeting, shows us her mask trunk and gives Kerri a particular mask that rules. They go to take pictures with what is possibly the most amazing old-school camera ever (Carly used a cloak to cover up the the camera while focusing and taking the picture, just like they did back in the day.)






I hang out, watch the geese, and read Tank Girl. After they wrap up the shoot, we ask Carly about Haddonfield. She tells us the backstory: you can read about it in any reputable source of information.

Haddonfield is a town named after its founder and initial monarch Haddy, the Hadrosaurus. He was a fearless leader who turned a small village into the powerful city-state it is today. He would frequently settle disputes by simply eating people. Most of the cooler churches in town were built under his instruction. His metallic, mummified remains still creep around the corner of this one alley and frighten children. He was a prankster and a bandit. Everybody loved him.



We run around Haddy's stomping ground for a while and see what manner of town a dinosaur is capable of. It was amazing. All towns should be run by dinosaurs. We don't get far before I see an emerald green ukelele in the window of a violin shop. We pop in and I buy it.

We walk a little further down and encounter the cutest kittens EVER (and I'm almost certain I can prove that with basic algebra and game theory). There was a store called Jamaican Me Crazy. Inside, we find nesting dolls in the form of Ninjas, Robots, and Dinosaurs. We run into a toy store called the Happy Hippo, set up their toy train set and barely manage to stop ourselves from buying everything. We find an awesome fireplace in this one skateshop. We devour chocolate-covered Oreos from The Candy Buffet. We explore a clock shop were I impress the owner with my knowledge that "Tempus Fugit" means "Time Flies" and that I know this from reading up on the Clock King in Batman.

Ok, clearly we were on the main street with all the coolest shops. But we also snuck down a few of the weird alleys and around this one church. We solved a few mysteries and contemplated breaking into a barbershop, but it was time to go. We walked back to the train station.

Haddonfield blew our minds. It won. There is so much more to say, but I can't even believe that it exists. Oh, and we saw some cool street art on the way back. You can check out the rest of the pictures here.











But, yea. Haddonfield, man. That place is a trip.