The birthday road trip. Every year since our wedding, my wife has planned a road trip adventure to celebrate the day of my birth. Some adventures involve great distances, like driving a Formula One racetrack or creating glass artwork. Others are closer to home, such as visiting filming locations around New Jersey for one of my favorite TV shows. Regardless of how far from home we travel, however, there is always something special planned.
This year the journey involved not just distance, but also time. We were time travelers, taking a journey back to my childhood, as I got to relive the joy of a 1980s video game arcade, and then ambled through a classic car show. Add an amazing dinner to the mix, and it made for a simply lovely day.
Let’s begin:
The Early Birthday Adventure
As we would be out of town on my actual birthday, my wife surprised me with an adventure on the preceding Friday.
What was planned was attending an afternoon wedding of two good friends in the town of Merchantville, about an hour from our house. The event was lovely. As we left, my wife asked if we could take a slight detour on the way home.About an hour and fifteen minutes later, we parked the TLX in a municipal lot in the town of Somerville (Note: $1.75 for three hours of parking – gotta love small towns!).Founded by Dutch settlers in the 18th century, Somerville is the county seat of Somerset County. It’s a walkable town, with plenty of cool shops, nice parks, and great restaurants. Two blocks of Division Street have been converted into a pedestrian-only walkway, and it was to this section that my wife directed me.Several of the buildings on Division Street feature cool architecture, such as this chocolate shop that was once the town fire station.My wife revealed our first destination: YESTERcades, a retro video game arcade. We paid the entrance fee ($9.95 per hour per person) and I gleefully scampered in.The calendar may have said 2025, but YESTERcades transported me right back to 1989.One look around the arcade and I made a beeline to one of my favorite childhood games: Spy Hunter.When I’m asked which were the more difficult games from the 80’s, my list invariably includes Pole Position. Tackling the Suzuka track once again, and crashing spectacularly in turn 3, reinforced that fact to me.Space Invaders? Yes please!While I relived my childhood, my wife entertained herself with the numerous pinball machines. We played a couple of games together. She won each and every one.I saved my best play for my last one, setting the high score for Super Mario Bros., my absolute favorite video game of all time. The kid still has it.I also spent some time checking out the arcade’s collection of vintage video game consoles, such as the Atari 2600.Many hours in college were spent playing games on my Nintendo 64 with friends. After a fun-filled hour of nostalgia, it was time to head to dinner.Our dinner destination was Verve, a bar and restaurant a few blocks away from the arcade. Arriving for a 5:00 pm reservation, we had the dining room to ourselves.A server came by with some bread while we waited… and that was when the star of the meal appeared. The bread dipping oil was sublime. Our server told us that it is made by “a guy” who the restaurant owners know. “The guy” has been delivering the dipping oil for the past three decades. It’s a family recipe, and so no one at the restaurant knows exactly what’s in it. All I know is that it was excellent.Upon learning that my wife eats gluten-free, the server returned with a special gluten-free menu. Gluten-free fried calamari was our appetizer of choice, and wow was it excellent!My wife went with the Tom Yum Noodle Bowl, with rice vermicelli, carrots, grilled lime, wild mushrooms, and tofu. For a restaurant that bills itself as a French bistro, this slice of Thai cuisine was quite lovely.My early birthday dinner? Miso-glazed salmon, served over a bed of Provencal fried rice. It was very, VERY good! We were so full that we skipped dessert (despite a range of lovely options) and headed to our next event.For the past 35 years during every Friday night in the summer, downtown Somerville turns into a car show. Cruise Nights features classic cars of seemingly ever make and model.We saw easily over 100 cars in attendance this night, with numerous other classics driving by along Main Street. This 1970s Dodge Challenger was in pristine condition – my Dad had a 1970 440 R/T Challenger when he was a younger man, and still speaks fondly of the car.Can you have a classic car show without a few Ford Mustangs and/or Mercury Cougars? I think not.My wife fell in love with this adorable Nash Metropolitan convertible. The Metropolitan was in production from 1953 until 1961 as a joint venture between American manufacturer Nash and British-based Austin Motor Company (via Metropolitan Parts). Speaking to the current owners, I learned that this little gem was mostly factory original.I absolutely loved the decal on this first-generation Plymouth Road Runner.This 1977 Chevrolet Monte Carlo brought back some memories – for years, my uncle’s daily driver was a nearly-identical silver 1976 Monte Carlo.Not every car on display was American. This cute little coupe was an X1/9. Originally built by Fiat, Italian coach builder Bertone took over production in the 1980s. It was the first vehicle designed from the beginning to meet US safety regulations, which at the time were more stringent than those in Europe (via Wikipedia).You may ask why a 2002 Toyota Camry Solara is worthy of a classic car show?This beautiful car has been owned by one very careful owner since new. Look how absolutely immaculate this interior is! Hopefully, in another 20 years, my Acura’s interior will look this good.This Honda NSR 250R was a street-legal bike inspired by the 250R racing motorcycles of the 1990s. Fun fact: it was never sold in the US (the owner of this bike must have imported it from Japan or Europe). This bike, and the one behind it, were the only two Hondas I spotted.This gorgeous Harley-Davidson Servi-Car reminded me of my visit to Bill’s Bike Barn during my summer road trip in July.Speaking of pristine interiors, this 1965 Chevrolet Corvette was immaculate.Some cars were even for sale, such as this fourth generation (1961-1969) Lincoln Continental. Fans of the sci-fi classic The Matrix will recognize this model, which played a prominent role in the film.One of the notable features of the car is its rear doors. The official name is “coach doors,” but they are more commonly referred to as “suicide doors” The nickname comes from the doors’ propensity to fly open while driving due to airflow, and at a time when many cars did not come with rear seatbelts, well… (via Wikipedia).I love small British roadsters, such as this 1964 Triumph TR-4A. What’s even cooler is the antique license plate!The car show was a lovely way to spend an early birthday. After taking in our fill, it was time to head home.Checking the mailbox when we got home, I received my first birthday message of the year… from Bridgewater Acura. I bought my TLX there and take it for its servicing, so the birthday message was appreciated – as was the enclosed coupon for 10% off my next service. Happy Birthday to me!
Garage Updates
Before closing, I wanted to share a couple quick updates from our garage.
Earlier in the summer, a minor collision in stop-and-go- traffic resulted in my wife’s Jeep Grand Cherokee suffering a battered bumper (fortunately, no one was injured). After a recent trip to Al Meschi Auto Body in Highland Park, Grace is back to her looking great once again. Grace is now on back on track as she heads toward 130,000 miles. Onward!In my last post, I mentioned that I had sent a sample of used motor oil from my 2020 Acura TLX to Blackstone Labs, which provides in-depth reports on engine health based on various metals and contaminants found in oil. My TLX received a glowing report – it’s a green light as my car charges to 100,000 miles and beyond!
Wrapping Up
This year’s time-machine birthday was absolutely fantastic! Immersing myself in the video games of the 1980s and 1990s, eating amazing food, and then touring a classic car show made for a lovely way to kick off my birthday celebration.
Stay tuned as the birthday experience continues with a flight to the Midwest and a visit to one of the largest state fairs in the nation… coming soon!
And thanks, as always, for coming along on another journey down the open road ahead.
The Open Road Ahead 
What a fun birthday! Your wife definitely hits the mark with planning your birthday activities!
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Glad you enjoyed the post – thanks for reading! And you’re right, her planning definitely is a home run!
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