#30, #31, #32, #33, #34 Sleepless in Seattle Part 2 (5) - I Went Back

After dinner, I went back to the arcade, and look what I won!

Well, I can't say actually won all of these by pure skill as well.  This round with the claw machine seemed to be more about luck and knocking the stuffed animals down into the prize chute than actually picking them up.  The panda I picked up halfway and when it fell back onto the pile, it tumbled on its own into the prize chute.  Same thing with the green zombie girl.  Because she was so roly-poly, she rolled right on down when I knocked her with the claw.

The two beige lions I won with skill, and the orange lion I accidentally picked up by the tag, and it got stuck in the claw.  One of the guys working at the arcade had to open the door to retrieve it for me.

This is the first time I had to get a bag to carry my stuffed animals back to the hotel. WHOOHOO!!! :)




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#27, #28, #29 Sleepless in Seattle (3) - Seattle Waterfront Arcade

I'm in Seattle this week for work.   I love Seattle, especially this area, but I'm bummed that the hubby and baby aren't here with me.

I had dinner at Red Robin on the pier, got change for a $20 from the waitress, and then headed to the arcade next door. I was feeling a little down in the dumps today, and I was hoping to find a good claw machine to do something a little fun. I walked in and BINGO! I found a quarter machine! Those are so hard to come by nowadays.  Most machines seem to be 50 cents per play.  And it turned out it was a good claw! After one dollar, I won a cute little lion cub (let's call him Simba, like the Lion King).  I put in another couple of dollars, and while I was playing for another lion cub,  this Chinese boy came by and watched me play.  He witnessed me winning another lion (let's call her Nala)  and was he was really impressed.  Then I ran out of my two dollars, and I moved aside to let him play.



He put in a couple of quarters and he went for a panda bear that he had his eyes set on.  But it was wedged in between a couple of other toys.  His mother came by and caught him playing the game and began to scold him in Chinese for wasting his money on this game that he'll never win.  Then he pointed to me and said I had won a couple of toys, and she said in Chinese, "Well she was just lucky."



I moved over the neighboring claw machine and put a couple of dollars in, and I tried to win my own panda bear.  A lady and her boyfriend walked by and paused to watch me play the game.  A few  times I came really close and it moved the panda around. The lady said quietly to her boyfriend, "All of these games are rigged.  You rarely win them." Hey! Hey! I thought,  Don't I have two prizes in my arms? The lady must've jinxed me because I kept getting close to winning the panda bear.   Finally, I put another dollar in and the claw sorta picked up the panda and dropped it.  I can't say I won the panda based on my skills because when  it fell from the claw, it bounced off of the toys in the machine and ended up falling into the prize chute! But a win is a win, right?



So I walked out of the arcade with these three cuties, feeling much happier than I did when I walked in.  It's funny what a thrill I can get from winning these silly toys, but it does make me happy to win.


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#26 Monkey and Candy! (1) - Red Robin (Escondido, CA)

We took a trip to Red Robin today so I could redeem my free birthday burger.  I have to say, I really like the Claw Machine at Red Robin.  For 50 cents a try, not only does it give you a chance at winning a stuffed animal, you ALWAYS win some candy! Granted, this is pretty cheap candy, but everyone's a winner regardless.

Today, I won a little monkey on the 2nd try! "Yes!" I said as the claw dropped the monkey into the prize chute.  And I did a little fist pump.  A dad walked by as I was doing it, and I must have made it look pretty easy (although a lot of it was just being there at the right time.  The monkey's head was completely up and was a prime opportunity and I grabbed it, no pun intended), because afterward when  I returned to our table to eat, I saw that dad put in dollar after dollar to try to win something for his kid.  At least he got a handful of candy out of it.







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#21, #22, #23, #24, #25 Five for Five! (5) - George's Burgers (San Marcos, CA)

Today we went to one of our favorite local eateries, George's Burgers for dinner.  We had some time and 5 bucks to spare while we waited for the food, and the hubby sauntered over to the claw machine by the front door.   I sat with the baby, trying to keep her entertained, but as I looked over at the hubby, I saw the claw dropping some prize into the prize chute.  I gave him a faraway cheer for winning something.  But as he came back to the table, Baby and I soon realized that he had won this cute, but not so cute penguin (#1 in the picture).  Now, we all know one of the big rules of winning at the claw machine is that if you're looking to win, you may not win what you actually want.  So while this penguin was less than stellar (this was clearly the case because Baby threw it on the floor the minute we handed it to her), it was another win that we could chalk up.

The food still hadn't arrived, and hubby mentioned that there was a little dog up for grabs.  So I decided to give it a gander.  I surveyed the contents of the machine, and saw the dog, which was cute but not so cute like the penguin  (same company), but I noticed a nice Kellytown frog in the corner that looked pretty doable too.  After a couple of tries at the frog, and having the claw drop it both times, I went for the low hanging fruit and won the dog with the next try (see #2).  Again, Baby threw it on the floor.

The food came, and we had our yummy dinner (I highly recommend their gyro sandwich) and on full stomachs we had a renewed energy for the claw machine.

The three of us headed over to the machine to see what else we could win.  There was a pig that looked doable, and hubby won it after a couple of tries.  Then he spied a bear that he wanted to win, but pressed the drop button too quickly.  "Oh no!" he cried as he realized his mistake, but to our great surprise, the claw dropped down and grabbed a 2nd pig, and it was serendipity that gave the hubby his first TWO IN A ROW win! What a great claw!

I decided to give the frog one more try for the road.  It took me four tries,  but I finally got it!

In the end we won 5 prizes for 5 dollars!  Now, just so you all know, we're not THAT good.  This claw game comes with BONUS GAMES! I'm not sure how it works, but there is a wheel in the claw machine that lights up at seemingly random times and grants you 1-3 additional games.



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#16, #17, #18, #19, #20 A Broken Machine Gives Us Goodies (5) - Westfield Mall (Carlsbad, CA)

Today we went to the Tilt Arcade at the Westfield Mall in Carlsbad, CA.  When I put my quarters in, I had to pound the coin slot a couple of times to get the game activated.  Then I soon realized that the machine didn't care if you put money in it or not, you just had to pound it a couple of times and a new game would start! We felt bad so we put in money ever couple of tries, and  it didn't seem like the extra tries helped all that much.  Still, we ended up winning FIVE fuzzy little friends!






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#15 A Yellow Seal? (1) - Walmart (Escondido, CA)

This evening after dinner, my mother-in-law needed to go to Wal-Mart to get some toiletries.  When we entered the store, the hubby and I stared longingly at the 25-cent claw machine that was situated in the arcade by the entrance.  Neither of us had any one-dollar bills on us, but my mother-in-law was nice enough to lend us a dollar.  The hubby tried twice for a green elephant and I tried once for the elephant and then once for a yellow seal.  Well, we came close, but our four turns were fruitless.

When my MIL went to purchase her items, I brought the baby over to the arcade to distract her, and the hubby came over shortly thereafter with four quarters in his hand that his mom gave him (makes him sound like such a little kid).  Again, he gave it two tries at the claw machine, but no luck.  I tried the seal again, and I almost didn't get it, but by some stroke of luck, the claw grabbed the seal by the head.  It teeter-tottered the seal over to the prize drop as I said, "Don't drop it! Don't drop it!" And then yes! Success!



The seal looks a bit strange if you ask me.  Doesn't it remind you of those Peeps Marshmallow ducks that you get during Easter??




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