It was time for RangerBar to turn things up a notch, celebrating the 15th anniversary of the original conception as an online toolbar, the first WORB since before Covid and what would be the final one at RangerBar HQ in downtown Tacoma, WA.
SUNDAY ⚡ I metup with Batz and Tron in Federal Way around 4:00 on Day 2 in the midst of "Shop til You Drop." We drove around stopping in Retro Emporium in Kent, Al's Music and then headed to Waterland Arcade in Des Moines Batz had reserved a few hours. As he picked up several hotdogs next door, the first to arrive was Cora, making her first RangerBar event in about 5 years. Me0w, her kiddo & Lil Sorbo soon came, as well as Joose with some of her kids. After it was time for Waterland to close, we headed to #The80sTimeCapsule airbnb in Kent - a great basement apartment nostalgic trip through time. Batz put on Hunter for the "Fred Dryer Dinner" and then a Vernon Wells flick for the "Unsung Heros of Action Tribute" as we enjoyed the hot dogs, drinks and hungout.
MONDAY ⚡ Batz, Tron and myself left the airbnb and headed to basically Chinese Costco and a few other stops like WinCo Foods so Tron could get ready for a big night of cooking. Also got lunch at Burger Express in Federal Way. Later that afternoon, we settled in a Tacoma airbnb and Batz put on Christmas music for "Cosmic Fury 1/2 Christmas." As he ran errands and Tron began setting up, Team RangerBar started to trickle in, including Austin, Cora, Batz' stepdad and Me0w & co. It was a great feast as Tron served up 8 courses in his culinary tour through RangerBar history. I also showed off the "SlutRanger Action Figure" (custom figures through the Hasbro Selfie Series). That night Batz put on a WORB staple, the Tom Hanks flick Mazes and Monsters.
4TH OF JULY ⚡ We got back to RangerBar and Batz immediately went to work beginning to set things up for RangerBar's big "Welcome to the Pleasure Dome!" wresting event and BBQ. Meanwhile, Tron and I grabbed lunch next door at Red Star Taco Bar and I killed time on YouTube. As the afternoon rolled on, an entire wresting ring was setup in the building and 7 wrestlers in all would gradually arrive. As it got closer to 6:00 most of the RangerBar crew came out as well as some of Batz' family members in addition to people from the building who helped put it all together. The show lasted about an hour and consisted of 3 matches. Batz had me (as SlutRanger) create the wrestlers by having figures/toys placed into my invention - a "monster-matic hybrid," with Lil Sorbo handling machine lights & wrestlers walk-on music and MC Smith bringing over the toy for each wrestler. He kept things interesting even adding a surprise twist in a middle of a match after a wrestler was created from a DinoThunder Ranger figure.
Afterwards, mostly everyone branched off to mingle, hangout and local band Just Like My Wife performed a few songs as the grill got going. It's always fun to reminisce, as Me0w and I chatted about Mutant Chat and Lexcon for a bit, and Shock Top Steve & Austin handed out wedding invites earlier. Someone from the building had fireworks but I don't care much for them. At the end of the night, Batz, Tron, MC and myself tried to get some sleep in RangerBar.
WEDNESDAY ⚡ Tron grabbed lunch for us at Red Star and it was a lowkey afternoon until we headed out to a lake house airbnb in Olympia. Batz put on the "Cajun Country & Music Festival" and set out several flavors of Zapps "New Orleans style" kettle chips I dived into but soon Tron got us Red Robin pizza. The airbnb had an Xbox and the 4 of us just took it easy and got in a few rounds of Fortnite.
THURSDAY ⚡ While Batz was out, I pretty much spent the afternoon on Switch Animal Crossing. Later, he did the "Michael Pare Ice Cream Parlay" and served me up a massive sundae. Cora, Shock Top & Austin, Mag-Num & her friend and Batz' dad soon all arrived for the "My Two Dads Murder Mystery in Montesano" with the airbnb taking place for the town. Definitely another fun evening. Then it was just us 4 guys & Cora, and Batz brought out a box full of toy weapons for the "Power Rangers Live Action Roleplay." With this being Cora's first WORB since 2017, it was nice getting to visit one more time before she took off the next morning. Batz and Tron went hot tub skinny dipping but I wasn't feeling it.
FRIDAY/WRAP-UP ⚡ The airbnb had a 10:00 checkout so we hustled to clean up and get going, literally being told we gotta go. Back at RangerBar, Batz put on Big Bad Beetleborgs for what was supposed to be the "Beetleborgs Bahama Brunch" but quickly turned into a chance to sleep. Later that afternoon, we headed to The Home Depot so Batz could get some stuff for "The Tower 4D Experience" we had at Me0w & Lil Sorbo's place in Sumner. Me0w fixed us all a BBQ dinner and Batz put on The Tower with real effects. As Tron was scheduled to flyout that night, we said our goodbyes and headed out to the airport. We grabbed tacos once more and Batz let us pull from the prize bag. I caught the light rail and got home just before midnight.
This week definitely lived up to expectations. While 2019 and 2017 had actual Power Ranger actors, this was by far the biggest 4th of July ever focusing on getting the wrestlers instead for a great show. And since RangerBar will absolutely not be at the building next July it was great going all out one last time. And besides most of the WORB staples, this was the first time the "SlutRanger Smokedown Experience" was skipped. Also for the first time I missed the Day 1 gaming and "Monster Ball" which worked out fine I thought.
How will RangerBar be looking in 2 years for the next WORB? Will a Power Rangers reboot be on by then as 30 years (and the entire New Zealand production) comes to an epic conclusion in Cosmic Fury? Gonna be interesting to say the least. Thanks to the team - Batz, Tron, Me0w, Lil Sorbo, Cora, Austin, Shock Top, MC, and everyone else who came out during the week.
Check out the highlights video here!
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