Thanks for sharing your photos & memories Justin. Very cool stuff.
NSG, those cards are fantastic! I'd be interested in some when the time comes to purge.
I don't have many memories of TRU from when I was young. I didn't live near one. I was fascinated by the commercials & the only one that was in Connecticut was in Orange, which was not close. I know I never saw a road sign for Orange & I would ask my Dad how far it was and the answer was always "too far". When we would visit my cousins in New Jersey, we would drive by some and all I wanted to do was go inside.
Eventually one opened near me but I was around 13 or so. No more collecting Star Wars or GI Joe toys & Atari was gone too. Eventually the NES came around but I would find games at local department stores. When I started buying my own games around the time of the Genesis, I ended up doing most of my purchases at Electronics Boutique or Software Etc. at our mall.
That's not to say I didn't stop in. When the Power of the Force 2 Star Wars figures line emerged, I would hit Kay Bee at the mall & TRU after (it was just down the road). I camped out in front of the TRU for the midnight release of the Phantom Menace figures & stood in line for the first Force Friday ahead of The Force Awakens. It was my go to stop whenever I was on the hunt for new Star Wars figures during the mid to late 2000s.
However, my most precious memories of TRU are thanks to my daughter. The main toy line we used to hunt for were My Little Ponies. It was others along the way too (Littlest Pet Shop, Cars die cast, etc.) but I'll always remember driving from TRU to TRU trying to find whichever one she wanted. I'm so glad that I have those memories.
I asked her if she was upset about TRU closing (she's almost 17 now) & she's not in the least. That's okay. I'm plenty sad enough for both of us.