ZOINKS! Why Was Scooby and the Gang in University Place?

Earlier today, we spotted something on Bridgeport Way that made us blurt out the following:

"Rha Ruz Rat? Rye Ron't Row."

It was a groovy blur of blue, green and orange, and it wasn't just a certain golden-haired character's scarf. It was the Mystery Machine, the famous, give-peace-a-chance van that carried Scooby Doo, along with Fred, Velma, Daphne and Shaggy during the 1970's and 1980's.

(Note: We realize that there have been "re-creations" of the bunch since the gang's glory years, but I will forever refer to Freddie Prinze Jr. as "The Guy Who Tried to Portray Fred." Although Matthew Lillard of Gig Harbor fame did a great Shaggy)

Anyway, the spotting generated a flurry of questions with no immediate answers.

Was there a ghost at the campus? A headless horseman at A swamp thing at ?

I contacted police, urging them to drop everything and assist the gang. For some odd reason, I never heard back.

So then we went to Facebook to do some sleuthing and find out the who, what, where, when and why. (By the way, if you haven't already, please "Like" our page so we can build a mystery solving community)

After a few minutes, we captured the monster, took off his mask and found out it was Old Man Johnson, who didn't want visitors at the McLaughlin Mansion so he could sell it.

Wait, that might have been an actual episode. They all run together. In any case, scratch it.

The real story is our friends at , the mystery solvers that they are, snapped the above shot of the Mystery Machine at Green Firs.

Turns out Shaggy and Scoob had the mystery munchies and most likely stopped at Trader Joe's to purchase about $500 worth of sandwich fixings.

And they would have gotten away with it, too, if it wasn't for us meddling Patchers.