Whither the 1988 Buick Roadmaster?

So I may be obsessed with Neal Stephenson. Recently I was reminded of a line from his 1996 novel The Cobweb, written under the pseudonym Stephen Bury. It's a fun read, I recommend it. Anyway, the part I'm thinking about concerns a supposed 1988 Buick Roadmaster that the main character purchases (actually trades his wife's Japanese car for) based on its high "throw weight", supposedly an indicator of crash safety. All well and good. / Here's my beef: Buick did not put out a Roadmaster for 1988. The nearest model year Roadmaster would be 1991. In 1988 the nearest Buick equivalent would be the Electra Estate. Also, as far as I can tell, throw weight as a measurement has to do with ballistic missile payloads and not passenger vehicles. / Maybe I've got too much time on my hands, but it seemed worth a mention. Don't ask Neal Stephenson about it, 'cause he's not interested.

Blossom Trail

I made a map showing the driving route for the Blossom Trail in California's Central Valley: Blossom Trail Map

It's a beautiful drive in the spring.

Creature Features

For some time now I've been trying to find information about a listening comprehension program which I remember from the first grade. It was called Creature Features. I was in first grade for the school year of 1980 - 1981. My teacher was Mrs. Belcher, who left part way through the year and was replaced by a woman whose name begins with an 'H', Hanson or Hammond, I think. Anyway, Creature Features involved listening to an audio program (played on a record player), then completing worksheets or a workbook based on the material. The program was the story of a boy and a girl (brother and sister?) who wandered into a haunted house and got trapped there, and spent the rest of the time trying to escape. They were guided by an adult male figure who was a denizen of the haunted mansion and who took on a teacher role. The young boy at some point made some blunder which resulted in a curse of some kind, which may or may not have involved losing his head or having his head replaced by an egg or a fishbowl (or did this happen to the teacher? or both?) There were cartoon-style drawings that went along with the story. I remember an image of a headless man in a striped shirt and tie. I'm not sure if our class ever got to the end of the program, I don't remember how the story ends.

I have looked all over the internet for information on this program and so far have come up empty. I have no information on the author, publisher, or publication date. There is another unrelated program also called Creature Features which is about animals and is published by National Geographic. It seems there was a TV program called Creature Features which showed monster movies. There is a movie guide called Creature Features as well. None of these are what I am looking for.

For a while I wondered if I had imagined the whole thing. Fortunately I am still in close contact with my good friend Julie who was in Mrs. Belcher's first grade class with me and also remembers Creature Features, though she wasn't able to add to my knowledge of it. I am deeply indebted to her for confirming my sanity.

So, if you have any knowledge pertaining to this chimera, please drop me a line.