Adventures at the mall

Ed and I ran a few errands earlier. I was insistent on a visit to the mall. Seems that now that I don't work in it, one of my credit card payments slips my mind every now and again. By heading to the mall, I ensure that it gets paid on time.

There were mall security guards shooing cars out of the area where I went to park. Weird. One of the guards came over and told me there were more spots on the other side. "Handicapped?" I asked, and he said yes. (We started where he was pointing and there were none). Another guard comes over and says I could stay, that they'll allow the placards, but nothing beyond it. There would be a helicopter landing there. Looking around, there were a bunch of suits in front of Books A Million. Definitely not normal.

Once inside the mall, the concierge informs us that the hullabaloo is because Jenna Bush will be signing books today. Ed, the concierge and I debate whether she is the first (or second) daughter, as none of us are sure if she is the younger or older twin. One of the things about the staff is that because I know them, they'll share what they know about coming stores.

When I went to the Melting Pot with Jill last month, I'd been handed a flyer for Dip, their new chocolate fondue concept for malls. They said the one in Citrus Park was opening in a few days, but I read about a week later that the mall we were in was getting one. Alas, not yet. However, L shared the happy news that this place is back after a three year hiatus! He's seen it this morning during his daily walk of the mall, but wasn't sure if it was open for business yet,

Once we got the inchworm fast scooter, we lurched down to that end of the mall. We made my payment at NY & Co, passed the first of two Starbucks (yuck) and got accosted by one of the phone hucksters (brand new hello Moto, dude!)

We rounded the corner of the new wing of the mall and I squealed with glee at the sight of this:

As always, there were a couple of friendly retirees manning the kiosk who were happy to offer samples. Koffee Krispy, yum. We spent a few minutes scoping the wares, and chose a Awesome Peanut Brittle Bar for me and the two kids, and the Toffeettes for Ed (to share). The Halloween candy-it is a tease when you've got good stuff.

Happy in our acquisition, we passed the Books a Million, which had a stanchion set up outside (with no one in it). Anyone going into the store got the wand treatment and I don't think I've ever seen that many mall security staff in one place. The place was pretty secure-too bad the place didn't seem to have anyone other than security and store employees.

Snail like scooter returned, we got back to the car and found that if the secret service were checking it out for being in a restricted area, they didn't disturb my dirt experiment. :)

Since I don't work in a mall, per se, I don't feel the need to head to one. Lately, this one has drawn us to visit. They added Cheesecake Factory, reopened Panera Bread and California Pizza Kitchen is about to open. The aforementioned Books a Million is a good size and has great staff. Now that there's See's, I guess we'll have to brave the traffic a few times this holiday season.

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