1 Mall, 5 Stores, 3 Hours

Today, I felt like doing something crazy and came up with two equally dangerous options. I figured I could either tame lions or go to the Mall of Shame on Black Friday. In some ways, the two are actually quite similar although going to the mall involves slightly less bloodshed. I opted for the mall partly due to that fact and the dearth of untamed lions in my neighborhood. I needed one single item from the mall. I simply needed to go to the Lego Store, get a box of Lego Community Workers and get out. It sounds quick and easy, doesn't it?  I found an eager friend to go with me and we set off on our journey. As we approached the mall, I saw a long line of cars...waiting to get into the parking garage. This was not a good sign but there was no turning back, literally and figuratively. So, we drove around the line of cars and around the entire mall before finding an entrance without a line. We still ended up on the very top of the parking garage but at least we didn't have to wait to park there.

The mall wasn't too crowded and I was able to buy my Lego workers with little fuss. I had to knock a couple of 5 year old boys out of the way to get a Lego Storm Trooper key chain but that's the way it goes, right? My friend and I proceeded to the Apple Store and then discovered why the rest of the mall was so empty - every single person was in the Apple Store. The Apple Store was beautiful in the way that only Apple things can be but it was unfortunate that it was chock full of loud, package laden shoppers. I think the staff were feeling the same way because when I cracked a joke about my friend getting a free iPhone with her purchase, he said very seriously, "Who said that? I don't think so...that's not on my list."

We did not do a lot of shopping and yet we were there for 3 solid hours. Three hours and then we ascended onto the top of that parking ramp again. The top of the ramp is a bit disorienting. There are no marked exits which is probably part of some marketing scheme. You can never get out, so, you just go back in and buy more stuff. We did drive in a few circles up there before we finally made our way down, out and away. One mall, five stores and three hours.