Saturday morning rolled along rather quickly. I had a great chat with his excellency - Duke Chu but it was time to feed the animals – cats, goldfish, wife & kids and our guests, in no particular order. Oh, time to introduce our boys to their new uncle and aunt. Our younger son had briefly met DP and SP (that’s what DJT calls herself) the night before, it was our older son’s first encounter. In his typical Johnny Mnemonics tone, Gogo greeted our guests. I could tell Didi was already plotting out his day’s adventures with our visitors. I served DP and SP a freshly brew pot of coffee. I thought our kids were easy to feed, this happy couple required almost no attention at all. Coffee and breakfast cereal, how easy was that?!
My Mrs. had gone to her hair appointment early in the morning, leaving me as the CEO - Chief Entertainment Officer. Hmm, what to do with a couple of out of towners? I was looking through some local ads in the newspapers, just so happened that Fry's ads were right in front of me. I asked if DP & SP would like to go browse around Fry's. Fry's is a very large consumer electronic goods store, in case you are wondering. An average Fry's store occupies about the size of a football field. Some stores are as large as three football fields! The easy-going couple was happy with any arrangement. They'd probably be happy if I just took them to McDonald's to sit and chat.
The store is just minutes from our home. A couple of turns after we got off the freeway brought us right to the parking lot. I was sure DP would be amazed once he got inside. It's literally a candy store for techie geeks like myself and DP. I was hoping SP wouldn't get bored after a few minutes inside the store. We got in, my kids knew exactly where they wanted to go - gaming section, where else? I asked the two of them to stay together as I accompanied DP & SP around the store. DP knew where he wanted to go, the home audio area. SP wanted to check out notebooks that were on sale, so we split up.
After some 20 minutes, just before 11 am, I called to see if my Mrs. had completed her makeover. "Not quite" she said, we decided to meet at the restaurant at around 11: 30 am. DP & SP had insisted on treating us to a nice lunch. Like they hadn't fed us enough since their arrival. So we cruised around the store a little more. I didn't have much on my shopping list but I did pick up a blu-ray movie title. Kids were happy to play the demo games without spending a dime. DP bought a few things for his new sound system. By the time we got to the restaurant, my wife had already secured a table for us. This place gets packed within 30 minutes after opening every weekend. It wasn't some fancy steak house, in case you are wondering.
This restaurant is a smorgasbord of many ethnic foods. While serving mainly Chinese dishes, sushi, BBQ ribs, steaks, questillas, udon, and even mac n cheese are all on the menu. Some 45 minutes later I was ready to head home for a nap. The weather was warm and too nice to stay at home though, so we decided to visit a neaby outdoor mall after a short rest. DP was antsy to hit the mall but Didi needed a little time for his stomach to settle. After a short rest, the six pack of us hit the road again.
There are 4 strip malls within a 10 mile radius from where we live. The closest mall is only about 3 miles away. There are a few small department stores and an IMAX theater there. It was just past 2 pm when we got to the mall. At ~ 12C, it was warm enough to go store-hopping in an outdoor mall.
We were pleasantly surprised to learn that there were some activities going on that day. Traffic was redirected to allow shoppers cross some of the busier streets. A stage was set up for performances - singing, dancing, and even live music! Street vendors of sorts were selling & soliciting goods, services. Our kids led their new uncle and aunt inside a candy store. I would prefer that the boys didn't get any candy, but I did give in when DP & SP offered to get them small tubes of powdered candy. Kids didn't waste any time tasting the colorful assortment of the sandy stuff.
We strolled along the sidewalks, tried to absorb in the sun rays when possible.
A small crowd gathered around a juggler and an ice sculptor was carving up a large chunk of ice with his slew of tools not far away. A street hockey rink was built for kids to dissipate their overabundant energy. I urged our sons to be careful as the two brothers wanted to test out their slapping skills eagerly. There were some 8-10 kids swinging hockey sticks in all directions, none of them paying any attention. Talk about a parent's worst nightmare. We were lucky that after several minutes of play, our sons stepped out of the rink without a single bruise.
We continued our mall adventure when we heard some loud laughter coming from the stage so we headed back to take a look. "What the heck is this?", we saw three performers in large, blow-up suits. "What? The Zooperstars?", the sign that listed the afternoon's performances. I certainly had never heard of them. The trio danced to the music, interacted with the audience, kids in particular. We stood and watched their acts for almost 20 minutes. Some were quite hilarious.
"Ha..ha..ha..", DJT's trademark was heard several time despite the loud music. We all had a great time. We we slowly walked out way back to the car. It was a few minutes before 4 pm when we returned home.
Yup, it was time to get ready for the night's feast.
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