this one is from a few years ago
CAUTION: Long Story Longer Ahead
This weekend I went home for Dad's day. The trip itself was rather treacherous. I was miserable tired from Friday night's festivities and the rain was TERRIBLE. I got there safely and had a lovely Saturday with my parents. I even found out I can still do the splits - that's another one of those silly clumsy robin stories.
Sunday, the real fun began with a trip. This story really begins about a couple months ago when my mom told me of wondrous store in the Dallas area by the name of Sam Moon. As a purse and accessory lover, this really did sound like quite a magical place for me. My mother had been to this store with my sister-in-law and found out there was one in The Woodlands. So the idea was that when I came home again, time allowing, we would travel out to The Woodlands and have a look around - being flat broke, I really did prefer to go here with my Mom, as she tends to pay.
So Sunday arrives, Mom and I begin our journey after stopping to fill up my car (this is where I determine I got 39 mpg on the drive Saturday - NICE!).
Sidebar: I am from a small town, Crosby. Everyone kind of knows everyone in this town - so at an intersection when I look over and see the people in the van next to me waving, it's no surprise. I do, my clueless, Look Mom, it's the SoandSos and we wave. Luckily Mom suggests I roll down the window as they seem to have a message. My gas cap is open. So in the middle of a very busy intersection, in a heavy downpour I exit my car and replace the cap and shut the little door. I thought about making a real show of it with an umbrella, but decided I would prefer to live.As we near The Woodlands, I ask my Mom, where am I going exactly. Conversation goes:
Mom: Well Sam Moon is a large store, so probably not in the Mall, rather near the mall like a standalone in a strip center.
Robin: Are you saying you have no idea where it is?
Mom: No, not really, it just said The Woodlands. How hard can it be to find?
Robin: Well, The Woodlands has 5 exits and an extremely large mall area, MOM. You don't know an intersection or anything?
Mom: Nope, never looked it up.
Robin: UGH.
I spy the mall exit and just decide to take it. This is when we find out how large the mall really is. There are about 5 strip centers on the streets directly around the mall. We go through each of these. I even find that there is a section extremely similar to The Domain in this area. I am getting frustrated - we have been driving in and out of these few streets for about 20 minutes now. I decide to cross the freeway and check out the strip malls on the North feeders. We travel North, and then come back around South - this is another 15 minutes. I remind Mom to call Dad and find out where he is, as he is meeting us. Great, he's at the Mall. So we head BACK over there to retrieve him.
At this point, THEY decide we need to go ahead and drive around some more. My patience is now at an all time low, I need to pee and we are retracing steps we already took. 20 minutes later, Dad pulls up to the Macy's Furniture store, and I am instructed to go inside and find out where Sam Moon is. This is NOT what I want to hear, I ask Mom to do it. Nope, I need to apparently, because I am the youngest. I say something in a very nasty tone and head in.
Walk into Macy's, no one is to be found, walk around, mentally spend a lot of money I do not have and find the main desk where they are extremely busy. I ask to borrow a phone book, and a very nice woman hands me one. NO listing for Sam Moon!!! So, I turn and play the exasperated daughter card that I am very good at:
Robin: Here is your phone book back. Thank you. I'm completely lost; do you have any idea where Sam Moon is?? (the nice lady is wrapping a hideous jewelry box thing and looks up)
Nice Lady: Oh yes! It's very new, not in the phone book or anything.
Robin: Oh yay!! Can you point me in the right direction?? I live in Austin; know nothing of this area and my mom sent me to look for this Sam Moon place while I was in town?? (this is done in my best pouty worn out stance I can muster up)
Nice Lady: (giggling) Ohhh, I'm sorry dear. Go the direction of the restaurant right outside towards the freeway. Get on the feeder for 45 north. Stay on the feeder and watch for Exit 242 and it will be on the right. Stay on the feeder though; don't get on the freeway.
Robin: (walking away) Thank you sooo much!! Thank you thank you!
Nice Lady: No problem (repeats the directions again)
Get into car and repeat it exactly as was said above. We are REALLY on the way now!! I have visions of purses, sunglasses and necklaces in my head. NOW I am excited, we know exactly where to go!! We just hadn't stayed on the North feeder long enough. About 12 minutes later, there's the sign, there's the sign!! We turn in behind a White Land Rover. But there are only like 5 cars in the massive parking lot. We rationalize that it is so new, still not even in the phone book, so there aren't a lot of people. Still behind the white rover we arrive at the front and decide to pull next to the door - and what do we see??
"Closed Sundays"
As I state to Maw and Paw Griswold that this was basically our trip to Walley-World, I realize there is no moose for me to punch in the nose.
Mom Griswold asked if I was going to write about this - I said no. I lied.
