Sun, rain, and bargains

Everyone loves a bargain, and everyone needs things. Thus arose the outlet mall. In Orlando there is a boulevard call International Drive. It runs from Universal Studios on the north to Sea World on the south.  But there is a spur going east from the north terminus, and that, my friends, is where you’ll find the largest outlet mall in the Southeast.

Sandy and I each needed some shoes. More correctly, she needed shoes and I needed flip flops (plus, of course, an article or two of clothing). The 6 o’clock alarm is silenced at 5:45 and we don’t get an early start. It’s 10:30 when we arrive. Big mistake. We got the last wheelchair accessible space, and it was in a lot at the far end from the shoes.

By 11:30 we had “bought 6 and got 3 free,” but not shoes, and we were at the food court. Breakfast had been skimpy, and there were seats. We opted for Panera. Sandy had salad. I had half a sandwich, a small salad, and a gallon of the ginger, hibiscus, whatever iced tea. Shoes? Well, there’s this shirt in a window and a clattery cart going by. “Go in there,” I called to Sandy over the noise.  Somehow  I managed to emerge with just the shirt. On to shoes.

“Does the buy on, get 60% off the second apply if we buy 4?” A bit later we emerged with the large green bag filled with plastic shoes and flip flops. Then it was on to real shoes for Sandy. One style she liked fit well, the other didn’t. Calling the trip a success, we began the trek back toward the car in the 94 degree (34 Celsius) summer sun.

Behold, Nautica. “Can I look in there? We can cool down.” So cooled down and 6 more articles of clothing in the bag, we plunged into the rising heat. Why are outlet malls so hot or so cold? Halfway to the car we encountered Starbucks and a grande, iced green tea.

As we are clearing the heaviest of the metro traffic, there is lightning up ahead. By Lake County, we met the rain. Wow! A good thing happened, though. The rain removed the bugs the $13 car wash had fail to cut.

Before I put any of it away, several things are going to leave my closet. We spent the better part of today in there. At least it was air conditioned and dry.

Thank you for stopping by and joining us in the sun and rain. I love to read your comments.

Pictures: Main picture: George is in his wheelchair looking into a shopping bag. He is holding that bag, 2 large black, plastic bags, and a large green bag. His blond hair is messed. He is wearing glasses, a blue shirt with white stripes, white shorts, and flip flops. Smaller photo: Light green background with large, red print reading, “Outlet mall. Got 2 things I needed and 5 things I didn’t. Think of the money I saved.