Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
We got some encouragement!
Waking up came as a surprise. I faced the BIG RED ALARM CLOCK, and it stated, in no uncertain terms, “Get off your fat butt and go to the gym!” Fat butt?? I am looking for the refund button on the Amazon screen! I want a clock that is accurate, but NOT that accurate!
We went to the gym, where I was stretched and pulled into shape. Round is a shape, correct?
I do it in all positions, sweat that is!
From the gym, we returned home and picked up Colleen to go to Benji’s for brunch! We stuffed ourselves, and to add insult to injury, I had a root beer float! I’ll show that personal trainer who is really the boss.
Did You Know? Also known as a “black cow” or “brown cow,” the root beer float is traditionally made with vanilla ice cream and root beer, but it can also be made with other ice cream flavors. Frank J. Wisner, owner of Colorado’s Cripple Creek Brewing, is credited with creating the first root beer float on August 19, 1893. A soft drink with a similar flavor, birch beer, may also be used instead of root beer.
The chain A&W Restaurants is well known in the United States and Canada for its root beer floats. The definition of a black cow varies by region. For instance, in some localities, a “root beer float” has strictly vanilla ice cream; a float made with root beer and chocolate ice cream is a “chocolate cow” or a “brown cow.” Sometimes, a “black cow” or a “brown cow” is made with cola instead of root beer.
We attempted to sneak in Colleen as an “Under 12,” but she did no quality!
We did a VFR from Benji’s to the South Coast Plaza Shopping Center, where we just walked around and saw the sights. It’s easy to put on a couple of miles as the shopping center is so big! THe step-counter on the iPhone said we did 5,100 steps!
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Its 275 retailers represent the highest concentration of design fashion retail in the U.S., with the second highest sales volume in California at $800 per square foot ($8,600/m2)—second only to Westfield Valley Fair in San Jose-Santa Clara, at $809 per square foot ($8,710/m2). The national average is $411 per square foot ($4,420/m2). The mall is anchored by three Macy’s stores, Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, and Saks Fifth Avenue. South Coast Plaza is the largest shopping mall in California and the 4th largest in the United States.
It was a fantastic display!
The Christmas display was HIGH, two stories tall!! We walked all the way around it! It was at least three stories tall inside the shopping mall. South Coast Plaza has 2.8 million square feet of retail and dining space, including department stores Bloomingdale’s, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy’s, Macy’s Men’s, and Macy’s Home.
Just us drooling at the wares on sale!
We pale with respect to this fantastic display! It is probably sixty feet from top to bottom with small inset villages and action figures/transportation hidden everywhere.
We are enjoying life and each other!
The individual Christmas scenes are excellent in their own right!
The Choo-Choo is a bit precarious, but it stayed in the tracks ten times while we were there! The crane was raising and lowering materials for the city below.
Ten thousand feet above sea level and still chugging along!
Behind the mountain is a magical place where Santa comes to hide from the children, but it seems they find him every year! We were planning to sit on his lap but a) we do not need anything except each other and b) he saw us and got up and ran away!
It looks as if it has just snowed!
We walked around the center for an hour, passing the massive tree at the west end of the facility. It is over two stories tall, and its top is incorporated into the stained glass cupola above it.
Decorating this beast has got to be a work of love!
We stopped at a tree made of little plants. Colleen told us to show our best sides, so we did! She got exactly what she asked for! The plants were poinsettias, and had to be 150 or more in each tree!
This IS our best side!
OK, we will turn around! Protect the camera lens; it is delicate!
Dressed for the season!
The mall is decorated everywhere, especially under the high ceilings around the escalators.
Indeed, a mind-boggling sight! How did they do this?
We returned to the car via the main floor, We stopped and took a picture of the top of the earlier decoration. In it, we can see Santa and his sleigh beginning their magical journey around the world.
It must take them days to put this display together!
We returned home around 3:00 p.m. and rested for the next adventure: a Christmas party at the home of one of the members of Mary’s professional groups. There, we met our insurance man, a financial lady, and several others, including Sydney and her father.
We were proud to have our daughter along for the trip! We met up with Sydney and her father at the party and celebrated with a glass of vino!
We stayed about an hour, met new people, and finally headed for home via Aces. Tonight was Karaoke Night, so we stayed for a quick glass of wine and headed home; it was much too noisy!
I caught up on my Naughty & Nice List! Which one are YOU on??
When we got home it was time to check for light leaks in our eye lids (i.e. we crashed)!
