don't blog that!

Why, oh why, did I ever step foot into the Kittery outlet malls?

Last night my family decided to head home early from Maine, because some of us had unfinished business in Dracut (cue ominous music).  To finish our trip, though, we all went up to the to outlet malls that are a trademark of tourist-trap towns.

The whole experience started out fantastically (*cough*) — we ended up driving around for 15 minutes just trying to find a parking space.  We found one, eventually, in the far back of the outlet when by sheer chance we stumbled upon a departing car. Quickly, my dad pulled in and distributed pre-packed lunches to his hungry passengers.

Once we had finished eating, it was time to brave the mass of shoppers mentioned in this entry’s title.  Our first stop was the Aeropostale store to purchase birthday gifts for my cousin and what seemed like thirty-two of my sister’s friends.  Right off, I knew it was a bad decision when we walked in and realized that navigating the store was akin to solving a maze with shifting doors and walls that occasionally walked into you (or forced you to dodge away, as in the case of the man with a child on his shoulder walking backwards — I had to get out of his way or he might have dropped the kid).

My father and I gave each other a look of mutual horror and turned around, instead heading further down the strip mall to purchase the next item on my list:  a new pair of shoes.  Our first stop was the Puma store, which was only slightly less crowded then Aero.  After ten or so minutes of searching, we lamented that the prices here really weren’t that good [and why do we even come here every year if its all about the same price, even the Canadian guy we met said that everything here was almost the same price as it was in Canada whose dollar is worth a little less than ours!?].

We gave up and then headed into the neighboring Le Gourmet Chef, hoping for some free samples.  No such luck — all of the bread/crackers/pretzels were gone, so the free sauce and dip samples were only torturous temptation.

It was at this time that we reunited with the rest of the family unit, and decided that we would head towards the Nike Factory Outlet to search for shoes there.  Another search commenced, and we gave up on buying cheap sneakers.  Eventually, I decided on a pair of black and orange Nike ACG Air Dirt trail shoes that were on sale for $50 (not the internet price of $75).

After that, we headed to one more strip mall where my sister and mother explored Old Navy while my dad and I sat in the car reading.

Once they finished, I quickly demanded(!) that we go to a Barnes & Noble, where I ended up purchasing two books: Flatland and what is commonly known as “GEB“.

[Insert uneventful ride home]

We then unpacked our things and headed out to have dinner at the Texas Roadhouse.

We entered the restaurant and were quickly greeted by the strong scent of peanuts.  Do not go here if you have a nut allergy (unless you have a death wish or a desire to waste health insurance funds).  We were seated right away, and our waitress came by to take our drink order and drop off a basket of rolls.  Their rolls are awesome, and come with little containers of cinnamon butter (0_0).  For my meal, I had the Smothered Chicken: chicken topped with onions, mushrooms, and jack cheese.  Along with the meal came two sides, for which I chose a cup of chili and a Caesar salad.  At the end we were all too stuffed for desert, so we headed home.

Rating: 4/5, would eat there again.  Those with nut allergies should not breathe while eating.