The Vacation: Part I

So I was determined to have a good time on vacation, rain and floods and hurricanes be damned. It started out innocently enough. I picked up Susan and we started on our way. Less than an hour into our trip we saw it high on a hilltop - the outlet center. We had to stop. Neither one of us was looking for anything in particular, but you know that's when you find it.

Scored in the L'Eggs/Haines/Bali/Jockey store - picked up two camisoles for $1.99 and two t-shirts for $4.99. Normally I would never buy a plain t-shirt, but these were good quality shirts and I liked the colors. And for $4.99 - well, I would have bought more if they had them in my size.

On the road again, and we haven't yet had lunch so we snack on some plumcots and wasabi pea snack mix as we make our way across the great state of Massachusetts. You know what they call Massachusetts drivers, don't you? Massholes. Just so you know.

Got off the Mass Pike and started heading down I-495. Food was in order. Pulled off and had our choice of Chili's vs. Outback. Outback won. Had a very late lunch/early dinner and then on the road again. Actually, we went across the street first to see if we could catch a movie, but nothing to our liking. We had been talking about "Garden State" but of course, not on the menu at Regal Cinemas. On the road again.

Checked into the hotel and we were offered two rooms with king sized beds instead of the one room we had booked with two double beds. The clerk on duty was concerned that they would have some families checking in who would want the room with two doubles. Fine by us. By the way - movie theatre nearby? The desk clerk was very friendly and gave us excellent directions to the shopping mall where they had - you guessed it - Regal Cinemas with exactly the same movies that we chose not to see an hour or two earlier.

But all was not lost. We wandered around the mall and found a dress sale at Filene's. We both must have tried on at least a dozen dresses. At that point, we were shopping for sport. But like I said earlier, it's usually when you aren't looking that you find something.

I found two amazing dresses. One I call the "stepford wives" dress. It's very form fitting and has this piping which is reminiscent of a house wife's dress. When I plucked it off the rack, Susan made a face but said "try it on, you never know." Well, it fit like a glove. The other dress - I knew it was familiar but it's just now that I know why. Think "Pretty Woman" and the polo match scene. Julia Roberts is wearing a brown dress with white polka dots. That's the dress I bought - but red, not brown.

And the best part? Two dresses. 50% off. Plus another 20% with the coupon that we didn't have but which the clerk gave to us anyway. Less than $40. Sweet. I'm going stop referring to the citizens of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as Massholes.