Window-Shopping Rocks!

This past Sunday I spent a little while walking through the Oaks Mall here in Gainesville with my thirteen-year old daughter. Except for the coffee drinks we picked up at the Starbucks there, we went on the trip determined just to look around, and not to spend any money. And it’s amazing how enjoyable a “shopping” trip can be when you know that you aren’t going to buy anything!

First of all, I must note that, as the case is with other malls, the Oaks Mall has changed over the years. At the front entrance, there used to be a Morrison’s Cafeteria (now a clothing store) and a Nero’s Italian restaurant (moved to about a mile from my home). Nearby was a pet store. When the pet store disappeared, I was initially disappointed. But now that I know something about the “breeding factories” that are set up for supplying pet stores with animals, I’m kind of glad it’s gone. Oaks also used to have a B. Dalton bookstore as well as a cool Disney store (one of my favorites at the mall). And one of the “happening” places to be used to be the Oaks Theatre on the eastern side of the mall. That’s gone, although there’s still the Oaks Plaza theatre at an adjacent shopping plaza. I used to buy my flavored coffee at one of two Barnies coffee shops there. I still don’t know why Starbucks won’t sell flavored-roasted coffee. The food court they have now represents a great improvement in the mall.

My daughter and I looked through several stores, especially those specializing in video games, shoes, hats, media, and sporting apparel. We browsed through Radio Shack (I saw a nifty, very comfortable-looking radio/headset that could plug into an MP3 player as well). We also checked out the Walden bookstore two doors down. Featured were Stephenie Meyer’s four books of her Twilight series (which I began reading yesterday). The movie Twilight just came out, and it is a major hit (especially with girls). The novel, presented in the first person by the protagonist, is very enjoyable reading so far, although I can see why it might appeal more to a girl than a boy.

One thing really stood out at the mall: there weren’t very many people there! To steal a line from Ross Perot, I think a heard a “great sucking sound” of penny-pinching shoppers flying over to the east side of town to the new, much cheaper Wal-Mart Supercenter! And regarding the above title...no, we weren't peering at rocks through windows!