Amongst the list of things on the MUST DO list here in Los
Angeles was to visit an Outlet Mall.
Apparently they are all set outside Los Angeles in strange locations,
one presumes to avoid some local taxes?
Anyway, while the girls were getting their nails done, they were
recommended the Desert Hills Premium Outlets in Cabazon, some (roughly) 120km
to the east of Los Angeles.
Given it was Sunday, we thought we’d head out and see what
this was about. Our route took us past
San Bernardino, the city where the recent mass shooting took place. It was somewhat sobering to be driving so close
by after such a terrible event, however there appears to be a bit of a local
outpouring of support for the residents, both externally and internally. There were a bunch of signs out by people
saying how much they loved the city, American flags and so on. Despite having to concentrate very hard on
the drive, I still found time for a bit of reflection on the craziness of the
world…
As mentioned the driving is crazy. We were on a big freeway heading out of town
and it was 3-5 lanes all the way in our direction and the same going the other
way. Or maybe there were 6 lanes for a
while? Anway, big roads and wow, lots
and lots of cars. I knew there’d be lots
of cars but I’m still blown away by how busy it was. And don’t they drive fast! I sat on the posted limit of 65mph and there
was cars whizzing past me all of the time!
Some of them were more than whizzing too!
So, after about and hour and a half, we spotted a sign to
this Mall. Right in the middle of not
very much. Odd. So, we park and wander in. Despite not really liking shopping that much,
I was amazed at this place. Apparently
there are around 180 premium outlet stores in this Mall, featuring genuinely
premium brands such as Alexander McQueen, Prada and a whole bunch of others
that I’ve never heard of, although I was assured that they are quite famous.
We arrived at about 12.30pm and left at 8pm, having done a
lap and seen most of the shops exteriors and quite a few of the interiors. It was sale season (or is it always sale
season?), so prices were massively reduced.
To give an idea, one fancy coat I looked at was originally about $1400
but was on sale at $400. Still pricey
for sure, but also massively discounted, presumably because it was sooooo 2014,
or some other such silliness. I got into
the spirit of things by buying a pair of jeans for $25 that I’d normally get in
Oz for around $80 on sale. So, I’m
happy. The girls made a whole lot of “investments”
such that I had to make a trip to the car during the middle of their frenzy –
ostensibly it was for my jumper as the sun was going down, however it was
mostly to avoid being lumped with an increasingly worrying number of bags on a
frequent basis.
At 8pm, the official closing time, the place was just about
deserted, apart from the cleaners and us.
The girls tried to buy a churro, only to find that the stall had been
shut and cleaned, and that the churros on display were fakes. FAKES!!!
Outrageous…
The drive back to Los Angeles and our hotel was somewhat
frightening in the dark. Still have to
concentrate hard to keep the car in the correct position in the lane but at
night, people still drive like maniacs, but you can’t see as well as during the
day. Despite a few close calls due to
other idiots nearly crashing into other cars (not me!), we made it back to the
hotel. A quick bite to each, a bit of
water and then off to bed to see how the jetlag goes on the second night.
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