crows to burnaby

Having had a lovely Christmas day, we were faced with the prospect of what to do on the 26th. (The U.S., shockingly enough, does not have Boxing Day.)

Our original thought was that we'd go in to Philadelphia proper, check out our old haunts and favorite places, and wander around for a while and see what's changed. However, we managed to soak in the luxury of sleep for so long that had we gone in to the city, we'd hardly have had enough time to do much of anything. Plus, the hassle of traffic threatened to take the fun out of the few hours we would have to spend there before coming back for dinner.

So we ended up at the King of Prussia Mall, which is less satisfying but much closer. The town of King of Prussia contains one of the largest malls in the United States, a sort of consumerist Mecca for the region. It represents much of what we despise, and yet curiousity (and a wish for new Playstation 2 games) sometimes draws us there when we visit.

Parking was sheer madness, but all things considered, there was less stress and havoc than a typical Canadian Boxing Day sale day - the prices aren't discounted that much (I guess "Black Friday", the day after Thanksgiving, is the U.S. equivalent for megasales).

Things we learned:

• We know this, we lived this, but we have to be reminded every time we come here: East Coast drivers are far more aggressive than West Coast. It's not a myth.
• 2,856,132 square feet of people ignoring each other is kind of creepy.
• You can have a fruit smoothie in your hand or a cell phone; it's your choice. But you'll need the other hand free to carry your coat and/or bags.
• People will walk around the mall for hours and hours, but drive around a parking lot for the same amount of time to avoid walking too far from their car to the mall.
• It may be fun to take your yellow Lambourghini to the mall, but remember, it doesn't have as much trunk space as your Hummer.
• Fashion tip for Vancouver: fun printed pajama bottoms are now acceptable outerwear.

We escaped with only a few minor purchases. I can even claim I sort of needed some of them. I think a spiritual purging may be necessary, though; I'll be spending some quality time in the forest after we get back to BC...