An afternoon in the 'burbs

Tonight we dragged the kid out to the 'burbs for some outlet shopping in Wrentham and dinner in Foxboro. I have a few things to say about the outing. First, the outlets were packed. I thought we were being smart by avoiding the Black Friday crowds, but the parking lot was absolutely jammed. But, back to my point, or my father's point (he actually pointed this out to me)-- what recession? It was total mayhem. Cars stalking shoppers around the parking lot hoping to find a spot, people just giving up and parking illegally (actually that was us), screaming babies (um, that was us too). Ok, so maybe we were just total mayhem, but I was extremely surprised at how many people were there shopping their brains out.

Next, we went to the new Patriot Place by Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. Again-- a few thoughts, mainly, where the heck was this place in the early 90s? My teen years would've been so much cooler if Patriot Place was around. Ok, maybe not, but it's pretty crazy. Parts of it are still under construction, and we spent a fair amount of time driving around vast, empty sections of the stadium parking lot looking for the restaurant where we wanted to eat. We followed these crazy bright, flashing lights and we found it--CBS Scene, a monstrosity which requires you to climb something like eight steep flights of stairs to enter (we took the elevator). 

Once you're in, it's sensory overload. Millions of TVs are blaring various programming from, yep, you guessed it, CBS. It's definitely my least favorite of networks, and it's slightly strange that they're in the restaurant business, but we left very happy. Each booth has a flat screen TV that you can control, which is right up our alley at this stage in our lives. Nora was fascinated and didn't fuss once during dinner. I was able to scarf down my Kobe beef burger in an uninterrupted, glorious six minutes flat. I did notice there were moments during which the three of us were just staring at the screen while David Letterman introduced some wacky college kid who invented a refrigerator that can toss you a beer-- ah, quality family time at the dinner table. Kinda sad if you think about it, but hey- we have a toddler and I'll take a few minutes of quiet where I can get it. At least that is what I tell my guilty-mom self.