Redmond Day 1

Ahhh, sleep. Somewhat broken, but a total of over six hours. I think I'm still a night behind, but functioning.

So, out into the famous Redmond Town Center. I'm not usually a fan of shopping, shops, and shopping precincts (or malls in usian), but this one is beautifully designed and very pretty. No camera, but there must be photos on the web (though apparently not on the Official Site). It was almost empty. Friday afternoon, January sales (mostly 70% off, in a desperate attempt to flog the Christmas stock)... and only a few shoppers. Not even the Norwich-sized crowds of lookers and handlers.

Macy's has a one-day sale of extra off at the till on most articles. Oh, the woe. I wasn't much interested in the clothes, but the Denby-ware and kitchen stuff... so cheap... so impossible to take home. I carefully avoided shops selling electrical things. And, though I know it won't last, I didn't go into the huge Borders just across the road from the hotel.

Food for the day was a Rubyburger and salad with two glasses of excellent lemonade. Again, the place was almost empty. It has a train-set hung from the ceiling, with two models of old trains going round, and a few other vehicular decorations including an electric bike and a kiddy fire-engine. The place was polished sparkly clean.

It's a very clean area. It's also a very polite and friendly area. I love the way drivers slow down and stop at crossings in case anyone wants to cross, and smile happily when their effort is made use of. One guy coming out of a shop greeted me with "Hi! How are you doing?" so warmly that I wondered if I'd failed to recognise a long-lost friend.

One of the Ruby's Diner waitresses is staying in a hotel because the road home has been washed away by the floods. Most of the main roads have been closed by snow and floods and weren't open until yesterday, and some of the smaller roads won't be repaired for a while, which might account for some of the desertedness. I've been advised not to attempt driving out to see the countryside: everyone says come back in the summer. Of course I would love to do that.