Yesterday was “my” Saturday. I spent the morning running with Jim, and then got cleaned up. Mer and I then ran a few errands and got home about 2:00. I decided to give our friends Zach and Londa a call to see if they wanted to go out that night. I got a hold of Zach on his cell phone; he was grading papers at Rico Latte, and he was pretty enthusiastic about going out to my suggested restaurant, the Cheesecake Factory. He checked with Londa, and all was well, so we agreed to meet at our house at 4:00. That worked well, because it gave me a chance to get in a nap. But at 4:00, we all piled into Zach and Londa’s car, and we headed north to Legacy Village where the Cheesecake Factory is located.

We had a great time chatting. Zach is a wonderful storyteller, and things just seem to happen to him, and he has no problem sharing them. Zach also works at CVCA, so that gives us much common ground. Londa works at a Christian publishing firm that handles fundraising campaigns for churches and other ministries, so she has a link to CVCA via that as well. So, the 30-minute ride passed quite pleasantly.

We had a short (5-minute) wait for a table outside at the restaurant (it was a pretty day, so we wanted to be outside). Yet eispite the short wait, a CVCA student came into the restaurant during that time. CVCA spotting number one. Keep in mind we were 30 minutes away from the school.

The meal was excellent, and Mer and I decided to split a dessert, and between the two of us we managed to finish a Factory Mud Pie (servings of which are huge). After such a filling meal, we decided to wander around the shopping area (it is an outdoor mall, and well laid out for strolling).

We wandered over to the Apple Store where I did a fair share of coveting over iPods and Macbook Airs. Zach kept telling stories as we kicked tires (so to speak), so that was a pleasant time. On the way out of the store, I heard a yelled “Matt Riordan!” I looked around, and a group of four girls came over – CVCA students who had Zach as a teacher a few years ago. Mer and I have NO idea why they would yell out MY name as opposed to hers or Zach’s, and no idea why they would use my first name. How odd. CVCA sighting number two.

The mall also has a Dick’s Sporting Goods, so I wanted to check it out to see if they had runner’s water bottles (water bottles on belts). On the way there, we ran into one of Mer’s students. CVCA sighting number three. It turns out that Dick’s did not have anything I wanted, but Zach told another story, and there were some funny trash-talking shirts for sale that we liked (“Your mom pays me to take it easy on you” and so on).

To reward Mer for her patience in the sporting goods store, we went into Joseph-Beth’s bookstore, a huge independent bookstore. None of us bought anything, but we spent a happy 20 minutes or so browsing.

We left the bookstore and walked back along a different pedestrian way, and by such came to a little square in the mall. They had a bandstand, and there was a good jazz band playing, that even had three brass players (trumpets and trombone). There were a few couples dancing, and it was a fun scene. We walked by and headed toward the car, but I got derailed by a gelato store. I cannot find real gelato very often, so I swung in and got one scoop of chocolate chip. It was tasty. Londa picked up a small hazelnut, and we ate outside in the pleasant evening air. We finally got back to the car around 8:00 and headed home, happy and very full.