Huxwolds California Dreaming (Aug 23) - Day 3: Puente Hills Mall, Outlets & “Hurricane” Hillary

[HEMANCLOFTY]

Huxwolds California Dreaming (Aug 23)
Day 3: Puente Hills Mall, Outlets & “Hurricane” Hillary (Sun 20/08)

Index
Day 2: Disney’s California Adventure

We didn’t have any alarms set for today, as it was a rest / shopping day (with a surprise for Tom), so of course I was wide awake at 3:30am.

I couldn’t get back to sleep, even after a few episodes of Community, so I checked todays Sooty update on WatsApp, mooched socials and kept an eye on the Hurricane Hillary updates…

It was looking like Anaheim shouldn’t be too badly affected, and that it would be mainly rain by the time it hit here. It was also downgraded to a Tropical Storm. It was quite bad in the Sandiago area though.

I think Rich woke around 6ish. He went out for a smoke and brought me back a coffee from the lobby…

We chatted and I caught up on the rest of the trippie notes that I’d missed from Travel Day.

At around 6:30am the Ring doorbell chimed - it was Lola coming to see Sooty, so I woke Tom to let him know as they wanted to FaceTime whilst she was there…

Rich and I said hello to Lola and Sooty, then Tom went out for a private chat and a Vape.

When he came back in we both sat on our beds enjoying our Cheesecakes for breakfast - they were so good…

It was grey and drizzly, but not too bad…

Rich got me another coffee from the lobby and we all chatted some more about our plans for today (at this point Tom didn’t know the real reason we were going to Puente Hills Mall, he just thought we were going shopping).

We’d decided last night to drop breakfast at Original Pancake House, and Puente Hills mall wasn’t open till 12pm so we still had plenty of time before we had to get ready.

Tom gave me a quick tutorial on the difference between Insta Reels and Highlights and I posted a couple of Reels covering our first couple of days in the parks.

Rich and Tom dropped back off to sleep at some point and I put an alarm on for 10:45. I managed to get about 40 mins sleep and Rich woke up at 10:30.

We had showers and got dressed for the day and we were ready to head out by 11:25…

I checked Lyft and Uber prices and Uber was cheaper, plus we could save another $10 if we chose the wait and save option, which meant we’d be allocated a driver in around 8-10 mins ($47.87).

We waited inside the lobby to shelter from the rain, which was a good opportunity to mooch around the facilities - there’s was a restaurant, a cocktail lounge, 2-3 few conference rooms, a ballroom, business centre, small gym and a self service shop, plus the pool area…

Our Uber was allocated and was only 8 mins away so we headed outside to wait. We saw it get to 3 mins away and then the driver cancelled. Another car was allocated, which was 6 mins away (arriving at 11:45).

The driver wasn’t chatty, so thankfully didn’t give the surprise away to Tom.

It was very heavy rain for most of the 35 min journey, especially once we got up into the Brea Hills…

At just after 12 our phones went off with an Emergency Alert siren and a pop up warning of Flash Flooding…

We arrived at Puente Hills Mall at 12:12. I tipped the driver 15% and we walked around the outside of the mall the iconic Back To The Future Twin Pines Mall carpark, explaining to Tom why we’d really come here (he was surprised and chuffed)…

We spent 10 rainy minutes taking lots of pics and videos - it was really cool knowing that we were standing where the Delorian was being chased and getting to 88 miles an hour..

We’d seen in a VLOG that the mall itself was a bit rundown and almost empty, but that only added to the experience as it had an 80s / 90s vibe…

We pondered what this empty store may have been …

We found the Twin Pines Mall sign (complete with an improvised A)…

Time for some shopping now.

Tom and I popped into Bath & Body Works for a mooch - I got a Lemon foaming hand soap, on sale for $2.95 ($3.23 with Tax). I had a nice chat with the sales assistant, who asked if we were visiting and said that she was going to Disney tomorrow…

Tom popped into a sports store and Rich and I found a cool pop culture store that had life size Chucky dolls…

Tom went in Lids and then we all went in Hot Topic, which had a great sale on. I got a small Loungefly cross-body which had 40% off so a bargain at $17.94…

Tom spent some time picking out 3 T-shirts which were on a Buy One Get 2 Free offer ($19.99). Our total Inc. Tax was $41.53 (no pics of the T-shirts, one was a pink Elvis, an Elton John Dodgers and I can’t remember the other)

Tom popped to the loo near the almost empty food court whilst I had a 2 min sit down and took some ibruprofen as my back was twinging again.

Then we spent a good 20 mins looking around a brilliant store called Collector’s Outlet. They had well over 100 Loungefly bags, plus wallets and a big selection of Danielle Nicole. I’ve never seen so many Loungefly’s in one place - they even had them on the floor behind the counter…

There were even more dotted around the store. I was in my element looking at them all.

They also had a huge selection of Trading Cards, games, legos, Funko, clothes and official signed memorabilia.

I got a set of Prep & Landing Vinyl action figures ($20) and a GPK bag clip ($6)…

Tom got a couple of baseball cards and a tin ($4, $1 and $1)…

Rich got a box of 90s Topps baseball stickers ($10)…

The Total came out at only $33.95 and we realised afterwards that the owner hadn’t charged us for Rich’s box of stickers or Tom’s little tin.

We bought a bottle of Pepsi to share from Baskin Robbins ($2).

2pm - We we’re all done so Rich and I popped to the loos and then we left via the BTTF carpark entrance to sort our Uber to Dave’s Hot Chicken (which is near Angels Stadium back in Anaheim).

The Uber was 5 mins away and $46.96 (+15% tip).

While we were waiting, Rich did a “Damn You Puente” shout (which is a private joke / throwback to the time we went to Merry Hill one Easter Sunday, forgetting it was closed).

The rain was really heavy on the drive to Dave’s…

We arrived just after 2:35…

Rich had done a lot of research into Dave’s and this was a much anticipated meal. We all went for the Slider / Tender Combo with Fries. We knew that Hot meant VERY Hot, so I played it safe with Lite Mild, whilst Rich and Tom had Mild (no slaw or pickles for Tom and extra cheese for me). We also got a Mac n Cheese & 2 large drinks to share ($51.21).

It was about a 5 min wait so I took some pics of the decor…

The chicken was really nice, definitely worth the online hype and just the right amount of spicy. Rich and Tom both declared it the best food of the holiday so far. It was a close 2nd (after Cheesecake factory) for me.

It also made us all even more excited to try Howlin’ Rays in LA next week.

3:10 - We we’re all done and, after a smoke / vape for Rich and Tom I ordered an Uber to the Outlets at Orange ($10.93) - it was 10 mins away so we sheltered under the tiny awning - Rich and Tom looked like Jay & Silent Bob…

Our driver was friendly and really chatty, asking if we’d enjoyed Dave’s, where we were from (not New Zealand, apparently there were a lot of visitors from there during August) and talking about the Hurricane. He told us there had also been an Earthquake today, not too far away and some after shocks too - and kept calling it a crazy day.

We passed the stadium on the way…

We arrived at the Outlets just before 3:30, starting off with a mooch in Timberland…

Tom went in Under Armour and I popped over to Bloomingdale’s whilst Rich waited for him, but it had a notice up advising it had closed early for the Hurricane, as had about 50% of the stores at the Outlets. This one made us chuckle…

There were still enough stores open for us to fill a bit of time though.

I joined Tom in Under Armour, he’d been pondering over a drawstring style bag and I helped him decide to go for it. The price tag said $25, but it scanned at $18.86 with Tax, so he was chuffed (no pic, but he used it loads for the rest of the trip so it will probably make an appearance).

We browsed a few more stores. I can’t remember them all, but one was a big discount shoe store, as I was on the lookout for some bargain trainers as mine were soaked from the rain.

I went in PINK as I like their body mists and comfy undies. I got 3 for $28 mists (they had new bottle designs this year) and 5 for $30 undies (Total $62.50)…

No pic of the undies, for obvious reasons

We found another really cool collectibles store called Chrono Toys. They had loads of rare Funkos (Orange Bird Flocked was $250) and another big selection of Loungeflys…

I got a bargain special edition Ronald McDonald ($7.99) and a Hard protector case for it ($5)…

Tom got a Nightmare Before Christmas Funko Bitty Pop set for $15 (Total $16.17)…

I tried on a few pairs of trainers on in Adidas, but none of them fit me right.

I was flagging a bit and really needed a fizzy drink but all the vending machines were either not working or empty, so I made do with my water bottle.

Tom went in Shoe Palace, and got our attention to come in to have a look too. They had loads of cool licensing like WWE, Chucky and Sopranos.

Rich got some Hulk Hogan shorts for $19.98 ($21.53) - which he’ll probably never wear in public, but they are really cool…

Tom got a Chucky T-shirt and some Sopranos shorts (Total $52.77j…

5:45 - We were all shopped out now, so made our way to the ride-share drop off point to order an Uber back to the Hotel (5 mins away / $7.61 + $3 tip)

6:10 - We were back at the hotel and I finally got my fizzy drink as I had a Cherry Coke in the fridge.

I sorted out and took photos of all of our swag, and Rich took the rubbish that had built up so far to the communal bin by the vending machine.

I used one of the washing pods I’d brought along to wash some black ink that had got onto one of Tom’s new t-shirts from the wet Hot Topic carrier bag (It was all over Rich’s hand too), and also washed my trainers and put them on the a/c unit to dry.

We all shared some pics / vids from the last few days in our Huxwolds WatsApp group, and Tom and I posted some Highlights / Reels from today on Insta.

At around 8pm, we headed out for a wander up to Target to get some picky bits for tea. It was a very wet and windy 20 minute walk, and my umbrella was useless.

On the way, we decided to swap our Knott’s Berry Farm day tomorrow with Tuesday’s Disneyland reservation, as the rain wasn’t due to stop until 7am and there could be a chance that Knott’s may be closed again (it had been today), or that they would have limited operations if they were dealing with any mess / aftermath of the storm. We’d seen that Disney had been open but really quiet all day and we knew they’d be better equipped to get things tidy and back to normal more quickly.

The power was out on one block - Joe’s ice-cream was in the dark but still had a fairly long queue, and we could see they were running off a generator.

We were soaked through by the time we arrived at Target, so agreed to get an Uber back, which also meant we could get a case of water and a few heavier bits.

We spent about an hour mooching in Target. We got some Turkey slices, cheese, rolls and mayo and crisps for our picnic tea, plus some cookies, pop and a 24 pack of water. We also got a couple of bottles of Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce to take home (not the massive Gallon sized one this time) and some Blueberry Muffins for breakfast tomorrow…

Tom and I got some socks (Tom really likes the ones he got last year in Florida) and Rich got a Hotwheels Target lorry, a retro View Finder and a Mini Brands ball…

We used the Self Serve till and it all came to $97.90 with Tax.

My back was really hurting now, so I took some Inpbruprofen before booking the Uber - it was 1 min away and $6.01.

The driver had a selection of candy and a cooler with drinks in the back (nice touch, but we didn’t have any) - we tipped him $10 as he’d offered the snacks plus it was getting really windy now.

9:30 - We arrived back at the Hotel. Tom stocked up the fridge with our waters and I took pics of our food haul, whilst Rich made our turkey and cheese rolls, which we enjoyed as a bed picnic with some crisps…

I did a few more Highlights on Insta (now I knew how) then amended our Tuesday Disneyland reservation to tomorrow.

I finished off the haul / receipt pics, and opened up the Mini Brands…

A Tweet about the Earthquake..

And what it was like outside…

Tom called Lola and had a shower and, at somewhere around 11pm (I didn’t make a note of what time) we all settled down, think I dropped off straight away.

This had been a really brilliant day, we all got some good swag and we had a fantastic meal at Dave’s.

Getting to see the BTTF location was epic and probably a once in a lifetime opportunity for us as, according to the VLOGs we’ve seen, Puente Hills Mall are going to be turning that part of the carpark into an outdoor dining / entertainment area. It’s such a shame as the Mall definitely needs the investment, but surely they could use one of the other car parks?

Only 12,032 steps today, so we gave our feet a rest (despite the soaking).

Day 4: Disneyland Park

[dismamx2]

Nice bargains today, I love the Loungefly bag

[Cinderella]

How fab to see the BTTF location!