Not So Grand Opening

For months, I've been observing the construction of a brand new Target store at the Irvine Spectrum, which is a very popular outdoor mall and movie theater complex. I drive by it every day on my way to work, and each day I kept reminding myself how much I wanted to be there on the grand opening day (I've never opened a Target before). Sure enough, we went. And what a dud it turned out to be.


Opening day at the new Target at Irvine Spectrum. (07/23/06)

It was a weird day from the start. Here we were right in the middle of one of the worst heat waves Southern California has seen, and we woke up to the sound of torrential rains, monsoon winds and the loudest thunder I ever remember hearing. It seriously felt like we were in a hurricane. Tim and I immediately ran through the house shutting all the windows we had left open. Rain water was everywhere, having been blown in by the strong wind gusts.


It was a nice target, but the opening was a dud. (07/23/06)

Eventually the storm subsided, and we made our way through the tree-limb littered streets to the Irvine Spectrum. And boy what a disappointment the grand opening was. There were no balloons. No popcorn. No free hot dogs. No door prizes. Not even a "Grand Opening" sign (only an unassuming "now open" decal on the front doors). It was seriously as if we had gone to any garden variety Target on any average day (other than the store was larger than most). What a waste of time.


James drowns his Target disappointment in a Cheesecake Factory mint julep. (07/23/2006)

At least we got a nice lunch out of it when we swung by the Cheesecake Factory for a bite to eat.


Laura and James check out the Irvine Spectrum. (07/23/06)

Afterward we only had about an hour to kill before we needed to drive Laura back to Long Beach airport. So she put together a playlist from our MP3 database that she wants me to burn for her (which I still have yet to do — sorry Laura).