Even though I do not live in Park City, going there to shop is always a special treat. There is and has always been such a wonderful variety of things to shop for and places to shop in. From sporting goods stores and other fun equipment places to spas, cafes, bookstores, and clothing stores, the possibilities are endless! Even if you are not a hard core shopper, which, I must admit, is definitely the case for me, there is always something to keep a shopper interested and ready for more. In fact, there is one instance I remember where the forces of nature couldn’t combine against us enough to dampen our shopping spirit.
Many years ago, my mom, sisters, some cousins and aunts, and I were all back to school shopping. We had made the effort to bring all of us together in spite of our busy schedules and different shopping styles. We had bright, encouraging skies above us as we embarked on our journey, but about halfway to Park City the skies became cloudy and mostly overcast. We paid no attention to the clouds because we were all far too excited about what the day had in store. Once we got to the shopping center, the bright skies had turned dark gray and nearly black in some areas! My mom and aunts looked apprehensively at the clouds and hustled all the rest of us into the nearest store. Two minutes after we started browsing, a huge, deafening downpour of rain beat against the windows of the shop. We all stopped what we were doing to stare at the thunderstorm for a minute. Amazed as we all were by the sheer power of the thunderstorm, it didn’t stop us from gathering ourselves together and continuing to shop. Some of us made purchases while the rest geared ourselves up for going back outside into the melee.
Once we had made whatever cover we could find, we dashed outside and toward the next shop. We hoped the storm would end soon, but had no idea whether it would. After three or four more attempts at running for our dryness, we were all completely soaked. This may have dampened many other groups’ spirits, but we were in Park City shopping and we were there to shop come rain–extremely heavy rain–or shine. What was most fun about rushing from one store to another were the surprised and pleased looks we got from those working inside the stores. They were so accommodating as we dripped from one area to another and made sure that we were as comfortable as we could possibly be.
Though that shopping experience may not have been typical of regular Park City goers, the great energy and atmosphere of those who were a normal part of the shopping center definitely added to that experience. If not for the exciting stores, wide variety of merchandise to keep our attention, and the courtesy and help of Park City workers, we would not have been excited or motivated to go on. We would merely be soggy shoppers.