They Were American Girls

I've had Tom Petty's song "American Girl" running through my head since we headed up to the American Girl Place in Los Angeles a couple of days ago. Not that this retail machine has anything in common with Petty's song...Anyway, Sara and I decided that American Girl would be our big destination this summer, as opposed to Sea World or the like. Clare, Katy and Nicki were very excited and carried their AG dolls on various and assorted airplane rides, just to make sure they were present for the field trip.

I have to say that our experience didn't really live up to the hype, but that's largely because the L.A. traffic is just so miserable. It took us three hours to get there, and another three to get home (just imagine three girls crammed into the backseat of a car, impatient to get there, one of them starting to feel carsick). Add to this the fact that we almost missed our lunch reservation, and that when we finally got to the mall and were trying to park, we encountered a police blockade (due to a man lying in the middle of the street). Basically it was the reverse of an auspicious start, and I just don't think it was possible to live up to our expectations.


That said, I do think the girls had a great time. We had a fun lunch in the cafe, which provides chairs and teacups for the dolls and tons of food for the rest of us. And the store itself is somewhat awe-inspiring. We were disappointed to learn that the theater has permanently closed, which seems a lost opportunity to me. Then again, most people probably don't make a six hour trip just to visit this place.


While there was a dazzling array of clothes and accessories as far as the eye could see, Clare stayed true to form and bee-lined to the books in every nook of the two-story mega store.


So basically there was a lot of oohing and ahhing, careful deliberation over which outfit to select as the souvenir...and that was it. Before we retrieved our car from valet, where we hastily left it in a panic-induced moment (it happily turned out to only cost $12, the best $12 I have ever spent), Sara and I decided we deserved a visit to Anthropologie across the street, where we each found a cute top. Oh yeah, all right...