Ghirardelli Square

I'm obsessed with Ghirardelli Square. Not so much the square itself, just the chocolate and ice cream. On Saturday I did a long run and decided that as a reward I would go replace every calorie I burned with a hot fudge sundae (actually not just a hot fudge sundae, a brownie hot fudge sundae with added carmel). I wanted one so badly that I was willing to go at 1:00 on a Saturday, knowing full well that it would be a complete zoo because its the busiest time of the week. No local in their right mind goes on a Saturday afternoon...that's how obsessed I am. Zach was on his motorcycle so he parked right on the street, and I had to park in the parking garage (which I hate because it's the smallest one in town and makes me claustrophobic). There was only one spot in the whole garage left...a really tight fit next to a cement wall and a mini van. I was RIGHT next to the minivan. But since it was North Dakota license plate I figured they were tourists and would be there all day, so I would be gone before they had any bad words to say about my parking job. After we ate our ice cream we pre-paid our parking (5 bucks for 40 minutes)....then we headed to the car. Zach came with to help put the kids in the car. When we got out of the elevator I saw a rather large man trying with all his might to squeeze into the van I was parked next to. We watched from afar for a two minutes while he tried from all different angles. That's when I decided to snap a picture.


The picture doesn't really show the magnitude of the situation because by the time I took this picture (Zach was really ticked that I did it of course), the man had finally found a way to get in and he was already half way in the van...dang it. I thought the drama was over and was really glad we hadn't both gone to our cars at the same time...awkward. We waited for him to pull out of the spot, but he didn't even start the car. After a few minutes went by it dawned on me that he must be waiting for someone. I refused to go get in the car because I was so embarressed. Zach refused to go pull the car out and bring it around to us because he thought it would be good for me to learn a lesson about not parking too close to people...especially if they are portly. Like I knew he was portly. After 10 minutes of negotiations (aka me resorting to bribery), Zach finally agreed to go get the car...what a knight in shining armor. By the time he pulled the car around and we were headed out of the garage, the pre-paid parking was no longer sufficient and we had to pay another 3 dollars to get out. What a joke. It was still worth it for my brownie sundae.