Girls' Road Trip to Riverside

Made a quick trip to Riverside today with Jody and Judith to meet Auntie Amy and Miss Jennifer for a little shopping and lunch. One of the best gift stores in SoCal is in the walking mall adjacent to the Mission Inn in downtown Riverside. Mrs. Tiggy Winkles has something for everyone. The very gracious owner has the large shop categorized into "themes;" birds, religious statues, clothes and shoes, baby clothes and toys, cool purses, jewelry, home decor, seasonal merchandise, cards, papers, always changing, always the latest thing...too much to even describe. You have to see it to believe it. Bought myself two more hats for my bald, little pinhead and a creepy but endearing bunny doll. Found a bald, snowgirl with a crown that I'd seen before Christmas -- half price now -- SCORE! We had lunch at Simple Simon's a few doors down from Mrs. Tiggy Winkles and checked out the after-Christmas sales. There's a nice bead store, Bead Addict, and lots of free parking right on the street in front of the stores. Watch out for "pay parking signs" -- you can find free parking if you're observant. Traffic is non-existent going out to Riverside on a weekday in the a.m. and we got out there and back in no time. We didn't have time for the big antique mall but that's another day. For a real treat, drive out to Riverside on a Saturday, shop, have lunch at the Mission Inn or dinner at Sevilla our favorite Spanish restaurant on the other side of the RR tracks by the depot. If you go on Sunday, you have to do the Mission Inn Brunch (need reservations) -- the BEST brunch I've every had, pricey but worth it. Stores don't open until noon on Sundays and not all are open...Lots to do in this "gem" of an area that's coming back to life. We agreed that we didn't have enough time to see it all but got a creative jumpstart just looking around.