They Have Stores Here!

"I heard they have stores in Virginia"- ha ha, I must have heard that remark from my husband Tom 50 times in the months leading up to our departure for Alexandria.  I felt compelled to stock up on some of my favorite items in case I couldn't find them here. Well, as you might have guessed- there are stores here and plenty of them. CVS are plentiful here as well as Walgreens- my two favorite drugstores. Apparently I didn't need to hoard boxes of root touch up in my shade. Well, they were on sale.... and I had coupons. I don't regret stockpiling my peelu licorice toothpaste and other alternative toiletries though.  I miss Sprouts and Fresh and Easy!!!

This leads me to my quest for the perfect grocery store. My other objective is to find an affordable yoga studio. When we moved in we found two cans of diet  and regular coke in the refrigerator- courtesy of management apparently.  A good start, but real food was needed especially since we had eaten every meal either on the hood of the car or in restaurants for a week en route to VA.  Our new across the hall neighbor was kind enough to discuss local grocery stores and point us in the right direction. We decided to try Giant which is huge here- almost as plentiful as the Walgreens on every corner in Mesa.  The store was not really to my liking- older with a faint odor of the seafood counter wafting through the store. I was in search of not only good healthy fruits and vegetables but also a bottle of bourbon.  Bear in mind I was still dealing with the shell shock of driving on the Capital Beltway a day or two earlier.  After choosing our food, I made a beeline to the coffee aisle and then to the beer and wine and hey, wait a minute where's the liquor?  I was pretty sure I had just overlooked it so I asked a clerk where the alcohol was and she sent me back to the beer and wine. It dawned on me that VA must have  liquor stores like they do in Oregon. Nertz!  

We decided to try Safeway on our next trip- my favorite local store in Mesa. A nice place- comforting and familiar, but a long haul on  a busy road.  The price of produce here is extraordinary- very high.  I will have to be clever enough to find some farmer's markets in the area.

It seems we are making frequent trips to grocery shop- starting from scratch to stock the pantry and refrigerator is expensive and we are always thinking of  things we are lacking. Ironically, I dislike grocery shopping intensely- but it my only fun on some days, as I am without a car and Sandy is suffering from separation anxiety. We bought a shopping cart at Trader Joes to ferry our purchases from the parking garage to the apartment. Geez. it sounds like all we do is grocery shop. Lucky for me Tom is patient and loves to eat, so he quite tolerant of these outings. Anyway, the first time we shopped we loaded up the trunk of the car and when we arrived at the apt we realized we would have to carry in the groceries-shocking! We kind of just stared at each other and then loaded up with grocery bags and that's when we hatched a plan to get a folding shopping cart to keep in the car- another lifesaver in our adjustment to urban life.

Costco was a nightmare- crowded and boisterous.  I was shocked at the up selling at the checkout care for an executive membership (hard sell) or how about a packet of forever stamps-only 40.00 and the price is increasing soon.  A petite lady with a carpenter's apron was going from checkout to checkout with her stamps and her sales pitch. I had to stock up on my staples: TP, Kleenex, frozen salmon and protein powder. I asked for a box and apparently that is a special request.  I won't be making regular trips as I did in Mesa.

Since we have no Sprouts here I tried Whole Foods next. Wow- only organic produce. Holy cow- we spent $200.00 for not a lot of food and the checkout clerk and I had a "discussion' on whether I was purchasing a rutabaga or a turnip. Not that I care, but the price discrepancy was  an issue. If the store clerks are inattentive or  borderline rude- they almost always send you on your way with a cheery-" have a good day or have a good weekend." There have been plenty of really friendly and courteous people here too- especially in restaurants.  We did find a great restaurant "Chicken Out" and an ABC liquor store at the same strip mall as Whole Foods- so the trip was worthwhile.

Harris -Teeter was our next venue , chosen primarily for the location and the advertising font is similar to Sprouts. I like this place!!  A good selection of "health foods" and mainstream food items with good prices. I signed up for another store card  and my wallet is beginning to bulge with my membership "VIP" cards.

The commissary at Fort Belvoir was our latest shopping trip and I must say I have been missing the boat. Tax free shopping with just about everything we would want.  Oh well, the best is usually what you find last.  We loaded up the cart and actually bought meat and real food and spent less than anyplace so far. Lesson learned.  We will have to be strategic and shop in the evening when it is less crowded- probably after trying a fitness class at the recreation center, killing two birds with one stone.

Well, it is Friday and  we are off to try another yoga class tonight and  tomorrow we will spend the day in DC at the Book Festival and check out the  Smithsonian  Native American museum. We are hoping to find time to take a trolley tour of the capital mall monuments at night. I hear it is especially striking to see the Lincoln Memorial  bathed in light. We might stop at the grocery store on the way home.....