Take A Walk

Another day, more errands and shopping.

Our family has several birthdays coming up, and we've been invited to two weddings, so in addition to my normal stops I worked on getting ready for all the summer gift-giving events. As I was battling the heat and traffic on the way to the first place, I wondered what would happen if I parked as far away from each building as I could?  I started at

THE LIBRARY.  Our local library has a huge parking lot with two long rows that's usually not even close to being filled, but it was particularly empty today.  I drove to the end of the lot, twenty-five spaces away from any other car.  This section was shaded by trees, one of them sporting a large wild grape vine.  The vine's tendrils reached out over the blacktop; they looked a bit creepy swaying in the breeze. After I finished at the library, I drove down the street to the

GROCERY STORE. I always park in the same section of this lot.  Today I parked on the opposite side,  at the far end.  As I got out of the car, I saw a panoramic view of the road below.  This road was improved about a decade ago, and the small trees they planted are starting to look pretty nice.  I also noticed the store's drive-through pharmacy, which I didn't even know was there.  I bought my groceries, and put the cold items in a cooler in the back seat.  My next stop was a

BIG BOX LINEN STORE. I drove to a strip mall on Manchester Road, navigated the traffic waiting to turn into the shopping area, and found a spot on the lot that overlooked Manchester.  The car was shaded by the center's sign, so I made sure my groceries were on the shady side so they'd stay cool.  After I did some research in this store for potential presents, I got back in my car and drove to a

DISCOUNT CLUB. Even though this store is in the same shopping center as my last stop, I moved my car to a new spot.  The discount club is on the third level, and the thought of a long walk carrying things was completely unappealing.  I parked against a rail at the southernmost section of the lot, close to the loading dock.  There were a lot of cars around me, so I suspect it was the employee section.   I had a nice view here of the store on the level below; I could see the huge white roof (which I didn't know was there).  It's nice to know the store is doing its part to be  environmentally friendly.  As I walked to the discount club entrance, I passed hundreds of yellow day lilies planted along the side of the building.  And one maroon plant.  I wonder how it got mixed in?  I did my shopping and took advantage of all the samples they were giving out, then returned to my car for a trip to a

MASS MERCHANT STORE. I drove several miles west on Manchester and pulled into the lot of a mass merchant store.  There used to be two stores that shared the lot, but one of them is long gone.  I pulled into the deserted part of the parking area and parked in a handicapped space in front of the empty building.  (What a rebel!)  Since there were three empty rows of parking between my car and the next closest one (and then three more rows to be right in front of my target building), I didn't think anyone would care.  Walking up to the store I caught sight of some employees in the "smoking area", a bench partially hidden in an alcove to the left of the door.  There was absolutely no shade, and the people there looked miserable. After I made my purchases, it was time to continue driving west.  I needed to stop at the

MEXICAN GROCERY STORE to pick up a couple of specialty ingredients for tomorrow night's dinner.  This was the one place I couldn't park far away; the store shares a narrow lot with several other storefronts.  I didn't mind, though, because the day had gotten hotter and more humid, and walking was no longer appealing.  It didn't take long to find what I was looking for, and I was congratulating myself on a job well done, when I realized I was missing one key meal ingredient.  What a drag!  I completed my list at

GROCERY STORE #2, which was right along my route home.  However, here parking far away from the store meant being close to a temporary garden shop greenhouse, so after I got done in the store I spent some time browsing through the plants.  They had a sale on all their remaining inventory, because they're getting ready to close for the year, but I managed to get back to my car without buying anything.

When I got home I was hungry, hot, and thirsty.  Thank goodness it was only a couple of steps from the garage into the house.