Our Circle Tour

Our little family of 3 headed off on a "long weekend" vacation in the middle of the week this past week. I really wanted to do some shopping so we headed to our neighbours to the south.

The first stop was Bellis Fair mall. I made a bee-line to my favourite store Bath & Body Works. I LOVE THAT STUFF. Guess what ladies? Within one year, there will be 10 locations in Canada! I'm sure one will be in Metrowtown or Coquitlam Centre. We'll have to wait and see.

I rummaged through the 75% off sale bins and filled a shopping bag. Wow, the deals were AMAZING! Once on the road again, I kept my "scents" up with me in the front seat. I opened all the lids and took big whiffs and was trying to get Colin to play my "guess what scent" game. But he's a guy. He doesn't go for that sort of thing.

Next stop was Costco in Burlington. Due to a very bad GI bug (poor Nathan), we were out of baby wipes, so we had to buy some. When we got there, we put my bag 'o soaps in the trunk. Then I realized I had my wallet in that bag so I got it out. Went shopping. 

Went next to Burlington outlet mall where I of course checked out Carters. Colin opened the trunk to put our purchases in it....and my soaps were GONE!!! The whole bag, and only that bag in our jigsaw puzzle filled trunk was...GONE.

Oh boy was I mad. There's NO WAY it could have fallen out without us noticing. The only explanation we can think of is that someone broke into the trunk and stole it. Maybe when we went back to get my wallet out of the soap bag (thank goodness I did!), the trunk didn't shut all the way and the thief noticed? Who knows. But my soaps are gone.

We shopped more at the Seattle outlets and then made our way East. Settled on a campsite in Rosyln. We got there at Nathan's bed time. the campsite was almost deserted. No tenters in site, just a few RV's at the other end of the campground. We couldn't see or hear anyone else. 

As soon as we got there, we put the playpen up and stuck Nate in. Even though he hadn't had a bottle yet, and it was past his bedtime, he just played and laughed while we set up camp. He LOVES the outdoors!  

A few months ago, we never would have chosen Roslyn as a destination. But something has changed...

Maybe I haven't mentioned this because I don't want to own up to being addicted to yet another TV show. Maybe it's because I'm 18 years late to be addicted to said TV show. 

Whatever the reason, Colin and I started watching "Northern Exposure" a few months ago. I watched one episode and rolled my eyes at all the '80's clothes and hair. I told Colin that there was no way I'd watch any more episodes. Yet we're on season 4 now. 

It stared in 1990 (yes, back in the 19 hundreds), and is about a new grad doctor who is forced to work in a hole-in-the-wall town Cicely, Alaska for 4 years. It's SO funny! No TV show has ever made me laugh so hard! There was no such thing as "political correctness" back then.

What does this have to do with Roslyn? Northern Exposure was filmed in Roslyn, and even 13 years after the show ended, the town looks almost exactly the same! There's the big wall mural...

...and Dr. Joel Fleishman's office, which is now a Northern Exposure museum/gift shop.

I am no longer embarrassed by loving the show so much now. There was a guest book at the museum and 5 people signed it the day before! The lady says that they still have people from all over the world visiting.

From there, we went to Leavenworth, then Chelan. THANKFULLY, we stayed in motel. I think I'm done with camping until Nathan's ready to do a few things for himself. On the way to Chelan, Colin drove me to a mall to buy more soaps to replace the stolen ones!

The next day we went to Winthrop. We spend every Thanksgiving there, but thought it would neat to see what it looks like in the summer. It was nice! There were tents without frost on them, no deer carcasses hanging from the trees, and it was all green... none of the usual red, orange and yellow trees. 

We had a picnic lunch at the campsite we usually stay at (after Colin returned to the store where we'd bought a roasted chicken and left it there) and took Nathan for a dip in Pearrygin lake. It was a really nice stop! After driving around for hours and hours and hours in places we've never seen, it was nice to be somewhere familiar. 

Nathan is such a pro on road trips. We'd drive for 8 hours a day, and for the most part he was happy as a clam.

 

The Sea of Yellow

I have been saying for a year that I want to start grocery shopping at Superstore. Lots of my friends do, and they say it's cheaper. So why haven't I? 

I guess you get used to your supermarket. You know where everything is. When Colin and I go to Save-On, we break without saying a word. He gets the buggy while I scan my card to get coupons. He picks up fruit and deli meat while I mentally plan the weeks meals and choose veggies accordingly (and sometimes a complimentary cup of coffee).  We meet by the bread and go from there. We're in and out in 20 minutes.

We don't ever want to take the time to get to know a new store, even if it's cheaper. But today, I bit the bullet and did it. Nathan and I headed for an evening outing. 

And I hated it. 

Whoever designed the aisles should be fired. How come half of them go north-south, and half go east-west? I thought, "maybe it's so that I go in all the aisles" but that's not it. I didn't even go in half of them because of that very reason. 

The placement of products made no sense to me either. I wanted to find minced garlic in a jar because I am sick of my crummy garlic press. I tried "ethnic foods" first. I found a jar of "pureed garlic cloves". But no minced. I pressed on. I found "pickled garlic cloves" in the condiment aisle. I even found some jar of garlic paste somewhere near the cheese (?!?). 

Then I got frustrated and called a friend who told me she bought this product at Superstore recently. Unfortunately she wasn't home. So I gave up. ONLY THEN did I find it. "Where", you ask? Right between the spinach and the yogurt. DUHH!!!!!

I think I chose the wrong day to try shopping there. I think Monday is "crabby rude shoppers" day. I got blocked in the aisles SO many times, and people would not move, even when asked. I was seriously annoyed. One guy even looked at me and said "just a minute" and proceeded to put 20 cans in his buggy, change his mind, put them back, and choose 20 different ones. I just stood there with a blank look on my face. Can you not hear my fussy baby? Have some politeness!! 

I think I know why everyone was crabby though, because by the end of the shopping trip I too was "one of them".

But the most annoying thing about the store? DOES EVERYTHING HAVE TO BE YELLOW??? I thought maybe that was the reason everyone was in a foul mood. So when I got home I looked up the "meaning" of the colour yellow. I've pasted it below. Pay extra attention to the bolded sections:

Yellow produces a warming effect, arouses cheerfulness, stimulates mental activity, and generates muscle energy. Yellow is often associated with food. Bright, pure yellow is an attention getter, which is the reason taxicabs are painted this color. When overused, yellow may have a disturbing effect; it is known that babies cry more in yellow rooms. Yellow is seen before other colors when placed against black; this combination is often used to issue a warning (aka "don't buy this product", sorry I couldn't resist). 

Men usually perceive yellow as a very lighthearted, 'childish' color, so it is not recommended to use yellow when selling prestigious, expensive products to men. Yellow is an unstable and spontaneous color, so avoid using yellow if you want to suggest stability and safety. Shades of yellow are visually unappealing because they loose cheerfulness and become dingy.

Dull (dingy) yellow represents caution, decay, and sickness.

Interesting.

All that being said, I may go back. I'm cheap. I like saving money. 

I just won't go back on "crabby rude shoppers" day.