A Great Day

We've had a really nice day today.  We slept til we were ready to get up, ate breakfast at our leisure, then DeWayne took his walk and worked on his internet "job" for a bit, I did dishes, straightened up the house and took a shower. 

We needed a few grocery items and a "good" fly swat, since all we've seen since we've arrived here are the cheap, stiff plastic pieces of junk that aren't flexible enough to swat a fly with any efficiency unless it was on a flat surface.  We actually bought one for lack of anything better available that is now resting comfortably in the trash, broken of course.  One good swat and it split in half.  Now, how did I get up on this soap box?  Okay, I'm stepping off it and back on level ground. 

We drove west through Bethany and Ocean View at a slow rate of speed and just took note of the businesses along the way, as well as the beautiful homes and apartments.  We passed Food Lion and Giant grocery stores, but we already knew they only carried those sorry excuses for fly swats, so we drove on.  We noticed "Hocker's" grocery store that also had a hardware store attached. 

We decided to give it a try, so into Hocker's we trekked.  And what a pleasant surprise!  We spent twenty minutes just looking all the varieties of cheese they had.  I saw more fresh herbs than I've ever seen in one place.  They had a deli, a coffee shop, a fish market and so much more.  Variety Incorporated!  And it just looked and felt like a "community" place.  And ya wanna know why?  (Scuze me while I step back on the soap box).....ahem......

Here's the reason - THERE'S NO SUPER WAL MART AROUND and I love it!  See, I have a love/hate relationship with Wal Mart.  Like in Idabel, Oklahoma where we lived before retiring, Wal Mart managed to come in, carrying anything and everything you could want.  Then after they had driven so many small community businesses out of business, they began carrying only what I'm assuming the Wal Mart powers that be decided that we deserved and only if it agreed with their bottom line.  In other words, Wally World gets established, then promptly forgets about their promise of customer satisfaction.  Of course, by that time, they've driven out all the competition, so they don't care and we don't have a choice any more.  So I say KUDOS to these communities that don't let them do that.  Bravo, Bethany and Ocean View! 

We spent quite a while in this "Hocker's" and both found it to be a really nice experience.  For me to say that about buying groceries is saying a lot.  Oh, and did I mention that we found a REAL fly swat in the hardware part?  Okay, enough about the fly swat.  We came out of there happy with everything on our list plus a new cheese to try, which was delicious, by the way!

We spent the afternoon just doing this and that until time for supper.  DeWayne dug out the charcoal and loaded up the grill with pork chops (it only took four, lol).  We sat outside at the picnic table and listened to music from the stereo while we waited for the chops to cook and even worked in a dance right out there beside the RV.  We ate outside, but didn't tarry long since the wind was getting a little nippy.  But it was just one of those lovely times that just makes your spirit smile. 

We settled in for the evening and watched James Taylor and Carol King on PBS for a while and now have a Sandra Bullock movie going.  Ahhhhh......this is nice!

So, all in all, it's been a great day.  Don't know yet what tomorrow will bring, but stay tuned and I'll let ya know.  Meanwhile.....Happy Trails!