While traveling the world, we have been unable to purchase many items we need at any given time. I’d often think of how nice it would be to shop as quickly as possible in the US. But, we were disillusioned. Yesterday, when we visited no less than five stores, I experienced a feeling I rarely experience…feeling overwhelmed.
The DSW shoe store was the worst. I needed two pairs of shoes, one for the upcoming dressy cruise and another pair of walking shoes. Walking into the store, I scoured the aisles for less than 10 minutes. Nothing appealed to me, and the prices were so high. I wasn’t about to pay over US $100 for each pair of shoes.
Tom had found a pair of black Cole Haan shoes, his favorite brand, at the Men’s Wearhouse, but when I looked online while in the store, I found them online for US $50 less. Once back at the house, he found the exact pair at Amazon and made the purchase. At that point, I found two pairs of shoes totaling less than US $100 and ordered them along with Tom’s.
With that part out of the way, now we can focus on the few odds and ends we need to complete our dressy attire for the Queen Mary 2 cruise while replacing some things that we could only find here in the US. We will be well-stocked with supplies by the time we return to Marloth Park on May 24.
While at Costco, we extended our Costco membership to Executive to apply for a special rewards Visa card through them with Citibank. We’ll get tons of cashback for petrol worldwide and extras for the cruises we book through Costco Travel with this card. This will account for savings for us we hadn’t anticipated. Thanks to Gerhard for telling us about this benefit. The card will be waiting for us at our mailing service in Nevada when we arrive on May 15.
Costco gave us a fantastic cold storage bag for upgrading our membership. Since we were already paid up through July, we only had to pay the additional US $20 to upgrade the membership card. After handling all of this, we shopped for groceries to bring back to Karen and Rich’s, including some of the best deli meats and cheeses for Tom’s daily meat and cheese roll-ups that lately he likes having for breakfast.
We continue to enjoy time spent with Karen and Rich. Soon, Karen and I will take another long walk on yet another gorgeous day with temperatures in the mid-70s and a gentle breeze. It couldn’t be more beautiful. We certainly came to Florida at the right time of year.
Yesterday, by the end of the day, we had the bulk of our shopping done, both in person for Tom’s suit and online. We were finally able to relax for the evening. Karen and I made sides and salad for dinner while Rich cooked pork tenderloins and zucchini on the braai. Once again, it was a lovely dinner and evening.
On Wednesday next week, we will pick up his suit after completing the alterations. He was happy with everything he purchased, and the suit should fit him well.
For the next few days, we have nothing special planned on the horizon while we’re thoroughly enjoying fun and lively conversations with Karen and Rich. It’s very easy being here with them, as it’s always been on past visits.
Have a fabulous day while we revel in Florida’s warm and sunny days.
Be well.
Photo from one year ago today, March 29, 2021:
