The MASSIVE Shopping Trip

Yesterday I went shopping.  That means that I woke up at 6 am so I could leave by 7 am drive for 2 1/2 hours and then spend the day stocking up on things.  My neighbor Keri drove and took all the seats out of her minivan in preparation for our expedition.
We did not actually leave at 7 am because I forgot to empty the lint tray in by dryer and all my pants were still wet when Keri got here.  So I invited Keri in for some hot cocoa and by the time we were done sipping, my pants were dry.  Phew. I really didn't want to wear a skirt.  I only shave my legs once every 2 weeks in the winter time.
We stopped at a variety of stores including, Big Lots, Joanne's, Hobby Lobby, Tuesday Morning, Ross, a furniture store, Sears, the Hallmark store, Ashley's Furniture, Lowe's, Target, Sam's Club, Wal-Mart, and Safeway.  In case you lost count that was 14 stores.  It was a long day.  By the end the whole minivan was piled from floor to half way up the windows.  Most surprising thing about our shopping trip may have been that I didn't actually buy anything at Hobby Lobby.
I say that the minivan was filled half way up the windows for dramatic effect.  While it is still entirely true, I'm leaving out a detail.  Keri was looking at dining room sets and she found one.  That made the minivan fill up quite quickly.  In fact, it was mostly full before we even start grocery shopping.
Keri's table was quite the find.  I'm pretty excited for her.  She had very specific requirements for her table.  It had to seat at least 6, be solid wood with no veneer, and still be within her price range.  On top of that it still had to be cute and fit in her minivan.  At Sam's Club she found a table that was all of those things.  It was a lovely counter height, cherry finish table with 8 chairs. While we shopped, she had almost decided to buy it.
As Keri wandered from the juice isle to the freezer section, she saw a set of boxes for the table she wanted.  The top box was ripped open.  When she asked the associate about it, she was told that specific set was discounted by $200 because of box damage and potential damage to the table.  We checked the pieces in the dented boxes for damage and could not find any.  Score!  She got $200 off the table that she was about to buy anyway.  
That was the big highlight of the trip.  None of my purchases were nearly that exciting.  I got a bunch of little stuff like seeds, Tylenol, almonds, etc...  Most of what I bought falls into the "don't have it here" or the "way too expensive here" categories.  My favorite example is goat cheese, in Blanding $4 for 3 oz, at Sam's Club $6 for 16 oz.
Keri and I weren't the only Blanding residents that spent their holiday shopping 2 1/2 hours from home.  We saw 3 families from Blanding.  Keri says that's actually fewer than she normally sees.  When she comes on a Saturday she usually sees 4-5. Strange.