Shop Till You Drop

        Over three of the last four days we have shopped till we dropped.  You can tell we have been in the boonies for quite a while.  When we arrived here Monday afternoon, we asked where we could go grocery shopping.  When the woman on the front desk said they have a Super Wal-Mart here, our eyes lit up.  We haven't been in one for over four months.  Although we only needed some lettuce, as soon as we were set up, we headed out for Wal-Mart.  Fred Meyer, where we have been shopping in Oregon, is a general merchandise and grocery store, like Wal-Mart, but the prices aren't as good.  We ended up buying way more than lettuce.

 

        On Tuesday we drove to Bend, where we shopped the Mill District shopping area—a newly developed "life-style" mall with beautiful landscaping and a number of restaurants—both fast food and up-scale. I bought a pedometer at REI and we picked up a sandwich in a deli.  Then we were off to the factory outlet mall for new running shoes at the Nike store.

 

        Wednesday we hiked at Smith Rock State Park and never darkened the door of a store.  We made up for that yesterday, when we drove to the small tourist town of Sisters.  There the streets are loaded with art galleries, boutiques and t-shirt shops.  We didn't buy anything except gifts for our grandchildren.  However, it sure was good to window shop.  We have not come across real tourist havens in Oregon.  On the whole, that is good.  But we both enjoy shopping, even when we don't buy anything.  So Sisters as a real treat.  And the scenery on the drive there is great.  The Cascade Range is in view the whole way.  Beautiful!