Running errands...

 

Yes, with the van.  Joan had a list of things she wanted from Sam's Club; some of those things would be frozen or refrigerated... and the van has a fridge/freezer.  Pretty convenient.  Plus, there was some mention of having lunch out - I had something in mind.

Murphy got some outdoor time and plenty of exercise, running to and from Steph and Dan's yard.  Joan and I sat outside and took turns wrangling him back to our yard.  As Earl said in an earlier comment: it's a fun game (from Murphy's perspective).

A light breakfast, showered, and ready to go.

We made our way to Sam's and parked out a ways in the lot.  A pleasant walk to the entrance, since the high today was 87º.  Joan got everything on her list, we paid with the Sam's Club app (no standing in line), and headed to the van.  The parking lot hadn't filled in any since we parked, but this was fun...

Yep, the whole parking lot, including a lot of spaces closer, but whoever was driving the black pickup felt the need to park right by us.  Far enough away that he couldn't door-ding us, though.  We loaded up our groceries, put stuff in the fridge and freezer, then got ready to roll.  A guy in a sedan pulled up by me as I was getting into the van; he rolled down his window and asked, "How much does an auto like that cost?"

I gave him the advertised price and the shock on his face was very apparent.  He then asked, "You can camp in that, too, right?"

People are often surprised by the price of Class B vans... and the wide variety of price points, since many don't understand that not all Class Bs are created equal.  I know I had sticker shock when we first considered one of these.

I was really feeling like Alice Springs Chicken for lunch, and the only place to get that is Outback Steakhouse.  Less than 1/3 of a mile from this particular Sam's Club.  I parked to the edge of the parking lot...

Lunch was good, our server was friendly and efficient, and we left with full bellies.  And when we came out, no one else felt the need to park close.  One in a row.

Back home, we emptied our purchases out of the van, then drove to the storage place to swap back for the Equinox.  A stop to fuel up the car, then another stop at Fry's to get the grocery stuff that Sam's Club didn't have.  We won't have to eat out for a while... but, I'll still want to.  ;-)