shopping

So yesterday we made the mistake of checking out the new über-mega Safeway that opened up today in Novato (or Ignacio, if you want to get technical and all). It's the anchor tenant for the new Hamilton Plaza shopping center, which seems to be shaping up nicely. Only Safeway is open at this point.

Anyhow, they had a preview on Thursday afternoon and evening, and apparently everyone living within a 50-mile radius of the place decided to show up. Seriously, you had a hard time finding a parking spot, let alone even getting into the store. You'd think people had never seen a Safeway before. It's a Safeway. A SAFEWAY!

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Yes, it's mid-September, and already the "Halloween Superstores" are sprouting up, like mushrooms after a rain, in empty storefronts all over the Bay Area. Can pumpkin patches be far behind? At any rate, there are unique challenges for parents of preschoolers and the whole costume-shopping experience. First: You will go to one of these Halloween shops, whether you like it or not. It's unavoidable, unless you keep the kids blindfolded in their car seats so they remain blissfully unaware of the store's existence, which, come to think of it, isn't a bad idea, since it makes those McDonalds signs pretty hard to spot, too.

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Tomorrow (Saturday, 6/9) looks like it's opening day for garage sales, and for some reason, Ignacio is leading the pack. If it weren't having three little kids and their naptimes and meals and diaper changes and yada yada yada, I'd spend the entire day garage sailing in southern Novato. As it is, I'll be lucky if I get out at all. Both Bel Marin Keys and Lanham Village (Hamilton) are having their annual neighborhood sales. It's a total park and stroll kind of deal...unless of course you've got the double stroller and the child on the side arrangement, as I do. Wah. Can you tell I'm having withdrawals from what used to be the highlight of every summer? What's more there are smaller neighborhood sales going on in Hamilton (Newport I think) and on the the other side of the freeway (Calle de la...streets), as well as numerous single and multi-family sales throughout Ignacio. I won't even go into Novato proper, let alone the rest of Marin. You can go to Craig's List yourself to get the full scoop: http://www.craigslist.org/nby/gms/