Rainy Day Shopping

The other day it rained all day in Arizona.  Really! There have been a few of those days here lately. So maybe this will be another year for the bright orange and blue wild flowers lining the highways and the desert roads.  But rainy days do come in handy, right?  For us, this one was a day to shop. First we hit the local Sam's Club to purchase our new backup hard drive.  Don't want to lose all those photos, family history, etc.  Sam's usually has some good bargains in electronics.  We found a Toshiba, 500gb, with backup  software and carrying case for $79.  That should serve us for a while.

Our next destination was a recently-discovered store that's fun to explore - Total Wine.  There's much more than wine at Total Wine.  If you find any enjoyment in some kind of alcoholic beverages, you'll surely enjoy just roaming the aisles. We heard about Total Wine from our friend, Karen, when we visited her in Florida in December.  Then as we explored Tempe, AZ, during the past couple of months, we ran across these liquor-marts here as well.  Since then I've learned the stores are in ten states in the east, southeast and southwest.
The photo here shows about 1/20th of the store. It's the largest liquor store we've ever seen and the variety is unbelievable.   We find that their prices are very competitive overall.  If you see a price that ends in a 7, that's supposed to be the best buy.  We found a wine that was priced at what we'd call a "try me" level, a Merlot by Pacific Peak. A bottle just jumped into our cart. We enjoyed it a lot. So this trip we stocked up.  Who would ever know that this new favorite is only $2.27 a bottle. 

You can also buy all kinds of imported beers - by the bottle, if you wish.  Since every item has a card describing it on the shelf, you can get a good idea of the product.   Have your own taste testing.  Speaking of that, the store includes a wine education room and wine tasting area.

As we were gazing at the wide selection of Scotches, just considering them, we encountered a couple from Germany that live in the Mesa area. They were stocking up on various recommended types and brands that they had read about in a book.  They found every item on their list. Although,  all of us passed up the $500 bottles that were locked in the glass case. It was interesting talking about our tastes with this friendly couple. They advised us that there are coupons in the newspaper regularly for additional discounts on quantity purchases.

Just thought I'd share this rainy day activity.  See you down the road.