Suburbia

Spent a weekend in the 'burbs with A & J, who live about an hour north of Chicago. It was a true taste of suburban life with the large house, the big SUV and their two lovely daughters aged 6 and 7.

We landed on Thursday evening where A, one of John's best friends, picked us up from O'Hare. We then joined the throng of vehicles fighting their way through rush hour for the commute home.



What got me the most on our first night there was how quiet it was – no horns blaring, no sirens screeching, no garbage trucks rumbling through the streets at 4 in the morning. John and I hadn’t had such a great night’s sleep in a while, so we felt refreshed when we finally crawled out of bed Friday morning.

A had a few errands to do, so after a hearty breakfast of bacon and eggs, we tagged along and went with A to their local Sam’s Club, a mega-mart where you can buy anything your little heart desires in bulk, and I mean bulk.

I was in awe.



The massive carpark and unassuming (read: ugly) building didn’t prepare me for what was in store - aisles and aisle of food, household items, even jewellery were for sale – all in jumbo, gargantuan size (well except the jewellery…heh).


Holy crap there's a lot of food here

There were free samples of food, which I thought was a great idea. So I helped myself to some funky tasting shrimp scampi and strolled down the aisles to take some photos.

Even John was in awe, so I had him "model" some of the items we found...


I Can't Believe It's That Big!!


Sugary goodness indeed

A lot of the items we saw were labeled “Restaurant Quality”, which I assume meant that the majority of the shoppers there were buying for their businesses, but I saw a lot of families filling their oversized shopping carts with oversized boxes. I think you pay an annual fee to become a member of the club, and you can shop until you drop.


If only that were Praise mayonnaise, I'd die a happy woman


I was tempted to buy this, paired with a 6-pack of beer...yum!

I suppose it does make sense to buy things in bulk, you save money and endless trips to the supermarket. Still, it was a bit of an eye opener that's for sure!


Looks like a happy customer

We made our way back to Chicago on Saturday for a night out on the town with A & J, who found a baby sitter to stay overnight. They were so excited at being back in Chicago without the kids. It was funny watching them enjoy each other's company.

Ahh...suburbia...John and I can't wait to join it...maybe!


Shot from Millenium Park