Grocery shopping in the capital of the free world

Yesterday was not a day fit for more sightseeing. Instead, a couple of us ventured to the mecca of American consumerism also known as Costco. Due to the most awesome location of our house right in the center of Capitol Hill there is a lack of big box grocery stores and other like establishments in order to preserve the nature of the neighborhood. While I think this is necessary as I am one who is definitely for this preservation (along with many others measured by a willingness to pay a premium for these homes) my suburban Midwestern roots come through and I yearn for the blinding glow of fluorescent lights, overcrowded aisle ways and the allure of potential money saving deals. As you can see from above, a trip to the grocery in DC is a bit more complicated than back home. Because very few people drive here, pedestrians carrying armfuls of grocery bags on the metro is a daily occurrence and quite comical at times. In order to ease the burden of carrying numerous bags we decided utilizing suitcases would be a good idea. In another attempt to make the carrying of a ton of groceries back to the metro less cumbersome, some members of the group; I am not going to tell the whole story but lets just say Pentagon police officers do not like shopping carts full of overloaded suitcases being pushed onto their territory. And now it is time for some econ: Did you know that Europeans spend nearly twice as much of their disposable income on food products than we do here in the States? Thank you Costco team and Lilly especially for a hilarious day! Book recommendation: The Omnivores Dilemma by Michael Pollan.

--Mike