Swedish meatballs!

As we near the end of February, things are winding down here at the campground. When Millie and I went for our bike ride this evening we counted at least 35 empty sites. Up until last week the park was full. That’s not to say the snowbirds are going home, just starting their northward migration.  We too will be leaving next week, we are moving to Wauchula so we can go to Pioneer Days, the annual antique tractor and stationary engine show held there.

We had an interesting road trip last week; we went to an IKEA store. The big blue and yellow stores are a familiar sight, but the inside was somewhat of a mystery to us. We knew they sold Swedish styled furniture that you assemble yourself, but neither of us was prepared for the presentation. 

The store is literally a maze, from the entrance you follow the arrows on a tile road that twists and turns its way through all of the departments of the store. You write down part numbers of any item you want for later retrieval. At the end of the showrooms you pass through a cafeteria. If you stop to eat and then spend $100 in merchandise, you get reimbursed for your meal. Yes, they do have Swedish meat balls!

Part two of the maze is the merchandise mart, still following the directional arrows, you may now fill your bag or cart from a large selection of household items including, kitchen, bedding, lamps, decorator items, etc. 

The shows not over yet, next you get a flatbed cart and enter the warehouse. Finding your large items is simple using the aisle and bin numbers that you wrote down when you made your selection in the store. You load the flat boxed furniture yourself and finally get to the checkout and vehicle loading area. 

While it’s not “Man” shopping, it’s not a bad experience. One plus is, with the arrows on the floor you don’t have to ask for directions. Time wise, it does drag out a bit, but you don’t have to talk to salesmen, nor wait for someone to bring your stuff to the loading dock. 

I don't think I will be a regular customer as I’m a practitioner of true man shopping; plan your attack, (make a list), execute your battle plan, (go directly to your wanted items) make a swift escape, (get out without browsing around.) This plan is for regular stores and does not apply to Harbor Freight, Tractor Supply Lowes/HomeDepot, or BassProShop!