I Smell An Adventure

You may not have guessed this, but I'm a fairly adventurous guy. I traverse the mountains, I sail the seas, I hit the airlines, and yes I even date (occaisionally).
But this Blog is about one of my all time favorite adventures, not one that I once had, but one that I still have, and I still enjoy.

It all started a long time ago. as society would count, it will have been even longer ago next week, but I guess that's a different blog.

For some reason, it's always been a joy to me, I'd see my mom grab her purse, and I would know where she was going, and I wanted to go.

The Cupboards were getting low, the fridge was practically empty, and my mom was going shopping.

She didn't always let us go, and maybe that's what made it an adventure, but from a very young age I have loved the supermarket.

Sometimes I would plan it out carefully, "oh your going shopping? what a coincidence, I just happened to be here in the car, hmm." Sometimes she would catch me off gaurd.
"Oh please, please please please please."
Sometimes I would try the silent but stealthy mode.
She would leave, and with out a word, I would just follow.
But always it was an adventure.

One big building with so many cool things.
there was food, there were toys, there were art supplies, there was candy, and there was food.

Then came a day when there were no supermarkets,
I was a missionary, half way around the world, and near as I could tell, there was nothing like a super market. Now this is not to say that there weren't any markets, just to say that it was different. very different.
To some less intrepid souls I could see how this could be a real problem, but for me... this was a new adventure.
Greece had a plethora (yes I know what it means, in fact, it's greek)
of different markets, and each was more interesting than the next.
Most of the markets were um small you know, like a british phone booth, or a shoe closet. most of them only sold one thing,
But these shops were particularly interesting, because the one thing the would sell would generally be very good ( and if it wasn't there would likely be another shop just like it, on the next corner). There were bread shops and sweet shops, and Meat shops, (but I avoided those, but it wasn't about the meat, sort of) gyro shops, and little itty bitty super markets. one of everything in a room not big enough for isles. But when I say everything, I'm being generous. they didn't have everything, in fact I didn't recognize half the stuff they did have, but then that added to the adventure.

And Then There Was Laiki.
The most wonderful open air market in the world.
(no scientific research was harmed in the making of this blog)
Laiki is a traveling fruit and vegetable market. Suddenly one day you step out side and there it is. Miles and miles of fruit. Vendors from all over bring you their finest, and they bring it every week. This guy has apples you should see his apples, and that guy has grapes, but he's not alone, everything you can imagine is on sale, as long as it's in season, and everything is being sold by multiple vendors. Thus you get the best selection, the best quality, and wow, by far the best tastes that you could ever imagine, and best of all, it comes to you. Everyone is telling you "Come try my fruit." and once you do, your hooked.

Actually I take it back there was a supermarket,
we called it Dia,
of course, that was it's name.
Dia was a discount store, a little weird, and oh yeah spanish,
but you could get some pretty cool stuff there.
like the six dollar shirt that I am wearing right now.

When I finally left for Cyprus, I once again saw a supermarket,
I was shocked... It was Huge!
and I loved it.

It was hard to go back to Greece, but not too hard.
And then a miracle happened, these huge stores started popping up all over,
maybe some of them had always been there, and I just couldn't see them,
but some of them were definately new.
A few of them even had Peanut butter,
and yes I even saw a cake mix once.

I never did find cool whip, but there were other cool things.

Then of course when I got back home, the stores were new and exciting again.

And so today I set out on a quest.
My mom needed something, and she couldn't get it, so my job was to find it.
And my famous adventure had begun.

Wow the things that I found.
I thought I knew what to expect, but there were so many things that I had never seen.
And so many things that I had never smelled.

I notice that Hersheys is selling a limited edition "Dulce de Leche" syrup.
I found apple soda, and couscous in multiple flavors, And health foods, and junk foods, and cool foods and yes the one my mom was looking for.
But since I didn't know exactly where to look, at least I got to explore for a while first.

And so it continues,
I love the markets
They make me happy,
and every time theres another adventure.