Daytripper (part 2)

So we walk up to the door, which is a steel/reinforced type door...very peculiar for this type of place.  We open the door, and saw something we've never seen before.

Now, let me just say this, I've been to El Paso, Juárez, LA, New York...and I've never seen anything like this. 

Basically, we walked into a warehouse where people were scrambling around.  There were about 6-7 rows of boxes.  These boxes were 4x4x4 (and those are FEET) on pallets, full of stuff.  There was no rhyme or reason.  Generally, I don't scare...Because, hey! Let's save money! But really, I was not prepared. AT ALL.

So, we're looking around, scoping the place out, figuring what the story was...and this lady walking around with a golf club yells at us to move to another aisle, because the one we were on (the closest to the door) was about to be taken out.  There was a guy riding around on a forklift, waiting to move the box/pallet combination.  And yes, I did type that she was walking around with a golf club.

So we wander to the end aisle.  This place was FULL.  People had shopping carts full of stuff, just packed.  So we gingerly start looking through a box.  I guess we looked lost, because we got some friendly advice.

This older lady, going through the same box, tells us,

"If you don't want to look at it, just throw it in the box next to you! Go ahead, just move it out of the way! You have to get to the bottom to see the good stuff. If you need (latex) gloves, they have some at the front. If you can't reach it, you can borrow my hanger!"

Oh no, dear readers, this was no ordinary hanger. This was a Hulk of a hanger.  This was 4 wire hangers straightened out and intertwined, and reinforced.  It was SuperHanger™ .

So, the friendly (Hispanic) Goodwill lady, in her sweats and and Sunday wig, shows us how to use the hanger.  If you've seen a Gopher, its basically the same thing.

(Also, what kind of place offers you gloves to go through their stock???)

The Mister and I look at each other, because, WOW.

Basically, that's the sentiment, because I don't think either of us had words.

Actually, I told him, "Oh, I get it!"

This was in response to one of his friends telling us (after going to this same Goodwill location) how disgusting it was and how he refused to shop there.  And, guys, I got it, I GOT it.  Because it was something to behold.

After a few minutes, the Mister tells me, "this is ALL you. I'm done."

So, I tried it.  I didn't exactly dive right in, but I tried it.  I moved stuff (not exactly throwing haphazardly as everyone else was) from one box to another.  And by stuff, I mean STUFF. Mugs, glass, picture frames, clothesclothesclothes, shoes, unidentifiable objects, the whole lot. But really, it was just too much for me.

Now, don't mistake this for we left without anything. I found a canvas bag, for books and the like, and a converse dress, and a NY & Co. sweater and Ralph Lauren.  Oh, and the Mister found one of those gigantic novelty remotes.

So, we get in line, and we figure it out: this place doesn't by the item, oh no.  This place weighs what you have and you pay by ounce or pound or something. (Light bulb! This is why so many people are here!)

The people there are mostly nice, and the lady ringing us out offered a bottle of water (for purchase.) The Mister immediately said yes.

So we pay out (with a whopping total of $2.73), and I already know that this bottle of water is not to be consumed.  It is to wash our hands, because you could feel a film on your hands.

This isn't to say we didn't have fun, because we thought this was hysterical. And it beat us.

The Clearance Goodwill won.

Daytripper (part 1)

The Mister and I decided to get out of Amarillo, if only for one day.  I figured Lubbock was bound to have some great thrift stores, good eats, and general merriment.

Despite the fact that he hates Lubbock, the Mister agreed that yes, new thrift store sights and a mini vacation were exactly what we needed.

So we drove down to Lubbock with high hopes and a shine in our eyes.  I had printed out a list of 5 or so thrift stores that we could hit up, and Nick was to navigate.  Once we got off the highway, we actually ran into the American Council of the Blind store...where we didn't find anything.  The place was packed and shoppers were finding their picks, but we found nothing.  Our hopes would not be dashed.

So, we're trying to make it to St. Paul's Thrift House and ended up running into Goodwill.  Here at home, Goodwill has always been a gold mine, so of course, we pull into the parking lot.  While this location is much smaller than home's, we're certain we'll find something.

It takes a while (because we will NOT leave Lubbock empty handed!) but I find a L-shaped shelf that's a good price, along with a brand new ice cream maker.  We take the items to the register and find one of our Goodwill homies (an employee that we've gotten to know while frequenting Goodwill--they tend to come and go.)  So, knowing us, she asked what we were doing in Lubbock (and laughed finding out we were there to thrifting) and we found out she transferred to Lubbock.

We both found this hilarious--only we would leave town to go thrift store shopping and run into an employee from our usual haunt.

So, onwards, to St. Paul's and we must circle the place 3 times, because its on the grounds of a church.

We figure out where the building is, only to find it is closed. This thrift store had the best review, so that was disappointing.

We made it to 2 others, no purchases made, but lots of things to see.  I had a different address for Goodwill (from the one we visited), so we ascertained that there must be 2 locations and started looking for the 2nd.

Let me tell y'all, by the time we got to the general location, we found out we'd have to go down a dirt road.  This was a nondescript building in the "industrial" part of town.  We didn't even know if it was open to the public or just their warehouse.  After checking out the full parking lot, we figure'd we try it, and found a door with a sign that read "clearance entrance."

At last! The place we've been waiting for!

to be continued...