Long Drive to Atlanta - For Groceries!

Yes, it's true. From Birmingham (Pelham, actually) to Atlanta is about 150 miles. Today, my friends, Carol, Shirley, and I made that trip for the specific purpose of grocery shopping at Trader Joe's. The hardest part of the trip wasn't the long time on the highway, it was getting out of the Birmingham area at morning rush time. I'm sure glad I don't have to deal with that kind of traffic on a daily basis. Jim decided to skip the trip today and so it was just the girls on the day trip.

I had never been to Atlanta before today. I've changed planes a few times at the airport there, but today was my first visit to the city itself. The Midtown Trader Joe's was not hard to find, and actually was fairly convenient to the interstate.

Here's a view of the skyline from the car. Thanks, Carol, for driving today!

Trader Joe's is my favorite small grocery. They carry many organic items, and many low-cost Trader Joe brand foods. I was looking specifically for some granola-type snack bars that are Weight Watcher "point" friendly, and are under $2.00 per box. They did not have the specific bars I was looking for, but they did have a similar bar for the same price, so I'll try these. They also carry a great salsa, and I picked up several jars of that.

Another item they are well-known for is their store brand, Charles Shaw blend wine, commonly called "2-buck Chuck". It's just a little more than $2.00 these days, but still under $3.00. And, it's a pretty good wine.

The stores are colorful and fun, as well as very clean.

We also like a lot of their frozen and fresh food items, but since it was such a long drive, I passed on them today. We'll hopefully be able to shop at some local Trader Joes' later on this summer and fall as we make our way down the west coast.

After the three of us shopped all the store aisles, we piled our bags in the car and started shopping for a place to have lunch before heading back to Birmingham. We ended up at a Mellow Mushroom, which does have more than just pizza. We all had salads and a half sandwich that was excellent.

The drive back went very well, and we ended up the day at Carol's house, where we had dinner. Jim did join us at dinner, and then we all went for a walk in her neighborhood.

What a great day!