I was going to try to make San Antonio last night but I was more tired than I thought. Setting travel destinations is kind of like ordering food at a restaurant when you're hungry. You think you can eat it all, but you usually end up not even coming close. I hit the “walmart button” on my GPS... asking it to direct me to the nearest walmart. It was only 30 miles away. About 25 minutes later, in her thick British accent, the GPS lady proudly boasted that “I had arrived”. I didn’t see a walmart though. I drove up the street and back again when I finally realized this WAS the walmart. It had gone out of business. Now, there’s something you don’t see everyday… a walmart going out of business.
I pulled in and found a great place to stealthily camp. Not knowing if I was still welcomed to spend the night, I hid the RV from the road. Can you see it in this picture? It’s there.
No, I’m not David Blaine. I can’t make an RV disappear but I can hide it so you don’t see it.
The place was deserted. Not a single person to be seen yet, the lights were mostly on inside. Strange.
Wow... I can't believe they didn't lock the doors. ...or did you break in?!! I wouldn't be surprised if it was the latter. ;-)
ReplyDeleteNo, that was taken through a window silly! I would never break into an empty walmart! A full one maybe... just kidding!
ReplyDeleteHere they like to close Wal-marts and open newer, bigger ones just a couple blocks away. Craziness!
ReplyDeleteWonder who's polishing those floors? They look shiny.
Guarantee that was what they call a Division 1 store, undoubtedly replaced by a SuperCenter not far away......there are empty Walmart D1 stores all over the country.....
ReplyDeletejohn u r correct. I was talking with a local and she said the new supercenter opened up just down the road from the old one. They must open a small store in an existing building to gain the towns trust and gauge sales. When everything looks good, they abandon the 1st building and build a new one.
ReplyDeleteAs much as I like walmart, I can't ignore the devastation it has on a towns businesses and economy. Walmart basically wipes out the hardware store, the supermarket/s, the optricians, the McDonalds (most walmart have mcdonalds in them now) and gas station/s (most walmarts now have gas stations too). Not to mention the mom and pop clothing stores.
Yes, Walmart has definitely done its fair share of destruction to the old downtowns and the small town small business!! Lets add to the list ---pharmacies....oil change shops....tire stores....bakeries....barbershops/beauty shops....jewelry shops....hells bells, you can even buy CASKETS from Walmart.com.....
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't blame Wal-Mart for that stuff, they're just rational actors. The problem is the laws and regulations that the government creates to favor big businesses. If Wal-Mart was just competing fairly, it wouldn't be a problem that they drive local stores out of business, it'd just mean they're offering something better. (Of course, if you let them compete fairly, local stores would win.)
ReplyDeleteInteresting to see the RV model of stealth camping. I do a lot of stealth camping on bicycle, seems a lot harder to hide an RV lol. :p