Adventures in St. Louis

On Wednesday we ventured into the city for "stuff." Our first stop was Whole Foods, which, while not crowded, showed that most shoppers were being very careful. Nena saw only one woman without a mask, while I saw one man. There was also a station where masks and gloves were available for customers who wanted them. About a third of the customers were also wearing gloves (as were we). One thing that really struck me was seeing several people wearing masks and gloves while looking at cell phones and picking items off shelves; I soon figured out that they were employees selecting items for pickup/delivery. Also, every one of the help was wearing both gloves and mask. We got our stuff and left.

Our next stop was supposed to be Trader Joe's (off Eager Road, for Sadie's reference) and they had a line that stretched out the door all the way to the PetSmart next door. We decided that was too long to wait, so we went on to our next stop, Total Wine, as we were running low on such items. It wasn't crowded at all, but again, all the help were gloved and masked and the shopping carts were sanitized. We filled our cart and left, heading for another Trader Joe's off Manchester just outside of the beltway (Des Peres?). On the way we decided to have a Cafe Mocha from Panera's. Since all St. Louis restaurants are still closed for dine-in, we had to either a) order from our phones or b) get in the drive-up line. Ordering from the phone proved too complicated, so we got in the drive-up, ordered our drinks, and slowly snaked our way to the window. Again, all the help were gloved and masked. Took about 12-15 minutes.

On to Trader Joe's. (Traffic seemed about normal to me, by the way, which was navigable but busy.) There was a line there, too, but after I parked the car, Nena had been allowed towards the front of the line so we didn't have to wait long; the rule was one cart out, one cart in. Again, the carts were sanitized and all the help wore gloves and masks. Got our stuff and left.

Final stop was a small liquor store called Randall's, which is the only place I know to get Nena's favorite brand of red vermouth. It was not crowded at all, but once again, sanitized carts and glove/masked employees. I had been there before, and the man we dealt with was very knowledgeable about the stock, so he recommended a substitute for the brand we wanted, while I also picked up some beers I can't get out here in Bucolic Rolla.

On back to the homestead. Had to take Manchester/US 100, but it only adds about an extra 10 minutes to the trip from that point. Noticed both ways that there were a LOT of trucks on the highway. Ran into a jam-up on the Interstate due to an overturned semi, but shit happens, right?

All in all, a mostly productive but unnerving experience. We're staying put for a long while now.