Terlingua Dreams

Terlingua Dreams
Governors Landing Campground - Lake Amistad - Del Rio, Texas

Friday, November 29, 2013

Thursday night at Wal-Mart

Folks, I think it is official...I have lost my mind!

What have you done now Belinda?  I was silly enough to think that since this was the first time that Wal-Mart starts its pre-Black Friday sale on Thursday afternoon...people would have rather stayed home, watch football and enjoyed being with their family and not venture out till Friday!

How did I come to this conclusion?  Have no idea...I tell you I'm NUTS!!!

I knew I had to get there at least by 4:00 p.m. to even have a chance to grab some of the 6:00 p.m. specials, but I had things to do and did not arrived till 6:15 p.m.  There was not a single parking space to be had.  People were parked at adjacent lots, in closed restaurants or at the bank which was the only place I found a parking spot.

Knowing fully well that there would be no shopping carts...I scored one from a lucky person that got there early enough to get the things they wanted and was on her way home.  Getting a shopping cart can be good if you find something heavy or it can be a hindrance as it is hard to navigate around the sea of people.

You might be wondering what special was so important to put myself in this predicament?  SD cards...yep, since my Photobucket account is full and my computer wont let me create another one I can not erase my pictures and I am running low on space.  Their PNY 8GB SD card was going to be on sale for $4.88 and a Sony 16GB for $7.88 as part of their 8:00 p.m. specials.

None of the employees seemed to know anything...they all gave you different answers.  The last one that actually worked in that department, told me I had to get in line and wait until 8:00 p.m.  Lol, me wait in line?  That was not going to happen!

Another reason I ventured out was for some camping gear for my future Terlingua trips.  As I mentioned on my series of Chili Cook-off reports my air mattress has seen its last day and they had an Intex Queen Airbed with raised pillow rest and pump for $25.00 as well as a 29" steel fire pit for $22.00.  With all the wind in Terlingua...you need one to keep the ambers under control and not start a fire.

Was I lucky enough to find any of these items?  NOPE...not a one!  The only thing I bought was a Stanley bottle thermos that keeps things hot or cold for 24 plus hours and could also come in handy in the desert.

I gave up my cart to a very grateful lady who could not even see in front of her with all the boxes of toys she was carrying.  Then I got in line to pay for my ONE item in the fast check out lane which as you can imagine...was not fast at all.

I started to feel sorry for the two guys in front of me who were obviously from out-of-town.  What were they buying?  A two or two and a half dozen carton of eggs, about 4 gallons of milk, chips and hot sauce. Yet they were trapped in this sea of people buying up everything but groceries.


Started up a conversation with them...one was about 35 years old said he was from I believe Angleton. He had come to spend Thanksgiving at his father-in-law's who lived out towards the lake. The other guy was about 25 years old ...said his grandmother was going to make homemade egg nog and she needed these ingredients.  Even with the crowds he said it was worth it, because she made a great tasting egg nog.  I have no doubt about that.


By and large the most popular item this day and in the carts of their new owners was the 50" Emerson TV that was selling for $288.00 some people had more than one.  I explained to the guys that a lot of people from Mexico come and buy them and then re-sell them in their country. Electronic items go for about three or four times more in Mexico.  Re-sellers can probably expect to make more at these low prices.

As I was walking back to the bank, the guys were pulling out and they waved good-bye.  Nice fellows...wished them a pleasant stay in Del Rio.

Gasoline prices this Thursday night in Del Rio...

$3.07 at Wal-Mart
I apologize for the poor quality

At HEB

12 comments:

  1. I never have went shopping during Thanksgving. I did order towels at online Walmart for a good price today,
    Have a great pain free day for both you and your mother!

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    1. Andrea you are a smart lady! Shopping online is certainly the way to go and I will stick to that in the future.

      Thanks for the pain free wishes...we both had a good day today :)

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  2. We didn't go any where yesterday and are planning on staying home all day today. Glad I don't need anything at Wal-Mart.

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    1. Believe me Wal-Mart is not the place to be this weekend...even Billy Bob wont go near one at this time...and it is his favorite store!

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  3. I sneaked into Walmart in Rockport and Lowes in Aransas Pass during lulls in the mobs today. Better to be lucky than good every time.

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    Replies
    1. You mean there was a lull?

      Yep...better lucky than good :D

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  4. We went out for Black Friday one year, went people watching, it was good fun. I'm thinking it started at midnight. We did have to wait in a line to get into Walmart at midnight & Best Buy a couple of hours later.
    I do remember stopping at Jack-in-the-box around 0330 or 0400, a huge number of people there & the two guys were swamped. They tried to call in help but no one would come. We sat there (inside) watching the show for over an hour while waiting for burgers & french fries, the line of cars in at the drive-up was huge. Good fun!
    We went to Walmart (Rockport) this afternoon for toilet paper, the sales stuff must have been long gone as there were no crowds.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. If you like to people watch then Wal-Mart on Black Friday is definitively the place to be. You will see the best, but more than not the worst in people.

      You are the second person that says the Rockport Wal-Mart had a lull in crowds. Have no idea how it was in the Del Rio Wal-Mart today and I hope to never find out.

      This was my first Thursday pre-Black Friday and hopefully my last, that I ever expect to be a part of.

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  5. You couldn't get me near a WalMart Thursday or Friday. My daughter had her in-laws in town for Thanksgiving so we all got the bright idea to go out for a late lunch on Friday. Did we go to a stand-alone restaurant? No we did not. We decided to go to the Yardhouse located in La Cantera (In San Antonio). We drove two cars since we had 8 people. What a madhouse. It took me 25 minutes of driving around just to find a parking spot. Thankfully, not all those people were there to eat.

    I did do a Black Friday thing once. We have an OfficeMax next door to a Best Buy. I did get a good deal on a printer, but all the real deals - laptops and such - we snatched up by the first 20 or 30 people in the store. I guess showing up 15 minutes before opening isn't the way you play that game.

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    Replies
    1. I pretty much learned my lesson Dave...I will never go to another Pre-Black Friday or Friday sale. Heck I don't think I will venture out at all during those days.

      Like you mention in places like Best Buy the people that have been camping for days will be the ones to get the good deals. Got to have a stratedy and I didn't have one.

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  6. Sure glad I didn't have to do that! It was suggested that we put drink prices Black Friday discounts at the legion. All I said to that was Well Sure.... while rolling my eyes.

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