Waste of an evening

At the bottom of our recent Kroger receipts, we noticed that there was some sort of "Holiday Thank You Bonus" that we could earn depending on how much we spent during November. We were excited about this, thinking we could save ourselves some money.

So this afternoon we left our house a little before 4 to travel to a Kroger "Marketplace" store to try to redeem our bonus.

As we drove, it got darker and darker and it rained harder and harder. We first went to the Kroger 20 minutes away, thinking it was a "Marketplace" Kroger, but it wasn't. The one we needed was an additional 15 minutes away. So we drove there. Very busy, hardly any parking spots, frustrated at having to go to another location and drive longer in the bad weather.

Went inside. They have the one thing we really want, Boars Head lunchmeat, at the deli. But they don't have many of the other things we buy on a weekly basis, and everything is more expensive at this Kroger "Marketplace." But they have a jewelry store, a Starbucks, and a Donatos. But I didn't want jewelry, I don't drink coffee, and when I want Donatos I will order carry out like a normal person. I want Jenny-O Ground Turkey. Which they don't have.

AND...the bonus is only good on houseware items - baking pans, towels, dishes - which I don't need.

We end up taking our lunch meat and leaving, planning to return to our hometown Kroger on the way home.

So 2 1/2 hours later, we were back home, having gone to three Krogers, driving through the pouring rain in the dark, and finally brought in our groceries.