Trader Joe's In Templeton is my Favorite Grocery Store

I Love Trader Joe's

I rejoiced on the day when Trader Joe's opened their Templeton store. It meant we no longer had to drive all the way to San Luis Obispo to get favorite products no other store has. Trader Joe's is my favorite grocery store. (And they aren't paying me anything to say that.)

What I Buy at Trader Joe's

Trader Joe's is the only handy place to buy goat's milk at a reasonable price, for example, and I love their white teas. I combine these teas for my every morning beverage of choice, and  I can't get them anywhere but Trader Joe's. It's also the best place in the area to buy Ezekiel bread, which we need for the diet plan we use.

Trader Joe's has many delicious treats that I no longer buy because they are not on my diet plan anymore, but instead I buy the many fruits and vegetables they offer. I also regularly buy their toasted slivered almonds to throw on my salads and into my stir fry dishes. We are addicted to their frozen sweet potato fries, but sometimes we also  buy their sweet potato chips. Those are really hard to find anywhere else.

I have started buying some products I had never tried because Trader Joe's is always providing samples of something when I go in. I almost always try it, and sometimes that makes me buy what I tried. I also appreciate the snack, because I often shop when I'm hungry and that snack gets me through the shopping trip.

Trader Joe's is Child-Friendly

Have you ever taken children into a store only to have the employees follow them around as though they were little criminals? These kinds of stores often have signs on their shelves like “You break it, you bought it.” Granted, there may be good reasons for this. As a store manager I was taught that women who came in with children who scattered throughout the store or hid in the clothes racks, or created havoc in other ways often brought them in to distract clerks from the mother's shoplifting . It's also true that children like to touch, and they sometimes break valuables. That's why many kinds of stores try to make shopping a very supervised experience for women who enter with children who seem unruly.

But there is one store I know that actually welcomes children. Look at the photo below. If you only saw the photo, where would you guess it was taken? A kindergarten? A preschool? It would be a typical scene in either place. 

But no. It's a corner near the front of the Trader Joe's store in Santa Maria, California, where we often stop on the way to destinations in Southern California. How many small children do you think would rather run around the store than play here? Or see their work on displayed in the window? (These activity centers may have changed since I took the photos, but they always have something for children.

Closer to home, at the Trader Joe's in Templeton, California, we see this area near the front of the store. It's another magnet for preschoolers. Again, the activities change from time to time.

I love what Trader Joe's provides for children – except for what you see below. I didn't see this in Santa Maria, but it's a shopping hazard at the Templeton store. Children do not have to pass a driving test to get one of these carts for “shoppers in training.” I have seen some frail senior citizens nearly run over, and I've also seen cart races between siblings. It's one thing to welcome children. It's another to give them weapons of destruction. Of course, alert and caring parents will teach their children to drive responsibly. I just wish clerks would act as traffic officers when parents don't supervise. 

Do You Shop at Trader Joe's? 

If you live in California, there is likely to be a Trader Joe's near you. Do you shop there? I guess it's obvious that I do. That's my cart not quite full yet on one of my shopping trips.

 

If you enjoyed this post, please share it. The sharing buttons are just above the comment box at the end of this post. The photo below is especially designed for pinning. The top part of the collage is a photo taken in autumn of one of the Trader Joe's pumpkin displays.

This is my twentieth post for the 2016 AtoZchallenge, a Blogging Challenge for the month of April, 2016. My theme is Things You Can See or Experience in North San Luis Obispo County. Here are links to the other posts if you missed them.

A is for Acorn
B is for Barney Schwartz Park
C is for Cattle in Wine Country
D is for Dark Star Cellars
E is for Electric Wires
F is for Family Farms
G is for Graveyard Vineyards
H is for Horses
Insects in My Neighborhood in April
J's Burgers in Paso Robles: A Review
Kosta is God's Gift to Me from Across the Ocean
Laguna Lake is Full Again
Mission San Miguel Photos
Niner Estates Decorated Heart Hill with Vineyards
Ocean Photos from the California Central Coast
Paso Robles Police Vehicles
Quiet Places Near Paso Robles
Red Soles Winery at Dusk

Shale Oak Winery at Dusk

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January 19 is Good Memory Day

Jason after a Long Day at Disneyland
© B. Radisavljevic

When you get to be my age one has accumulated many memories. So which should I pick for Good Memory Day? I think I'd have to go back in time to when my son was alive and sharing my life. He joined our family when he was five years old, and we'd known him as a foster child next door for the year before that. We met as friends who talked outside in the front yard, and then we began to invite him in. He was my friend before he was my son,  and he always remained my friend. He lived with us for nine years before an accident took him off to heaven. This photo was an early one, taken after his first trip to Disneyland.

Jason in Clown Costume
© B. Radisavljevic

After he'd been with us about two years, while he was still a foster child, he dressed as clown for Halloween. It suited his personality perfectly, because he loved to make people laugh. I will always treasure this photo. He was seven when  it was taken.

In the summer of 1985, after the adoption, we took a trip to Washington, D.C. We planned to spend a week there playing tourist with friends of the family who had moved to Massachusetts and didn't know Jason yet, since they had moved away from us before he joined our family. It was in Washington, D.C. that Jason met Abraham Lincoln.

Jason at Lincoln Memorial, © B. Radisavljevic

Jason Pinning Me at Webelo Court of Honor,  © B. Radisavljevic

The next year,  Jason moved to a new school and joined a troop of Webelo Scouts. I was very happy the night pinned me at a Court of Honor to signify that I had helped him to advance.

Jason at Valley Forge,  © B. Radisavljevic

When Jason was twelve, our family took a trip to Massachusetts while my husband was on a temporary contract to work there. Since we were homeschooling by then, we wanted to see all the historical places we could. It was a wonderful trip where we made many good memories. Jason always liked interacting with the docents and others playing parts in living history reenactments. Here he is interacting with a soldier at Valley Forge. If he looks a bit tired it's because we had a long ride that day and would go even farther -- all the way to Massachusetts with a stop in Philadelphia to see the Liberty Bell before we finally reached our destination.

Jason at Point Lobos,  © B. Radisavljevic

The next summer, the summer before he died, we had the opportunity to take a mother / son trip that had several purposes. We wanted to provide the setting for earning two Boy Scout badges, and one of them involved visiting the state capitol. I also wanted us to see more of California along the way. It was a trip I'll never forget, and I'll always be grateful we were able to have the time alone. This photo was taken at Point Lobos.

Jason Panning for Gold in Sacramento,  © B. Radisavljevic

After a few more side trips, including camping at Clear Lake State  Park, we got to Sacramento. We stayed at a motel along the American River, and Jason fulfilled a long-held desire to pan for gold. Unfortunately, he didn't find any. He still enjoyed the experience. I will always treasure the memories made on our trip. I had less than a year to make more, since after eleven more months, Jason was gone. This is the photo the newspaper used for the obituary.

Which good memory would you like to celebrate today?

The Police Department Put on a Block Party DowntownTonight

National Night Out In Paso Robles

Sometimes I'm lucky enough to just stumble into events. I was taking some books back to the library and just happened to notice something unusual was happening while I was on my way to park. The street in front of the police station was blocked off and it was full of people, police vehicles, and even food. Naturally, I had to wander over and see what was going on.

What I discovered is that it was National Night Out, the second one in which the Paso Robles Police Department has participated. Lieutenant Tim Murphy (left, above) explained this event is designed to help bring the police and the community together in a non-threatening setting and to educate the public about what police do.

Lt. Tim Murphy, left, Chief Robert Burton, Right

On display were several types of police vehicles. See them here. In this post, I want to zero in on some of the things the children were able to participate it. In this photo, a little girl is learning first hand how the police dust for fingerprints at a crime scene. I saw this myself when the police came to my home after it was burglarized in 2013.

Fingerprint Dusting Demonstration

Young visitors to this event had a wonderful time. I saw many carrying balloons, and I heard a number of police whistles being blown -- all souvenirs from this party. The children also loved seeing all those police vehicles. These two were enjoying the opportunity to explore this one up close. Another popular activity was eating the hamburgers, hot dogs, and cake which had been donated for this event.

At the end of the block toward 9th Street, smaller children were occupied making chalk drawings on the street. See photo below.

I think the National Night Out does give the community a chance to communicate with police in a relaxed setting. Most of the time people only see police officers when crimes are being committed or during traffic stops. Tonight even Chief Burton was available to answer questions from citizens. The eventual goal is to have these events as neighborhood block parties throughout the city, perhaps organized by neighborhood watch groups, with police personnel attending.

Related articles

• Santa Maria Holds National Night Out

Barney Schwartz Park is Paradise for Kids

How Barney Schwartz Park Has Changed in Twenty Years

The first time I saw Barney Schwartz Park in Paso Robles, I wasn't impressed. It was not long after we moved here over twenty years ago. It appeared to be a huge vacant lot, totally undeveloped, with only a sign to let people know what it was. In the past few years I've passed it a couple of times, while driving, but it's out of the territory I normally roam in. It's on Union Road. I passed it getting to the rural area I wrote about yesterday. But I did stop there this time, and I was impressed.  I wish there had been such a park near me when my own children were growing up. There is something for any age.

Upper Playground, Barney Schwartz Park, March, 2015

I parked in the upper parking lot just to see what was there. I wanted a view from as high as possible. When I got out of the car, I looked down over the rail at the park. This is what I saw.

Trees in Bloom and Children Riding Scooters at Barney Schwartz Park, March, 2015

Those children on scooters are coming from the lower playground. (Bottom left corner of photo above) It was evident to me that what they really enjoyed was a place to ride the scooters. You will see them in many of these pictures. They really got around. You will notice in the far right back corner of the photo above there is a row of blooming trees. You will also see them in the picture of the upper playground. In fact, it seemed the entire park was in bloom. I will have to come back in autumn when all those trees turn red, as they do in fall.

Fertilizing the Grass at Barney Schwartz Park

You will also notice that I happened to pick the day they were fertilizing the grass to explore the park. This kept me off some of the grassy areas I wanted to walk on. It was on the grass all around the lake, but I will have to show you the lake in the next post.

Barney Schwartz Is a Multi-level Park

On thing that makes the park so interesting is the many different levels. There are sports fields on the lower level, and they are busy whenever people are free to play on them. The lake is near the upper level playground. The sidewalks make a lovely walking (or scooter) path between all the levels. These children are headed down toward the playing fields, but they will be back.

Children Riding Scooters at Barney Schwartz Park, March, 2015

Children Riding Scooters at Barney Schwartz Park, March, 2015

I saw them again as I was headed back to my car. They are on the path to the upper lot where I'm parked. This park is huge. I was most interested in the many magnificent oak trees and the pond with lots of turtles. I will show you both of those other interests in future posts.



What are the main attractions of your favorite local park?