( photo taken in Cobleskill, NY on Wednesday April 15, 2020)
Last night I prepared a grocery order (on line) through the Hannaford Supermarket on Wolf Rd in Colonie, NY. When I went to schedule a time to pickup the order, it said there were no time spots available for the next two days, but I should try back later as sometimes spots become available. I then attempted the same order through the Walmart Superstore on Route 9 in Latham, but alias I was given the same message. I tried to place my order again after midnight and yet again at 6AM this morning but there wasn’t a single spot open. I am not sure why the stores don’t allow you to schedule a pickup time some time later in the week. I had planned ahead and was willing to wait a week or more but none of the stores seem to offer that option. I am not sure why.
When my husband and I woke up, even before we got out of bed, we talked about taking a ride out towards a slightly more rural area to do the shopping for ourselves. Bob researched some possibilities and we settled on a Hannaford Supermarket in Esperance, NY. We would then do some banking at a drive through window at a Key Bank in Cobleskill. Besides being able to get some food items and other needed supplies in a less populated area, we would have the added benefit of a ride in the countryside. It was our excuse to see some sights outside of our immediate neighborhood. The weather was a bit chilly and overcast so our usual long walk through a cemetery was none too inviting.
We both had N95 masks and even though I was unable to find plastic gloves anywhere, we felt relatively secure. I reminded Bob that we couldn’t touch our faces at all until our hands were washed carefully. After removing our masks, we once again washed our hands and applied alcohol. We did the best we could without driving ourselves nuts.
During our little excursion I made a few observations. Gas prices got cheaper and cheaper the further we drove. By the time we got to Schoharie County, we could have gotten gas for $2.10 a gallon. We haven’t been anywhere lately so our gas tank was full and we were unable to take advantage of this great bargain.
There were some cars on the road but certainly traffic was sparse. Nothing much was open except for the gas stations and the drive throughs at McDonald’s, Burger King, and Dunkin Donuts. I also noticed a couple of small diner-type places with signs announcing that take out was still available.
The Hannaford supermarket employees were all wearing gloves, masks and plastic shields over their faces. They also had square plastic shields between themselves and the customers cashing out. Our food items were bagged into paper bags and none of our own reusable bags were allowed in the store. I noticed several other older people shopping even though it was about 11:30 AM. It seemed like all the older people were wearing masks of all different shapes and sizes and materials. For the most part people appeared to be keeping a fair distance apart but probably not always the recommended 6 feet. On the floor at the beginning of each aisle there were arrows made out of wide gray tape ( I actually didn’t even notice them until Bob specifically pointed them out to me, as they were so non-distinct that they kind of blended into the flooring). Apparently this was the store’s attempt to direct shopping traffic down one aisle and up the next although, once again, there appeared to be shoppers coming up the down aisle others coming down the up aisle. Because the store wasn’t too crowded it wasn’t too problematic. A more obvious problem appeared to be when customers stopped at a spot in an aisle in moment of indecision and others tried to reach around them for items.
There were quite a few customers, mostly younger and middle aged, who were not wearing any type of mask at all. There was one young woman and a little girl (who appeared to about 3-4 years old) and neither one of them had a mask on. I wondered why.
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