Saturday, January 10, 2009

Loving (and not Loving) Google Maps

When the cats and I were newly arrived and staying in the pet-friendly Motel 6 in Irving . . . and running out of cat food, I searched for Pet stores on Google maps and was happy to find one, with an unfamiliar name, in the neighborhood. I made a note of the directions and made it my priority of the day to return with some Iams Multicat for my hungry kitties.

As I approached my destination, I had doubts–I was clearly in a warehouse district; upon arrival, I was quite sure, this was no retail pet store.

Southland Dallas

I went inside this wholesale pet food distributor anyway and explained how I landed on their doorstep, and asked them if they knew who would be the closest retail seller of Iams. They told me and also gave me an 8 pound bag of my kittie's favorite food to hold us over . . . reinforcing my first impression of Texans and Texan hospitality.

Google maps generally serves me well; now that I'm downtown, I love the walking and public transportation options. But I really should have known better when I started to put my dining table back together again, noticed I was far short of hardware needed and used Google maps to look for a hardware stores in the area. I couldn't believe my good luck that to find a Home Depot within walking distance. I bundled up–the temperature had dropped into the 30's today–and headed out with my directions. At the address, I found . . . AT&T. Perhaps Home Depot formerly had offices in the building? I had to laugh at myself. I really should have known better and should have cross checked on the Home Depot site . . . which I did after I came home again, after a quick stop at the Urban Grocer. I thought they might have a few hardware supplies, but came up empty–one of the friendly staff did suggest a nearby (drive-able) Home Depot, though ;-)

Urban Market Inside the Urban Market

I picked up some fresh salad veggies and a yummy looking cheese and headed home.

5 comments:

Christine Thresh said...

How nice of the wholesaler to give you a bag of the cats' favorite food.
I love reading about your adventures in your new city.

BevAndBailey said...

Hi Sophie! I work for Iams and came across your blog post while I was surfing. I'm glad to hear your kitties like our food--also VERY glad to hear that our buddies at Southland were able to help you. I'll let them know that you appreciated their hospitality!

sophie said...

The folks at Southland were great! When I was taking the photo outside, A man pulled up and asked if "We were doing something wrong." "Just the opposite," I told him, "You had just done something very nice."

Debra Dixon said...

Glad to hear Texans are impressing you!

Rian said...

Well, looky here. I thought you'd dropped off the planet and here you are in Texas. Winter has got to be better there than in the middle of the mitten state.

Best wishes on your new adventure(s).

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