We like Wal-Mart. We really like Wal-Mart.
Wal-Mart is the biggest supermaket chain in America and has literally thousands of stores across all of the USA, Canda, parts of Mexico and even the Carribean.
Wal-Mart employs more people than the population of New Zealand.
Wal-Marts can be found in all cities and towns and are often positioned on freeway intersections which makes accessing them very easy.
Wal-Mart Supercenters carry over 100,000 stock items of every imaginable type from groceries through to RV accessories which make them an attraction for us as we need never shop anywhere else for all of our needs. We have bought fresh fruit & vegetables, floor mats, engine oil and spare sewer hose all on the same visit to a Wal-Mart.
Wal-Mart Supercenters are open 24 hours per day and have banking, ATMs, hair salons and optometrists services available along with tire and lube services for your car while you shop.
And Wal-Mart prices are always cheapest.
But here’s another reason why we like Wal-Mart. Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart, was an RVer. He loved nothing more than to camp out in the wilderness and enjoy the sort of things that we enjoy. But what he found, in travelling the long distances required to get away from it all, he frequently had to overnight along the way and it irritated him that he had to stay in inconvenient and expensive camping grounds.
So, since they were everywhere, he stayed in his own car parks.
Then he wondered if other RV’ers didn’t have the same probem so he made it a company policy to allow free overnight stop overs in any Wal-Mart car park. He reasoned that RV’ers were generally a responsible group of people that would not abuse the privilege and anyway they would probably purchase their goods from the store since they were there.
This policy continues and we use this opportunity whenever we need to restock with provisions and to also stay the night if we are enroute to somewhere else.
Wal-Mart even sell a comprehensive atlas of North America that lists the location of it’s Supercenters and we use this atlas as our main map. It’s so convenient to plan our trip in such a way to include dropping off the freeway into a Wal-Mart, buy our groceries, purhaps have a meal at the food centre then wander back to the rig for the night. After the first couple of times it doesn’t feel weird sleeping in a supermarket carpark and the security aspect is first class. There are often a dozen or more other RV’ers parked up together at the other end of the car park doing the same and it’s always interesting to swap news and travel hints with these folk.
We really like Wal-Mart.
