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One of the good things about living in the city is that you don’t necessarily need a car.  It’s nice to have and can make things more convenient, but it’s not required.  We’ll get a car eventually {walking to/from work late at night in downtown Auckland just isn’t smart!}, but in the meantime I enjoy the perks of being able to get around on foot.

One of those perks is that a routine task turns into exercise.  You might not think that’s a benefit, but I do!  Take “Going to the Grocery Store”.  Now you might say, “Hey, now – going to the grocery store isn’t that difficult.  That doesn’t count as exercise!”

I beg to differ.  Walking to the grocery store near us is no real difficulty.  It’s about a 1 mile walk downhill, and I have a great little shopping trolley that folds up, is sturdy, lightweight, and on wheels.  It looks like this…

Grocery Cart: Pre-Shopping Trip

Pretty handy, right?  I got it on sale at Briscoes.  It actually folds down to an even more compact size, but this is how it looks when you’re rolling it.  I happily trundle along, enjoying the sunshine and thinking about the things that I need.

I get to the grocery store, put my little shopping trolley and reusable bags in a “trundler” {what I would normally refer to as a shopping cart}, and make my selections.  I keep in mind that whatever I purchase is something that I have to literally cart back.  I go through the shopping queue, pay for my groceries, load them up into my shopping trolley, and begin the walk back.

That’s when things get interesting.  Remember that cart?  It now looks like this…

Grocery Cart: Post-Shopping Trip

That grocery bag on top is usually full, too.  And what was a nice, sunshiney, 1 mile stroll downhill has become a 1 mile trek uphill in the heat with all sorts of obstacles in my way: people, curbs, cafe tables, sea gulls, wheelbarrows filled with powdered cement…  Crossing the street?  Not as easy as before!  And you’d be amazed at how many people, seeing that you’re carting a heavy load behind you, expect you to move out of the way rather than both of you stepping a little to the side.  Perhaps I should start pushing my cart rather than pulling it.  That way, I can just run over the toes of anyone who won’t budge!

I’m only kidding of course.  Sort of.

It gives me a workout.  By the time I get home, I’m usually regretting not wearing layers and my arms are feelin’ the burn.  Even better is that, since I just burned some calories, I don’t have to feel as guilty eating the food that I bought.  Not bad, huh?  But that doesn’t mean that I’m above using Chris as a pack horse letting my husband go to the grocery with me 🙂

I should also add that the grocery store does have online shopping and delivery.  The delivery rates range from $7.95 – $14.95, with it costing more to deliver less.  Go figure!  I might check that out at some point, but for now I enjoy the walk.