7:52 PM
| Sunrise at | 9:41 AM | in direction | 132° | Southeast |  |
| Sunset at | 4:29 PM | in direction | 228° | Southwest |  |
.. you don't need it!
Fred G. Meyer opened his first store in Portland, OR in l922. He is credited with the being originator of the super store - one stop shopping concept. Here in Fairbanks, the above saying is apropos for finding the bare necessities in a hurry. The quality may not be the best, but if you don't want to hunt down the best or most suitable for things like waste baskets, linens, dishes, kitchen gadgets, books, electronics, sporting equipment, furniture, rugs, hardware and paint, gardening supplies, clothes, cosmetics, books, and oh, yes - food, then Freddie's is the place for you.
In addition to several locally owned small businesses, we do have strip mall shopping where you can find some of the national store chains. Fairbanks has:
- 1 Home Depot
- 1 Lowes
- 1 Sportsman's Warehouse
- 1 Petco
- 1 Old Navy
- 1 American Eagle
- 1 Walmart
- 1 Sam's Club
- 1 Sears
- 1 Joanne's Fabric
- 1 Michael's
- 1 Office Max
- 1 Barnes and Nobel
- 2 Safeway Stores
- 2 Fred Meyer Stores
Notice anything missing ... like a Macy's, JC Penney's, or Dillard's? Which store most successfully fills that gap .. Fred Meyer. Which parking lot is a nightmare for finding a parking spot and congestion ... both Fred Meyer Stores. Which store has the best prices for the economy minded shopper overall .. Freddie's.
I confess, I don't shop there much. Gary prefers to shop at Fred's, especially for selected food items in the organic section we have found are stocked at Fred's but not Safeway, but I prefer Safeway. But, as I've said before - for basic necessities, Fred Meyer's is the place to go. When I want garbage cans, towels, storage bins, picture frames, underwear ... Fred's.
If you seriously need something good for winter or practical for the Alaskan outdoor lifestyle, then that is a whole different story. Then you need to shop local or online. The Prospector, Beaver Sports, and Ray's provide the best winter protective clothing for regular folks. Apocalypse provides extreme weather protection used by some mushers and snow campers. These stores offer a large selection of gloves, mittens, hats, and the very desirable smart wool socks. In shoes, local stores offer a wide selection of some of the best in winter and outdoor comfort wear: Ugg, Sorel, Merrel, Keen, and wool felt Lobens from Norway are easy to come by. They sell over pants, over skirts, scarves, and the Alaskan uniform - Carhartt's for every situation.
Oddly, to buy a really warm, long 100% down parka for business wear, I had shopped Eddie Bauer and LL Bean - both of which have premium down, full length parkas rated to -50F. I bought mine from Eddie Bauer a few years ago and Mom's just this winter from LL Bean. To buy my daughter a Russian bluebell teapot, I shopped online. To buy a good quality down comforter, I would need to shop online. When I need to buy Blue Max Lights for good winter lighting, I need to shop online. To buy anything at all unique, interesting, and fun ... online.
I don't particularly care to shop in stores and I very, very rarely buy on impulse. I know exactly what I need to replace and usually am perfectly content to search for it online. But, I will tell you one thing I do .. when I go to Anchorage or leave Alaska, I leave space in my luggage because I will always come home with more than I took with me. Last time I was Outside I returned with two pairs of much needed Levi's. Another time I returned with long sleeve cotton knit tees. The last time I was in Anchorage I restocked my good quality tea bags for work. When we drive to Anchorage, we regularly fill a storage bin with salad dressings, sun-dried tomatos, spelt flour, and gluten free pastas.
Fred's selection covers the basics, but is limited for natural fabric clothes. The cost of shipping any of these things, when combined with the lack of sale prices many times, makes seizing the opportunity to buy when traveling very practical.
One upside to all of this is I rarely buy anything I don't really need - having limited shopping is certainly one way to save!
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