7-Stop Shopping or Why I ♥ Astoria

It really is a beautiful day in the neighborhood. I went to mail some letters and did the mail-drop double-check before dropping them in the mailbox at 30th Ave. No stamps. So I turned around and walked three steps and (1) bought two stamps from the newsstand.

Then I (2) bought wine at the liquor store, (3) ground coffee at Dunkin Donuts, (4) a slice of (bad) pizza, (5) vegetables from one vegetable stand, (6) cheese from the Greek House, and (7) different vegetables and eggs at the other vegetable stand. All in about 20 minutes and without really thinking about it. And I ran into a neighbor on the way. When has seven-stop shopping ever been so convenient?

Or perhaps I’m thinking about it wrong. Maybe the three-block stretch between 30th and 33rd Street is actually one stop! Maybe I live right next to the world’s best Wallmart. Grand Avenue Wallmart. Why it even has its own subway stop.