Yesterday was a day that got away from me. Donna was working on her computer most of the day while I sat in a lounge chair outside and read a book. The temperature remained in the mid-60s all day and the marine layer didn’t burn off until after 3pm.

Around 3pm, we rode the scooter to the Vons grocery store in Pacific Beach. Nowadays, you can’t get the advertised price at a grocery store without a “club card.” If you don’t have a card, you’ll pay too much for most of the things you buy. Stores use the cards to track people’s purchases and preferences. They also try to create loyalty by making cardholders feel like they’re getting special deals.

Donna and I each have a Vons card which we got soon after we arrived here. Yesterday, we both forgot to bring our cards along. Neither of us have bothered to  register our cards, so using our phone number was not an option. Donna told me not to worry about it.

The cashiers at Vons will not apply the “discount” price unless you have a card or are registered in the system. There’s another grocery store in Clairemont that we shop at called Keil’s. They also have a club card. However, at Keil’s we just tell the cashier we are visiting the area and they apply the card discount for us. The cashier there told us they have a lot of customers from the RV parks.

The approach to the discount card business at Keil’s makes sense to me. Why clog up their system with cards that are used by people that are visiting the area. It doesn’t make sense to track those purchases and  send flyers to addresses that are out of town.

Back to our cardless shopping at Vons. When we got to the cashier, Donna asked if she could join their rewards program. The cashier said “sure” and handed her a card, which Donna immediately swiped through the card reader and got the discounts. Now we have three unregistered cards.

This club card business is a little crazy. If I kept a card for every store I shop at, I would need another wallet. Of course, we could register our cards and use our phone number at the cashier, but that means giving our address, e-mail and phone number so the store can track our purchases and start pitching advertisements to us. We decided to keep the new Vons card in the scooter’s glove compartment. It’s funny how we can use the card without registering it. It’s also funny to me how the cashier will not apply the discount but will happily hand over a card for you to swipe.

At BevMo, I was required to complete the registration form before they would apply the advertised pricing. I complied. I’ll bet someone mindlessly keyed in my information, including my South Dakota mailing address. BevMo doesn’t exist in South Dakota,but they probably mail flyers to me there, which our mail service recycles. At our request, the mail service doesn’t forward junk mail.

One of the items I wanted to get at Vons was book of postage stamps. I learned that our insurance carrier, Progressive Insurance, would reimburse the cost of the windshield repair I paid for last week. I just need to mail them the invoice. With all the club card hub-bub at the cashier, I forgot to get the stamps.

After we returned, I dumped and rinsed the holding tanks. This is a job I do every five days or so. Then I went to the tavern for a cold one and to submit my football picks for the weekend.

Today, the overcast should burn off before noon. When Donna returns from her exercise class (she scootered herself today), I think I’ll go for a bike ride. Later, I’ll go out to buy stamps. Maybe I’ll go to the two RV dealers in Kearny Mesa and kick a few tires. We’re thinking about upgrading our coach next year. I’m pretty happy with what we have, but there are some things I wish for. Donna needs a better working environment. If we don’t replace this coach, we need to think about modifications to improve her office space.