Group Tanger Visit
On Sunday we went to Tanger Outlets Mall with three other couples, and their children (1 each). We met at the office to redeem our vouchers for coupon books. One of the fathers, E., had to return to his car to retrieve something from the trunk, and returned with a story. While closing the trunk he had somehow managed to drop his keys into the trunk, and they were now locked inside.
E. called AAA, who informed him that a locksmith would come within an hour. AAA called back a little while later to report that they were having difficulty contacting the locksmith, but would keep trying. We decided to start going through the mall, and sometimes broke into groups depending on who wanted to see what. When we did, we were able to stay in contact using my collection of FRS radios. Two were bought (one at a time) from OM, FAR (or better with coupons), and the other two were bought as a set from Radio Shack, for $13 - $20 MIR. They were powered by the Energizer NIMH AAA batteries that I bought at Walmart about a year ago.
At one point an announcement came over the PA system, and as I was about to make fun of it ("Will the owner of the silver Toyota, license XXX-XXXX please go to his car."), the license plate that was being described sounded all too familiar. Indeed, they were talking about my car, but the annoucement was very strange. It didn't sound like my lights were left on (and would be unlikely since they go off automatically). Regardless, I left the group to go to my car, wondering if it was either broken into or hit by another car. (Afterall, what else would necessitate my returning to my car? It's not like it missed me.) When I arrived, no one was there, no glass was broken, nothing seemed wrong, except the backdoor was open. Wide open. Apparently, in our haste, no one had closed the door. On the plus side, nothing appeared to be missing from the car.
At one point we encounter a mall cop who was willing to attempt a break-in to retrieve the keys. E. went back to his car with the cop, who worked on the car while we continued shopping. We heard via walkie talkie that they got into the car, and later that they retrieved the keys. However, we didn't get the full story until E. returned. When he did, we found out that when they "broke in," the alarm disabled all of the electrical systems, including the trunk release. Therefore they had to gain access via the backseat. The cop was able to pull the backseat out, and they retrieved the keys, but he couldn't get the seat back in. Therefore, E's wife and son had to find another ride. (They came home with us.)
During the process of group shopping, it became clear to me that working in a group is definitely slower, but yes has its advantages. One such advantage is coupon sharing, and another is the ability to combine purchases. (Many coupons had were a percentage off of a minimum purchase. Though no individual party was buying enough to qualify for using a coupon, by buying together, we were able to use coupons more frequently.)
Near the end of the trip we stopped at KB Toys. They had a bunch of junk, as usual, but we did find one toy we wanted. While checking out I noticed a package of 20 AAA batteries for $4.99 with a $5 MIR. Works for me.